Fried okra is a rare treat for me. I won’t get my fix at a restaurants because it’s always disappointing and often sickening. And forget some shake-and-bake coating pretending to taste fried. It doesn’t work for okra. Trust me, I have tried.I’m getting to the point where I could use a little help eating the okra I’m growing. Not a lot of volunteers around here, though. But I’ve found if I put it inside a corn fritter, with a little jalapeño and green onion, it disappears.
There’s no need to have a deep-fat frying appliance if you only do this on special occasions. We use a Dutch oven and a thermometer on a gas burner outside. You’ll need a splatter screen if you do this in your kitchen. It does require a lot of oil, but the type is up to you.
This will keep everyone happy while the grill heats up on the 4th of July.
Okra and Corn Fritters
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups sliced okra
- kernels from 1 ear of corn (about 3/4 cup)
- 3/4 cup buttermilk (or a mixture of yogurt and milk)
- 1/2 cup cornmeal (fine or medium grind)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 egg
- 1 green onion, sliced
- 1 jalapeño, diced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- high-heat oil of choice, for frying (I used coconut and canola)
Directions:
Mix the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking soda and black pepper in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk and egg. Add the okra, corn, green onion and jalapeño. Stir in the dry ingredients. Refrigerate the batter until it’s time to fry.
Fill a Dutch oven with 2-3 inches of oil. Heat the oil to 350.
Drop 1/3 cup of the batter to the oil at a time. I found 5-6 fritters will fit in the pan without overcrowding it. Fry 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Serve immediately, with hot sauce or spicy mayo if you like.
