Okra - Love it or Hate it?
 

I grew up eating okra...boiled and added to my Mom's codfish stew. Yes, it was slimy...and I still have memories of it sliding off of my fork...but I grew to appreciate it.

As I have gotten older, I have tried it fried...and enjoyed it. (Frying makes almost anything taste good).

I served some to my family over the weekend (boiled), and they started to gag. In fact, both spouse and child have threatened to leave if it ever appears again.

So okra....love it or hate it?

Boiled? BOILED? ? ? ?

Well, y'all. . . . I do think . . . ?

Okra is frahd, son. Frahd as in a cast iron skillet on a hot day in August, no air conditioning, and (ah might add) in the South.

Accompanied by fried corn (which is not actually fried, as anyone knows), blackeyed peas fresh from shellin' and bein' cooked with a slice of salt pork, and a plate of sliced homegrown tomatoes. Maybe even some homegrown green onions (or scallions to the ones on summer break from college).

And invite me to dinner (dinner being the meal that is served at noon).

Been too long. . . .

A lifetime ago. :(

Yuck, it's so slimy, and.............cod fish stew, double yuck. I get sick just thinking about either one of those items.

I like it fried or pickled. Can't say that having it boiled other than going into a nice gumbo does anything for me, however.

Best regards,

William

Fried okra is great. With cornmeal and lots of crisco. In my grandmother's cast iron skillet. None of this breaded stuff that you see offered by various eateries. The greasier the better. Sometimes the fried cornmeal is the best part...

Personally, I like my fried okra with a healthy serving of yellow squash that has been cooked down to a candy-like sweetness. And buttermilk scratch made biscuits, with molasses and butter mixed together as a sort of jelly to dip the biscuits into. And fried green tomatoes as well. And if I have to have some kind of meat, I'll reluctantly take a big slab of country ham that has enough salt to pickle my plate.

Yeah, I'll have some of that.

I've had some really good Southern cookin' and enjoy some of it. Sweet potato fries, fried green tomatoes, pulled pork, cornbread and pecan pie are indeed delicious. But I believe that only a person born and raised in the south can truly enjoy fried okra. Of course, I claim this about grits, blackened catfish and collared greens, as well.

I'm addicted to it. In Brazil, called quiabo, it is regularly served in a crisply fried version that is delicious. We have it at least once a week, often more often.

Oh, my. You've done spoiled my day, remembering how the homemade biscuits (yes, they had to be buttermilk biscuits!) were served with molasses and butter that were mixed together on the plate, to finish out the meal and serve in place of dessert--my Daddy would be even more impressed.

You're exactly right about the ham too. Summer vegetable dinners aren't meant to take meat unless it is flavoring for blackeyes. But salted ham will work so long as it doesn't interfere with the rest of the meal.

One thread and one post I (almost) wish I hadn't seen. Brings back too many memories. . . . . ^

I've never eaten Okra...it's on my list of thngs to try eventually.

I do love southern cooking though, lived in Virginia for a few years, which I know isn't tecnically south as such but managed to try some 'southern cooking' whilst there.

I'll have to look up a fried okra recipe.

As a southerner and a cook, the two best ways to eat okra are:
1) Fried. Must cut across the vegetable in little "wheels", and roll first in a slightly sweet cornmeal mix. And make sure your frying oil is hot enough or the okra won't crisp up properly. Cast iron skillet does work best.

2) In spicy gumbo, New Orleans-style.

I think okra's gotten a bad rep due to due abuses by Yankee cooks over the years. Oh my BOILING okra?!?!? Yech, the thought not only turns my stomach but makes me cry...

Okraphobia
 

That's the title of a great "Good Eats" show by Alton Brown that presents 4 recipes for okra. The synopsis:

Culinary superstars come in all shapes and sizes, but none is more misunderstood than the much-maligned Southern mystery known as okra. Is it a slimy seedpod or pan-fried powerhouse? Join Alton Brown as he explores this versatile veggie from the inside out, separates the ooze from the "ahs," and turns a bad case of "okraphobia" into a craving for all things okra.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...ipe/index.html

I prefer the dry fried okra with corn meal version.

My god I hate okra. Slimy, slippery texture that's just gross. At some point in my youth, my parents started to eat okra. It would make me gag. At least I was old enough that they didn't make me eat it, and I shortly escaped to college.

That said, I'll eat anything fried, sometimes even okra...

daloosh

+1.

Though my memories are of last week. There are advantages to living in a small southern town. ;)

Okra. Corn meal. Cast Iron flying pan. Hot grease.

Fresh okra works best. The "slimy" interior helps the corn meal stick. When the oil is hot, put in the okra & cook 'til crispy.

Okra is far and away my favorite vegetable. I prefer it fried, but as other have pointed out, only in a proper cornmeal coating. It is also good in "slimy" stewed form. Throw a few pods in to cook with your black-eyed peas or field peas, then eat with some chopped onions on top. And gumbo without okra is a joke.

Love it