Fried Green Tomatoes with Remoulade
Another Lowcountry recipe inspired by a recent trip to Charleston, NC with my daughter. If you’ve never experienced Lowcountry cooking, just make the trip to the east coast! Fried Green Tomatoes make an appearance on almost every menu. So delicious! Experience crispy breading, slightly tart tomatoes, and (usually served with) a savory dip.
Mise en place is a must! Have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go. Even have the Remoulade made beforehand. The process for Fried Green Tomatoes moves quickly and requires your attention. This recipe does not do well having to wait on you in the middle of the process. Trust me.
Your oil temperature does matter. Probably every “fried green tomatoes” recipe you read will tell you to heat your oil to 350 degrees F. If the temperature of your oil is too low, the breading will become a soggy mess. If the temperature is too high, prepare for burning the breading. Goldilocks, aim for 350 degrees F. It’s just right.
Speaking of oil temps… an infrared (laser) thermometer is super-helpful for maintaining your oil temperature. It’s easier than a probe thermometer in this case. My husband has one due to his job, so we had one conveniently at the house. But, if you fry often, it may be a good investment. They’re not outrageously expensive if you’re going to get a lot of use out of it.
Old Bay is salty! Start with adding 1 teaspoon to the Remoulade, and tasting after combining all the ingredients. Add more, ½ teaspoon at a time, until desired tastes.
Green tomatoes are firm, a big tart, having not turned red and sweet yet. When you purchase your green tomatoes, you don’t have a long time before putting them through this recipe. They’ll start to turn yellow-ish and red-ish and begin to sweeten the longer they stay in the counter. You have a window, so keep that in mind.
Seriouseats.com has some wonderful information and guidelines for fried green tomatoes!
I love the brine from a jar of cherry peppers for the acid in this dish. Some other online recipes call for vinegar, lemon juice, caper brine, etc., but I prefer the cherry pepper’s brine. Banana pepper brine will work well, too, if that’s what you have in your fridge. I use cherry peppers in my Pimento Cheese, Russian Dressing, and Tangy Tuna Salad.
Enjoy!
Fried Green Tomatoes with Remoulade
Equipment
- 2 large baking sheets
Ingredients
Remoulade:
- 1 cup mayonnaise, or avocado mayo
- 2 tablespoons stone-ground mustard, see Notes
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika hot or mild
- 1 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning, see Notes
- 1 garlic clove, pushed through a garlic press
- 1 tablespoon cherry pepper brine, from a jar, see Notes
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 - 2 tablespoons milk, optional, see Notes before adding
- Hot sauce, optional
Fried Green Tomatoes:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- Hot sauce, optional
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Neutral oil, for frying (avocado, vegetable, etc.)
- 4 green tomatoes, 1/4" slices
Instructions
- (Be sure to read the Notes on the Old Bay seasoning before mixing.) In a medium bowl, add the Remoulade ingredients and stir to combine well. Set aside at room temperature if continuing with the recipe, or refrigerate if using more than 2 hours after making the sauce.
- Place several layers of paper towels on a baking sheet or place a cooling/baking rack over a baking sheet. Set it aside. This will hold the finished tomatoes.
- In a shallow bowl, whisk together the flour and cornstarch. Set aside.
- In another shallow bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, and hot sauce if using. Set aside.
- In another shallow bowl, whisk the cornmeal, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, mustard, garlic powder, and onion powder. Set aside.
- Place an empty baking sheet near the bowls. It will hold the breaded tomato slices before they are fried.
- Pour about ½” of oil in a cast iron skillet or enamel covered cast iron skillet. (Cast iron will hold and maintain the heat better than a regular flying pan.) Heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Check your temperature with a thermometer.
- While the oil is heating to 350° F, dip the tomatoes one or two at a time (or however many will fit into your bowl) into the flour, coating both sides. Shake off excess.
- After the flour coating, dip the tomatoes into the egg mixture, coating both sides well.
- Then dip the tomatoes into the breadcrumb mixture, pressing the breadcrumbs onto the tomatoes to give a good even coating. Place them onto the clean (no paper towels) baking sheet. Continue to coat all the tomatoes.
- Once the oil is up to temperature, carefully add several tomatoes into the oil. Don’t overcrowd the pan. Fry for about 2 to 4 minutes per side, or until they are a nice golden brown on both sides.
- Remove the tomatoes to the paper towels or rack for excess oil to be removed.
- Continue this cooking process until all the tomatoes have been cooked.
- Serve with the Remoulade.
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