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

+1000

As a friend said, "It's like eating giant boogers -- but with not as good a flavor."

In gumbo ... very good.
Cut, breaded, fried ... very good.
Sautéed with tomatoes and onions, served over rice ... good.
Whole, unbreaded, pan-fried in butter until scorched black areas appear ... excellent.

Y'all--
I just want to say:
You use fresh okra. Rinse, pat dry, slice. Most people discard the tops.
Slice fairly thinly, maybe a quarter to a half inch medallions.
Dredge the sliced okra in seasoned cornmeal (i.e., cornmeal with a dash of salt).
Fry in a heavy iron skillet. Oil should be heated before adding the okra. Stir every few minutes or so. Don't let it brown too much on one side before the top has been turned. IOW, reasonably even browning.
Here is the critical part. Okra is done not just when the cornmeal has browned--that's a few seconds or minutes too soon--but when the okra appears to shrink slightly.
Drain on paper towels if you prefer.
The okra should be dry inside, never slimy. If the latter, you didn't cook it long enough.

Correcting an earlier post as to blackeyed peas as an accompaniment. The preferred peas are purple hull peas. Blackeyes will work, butterbeans will (more or less) work, but homeshelled purple hulls are the best. (No one has the time to shell these, of course, and they couldn't even be procured unless you live in the South and are at a farmer's market, I suppose. I am speaking theoretically. In practice I just open a can of blackeyes.)

Don't even try any of this unless you can also serve sliced tomatoes.

Addendum: Okra can also be used in gumbos, more or less interchangeably with file (diacritical mark?). Gumbo is probably more common in Louisiana (southern Louisiana, not northern) than in other parts of the South or was at one time.

Okra boiled with tomatoes? I've never tried it though I've seen it canned, on grocery shelves.

If okra were always boiled, I can see why many or most people would dislike it intensely. But fried until dry, per above, it is entirely different. Even then, I suppose it is and will remain a regional preference. But fried okra is not even remotely like boiled okra.

ETA: Cooking temperature should be medium to medium-medium-high. Low frying temperature would result in soggy okra. High temperature would brown the outside too soon before the inside had cooked. I don't know if type of cooking oil matters. So long as it doesn't add a taste, any ought to do. We use canola, but Crisco is authentic, at least back for one or two generations or so.

Edited again. Some people mix half flour and half cornmeal plus a bit of salt. That works too, some families one preference, others the other. I've used both versions. And some people (such as my husband) use neither, just the okra fried in just enough oil, a tablespoon or so, to keep it from sticking to the skillet.

Traditional Southern Standard

In a large saute pan or iron skillet,
Render up some bacon or finely diced salt pork/hog jowl.
In the fat, saute' onions and some garlic.
Add okra, preferably small tender pods whole, or lager pods in 1" pieces, discarding the tops from large old pods.
Afer a few moments, add a can of diced tomatoes, hot sauce and sauce to taste, cover and simmer over low heat until the okra is tender (no more than 10 minutes for baby pods, longer for big'uns).

No sippery sleazy sliminess!

Best with fried hot water corn bread...

Which is an art form in and of itself. :)

Best regards,

William

Fried? Yum. Surrounded by Gumbo? Double Yum. All by its lonesome? It's second cousin to the milkweed! I wouldn't touch it with your fork!

I grew up eating okra curry (Indian household), and couldn't stand it till my early teens. Now my family has it a couple of times a month, and we grow okra in the summer.

I'm not really sure about how it's prepared, but I know the okra is shallow fried to remove most of the sliminess.

BTW, I love the deep fried okra at my local bar!

Here's a tip for those who like a little heat with their fried okra:

Slice a Scotch Bonnet (or habanero) pepper into a few large pieces (so you can easily pick them out from the finished batch) and throw into the frying oil while it heats up. The oil will infuse with some nice, flavorful heat from the pepper. You are, of course, free to eat the pepper itself if you so desire.

The oil, however, will not be easily reusable for other frying jobs unless you want to impart the flavor/heat to those dishes as well.

I love me some pickled okra!

think I will get some for this weekend, pickled okra and fine cheese ;)

Mmm thanks, have the three in bold, just need the Okra now.:)

Yep. I'm surprised that only you and I have mentioned this form of enjoying okra so far. ;)

Best regards,

William

You'll know how fresh your okra is by how much your hands itch after preparing it...

In a pinch, the frozen cut okra from WalMart is edible when fried properly. Not that breaded crap, though...

I can't imagine gumbo without okra. ;)

And who could forget Okra Cola? :p

:raiseshand:

+1

I've been to Okracoke, NC. Is that close?

And summer squash. Instead of blackeyed peas we always had fresh string beans. And biscuits.

Wow. It's been a very long time since I've had a "dinner" like this (yup, dinner's at noon.)

I remembered it as a fake product sketch on Saturday Night Live, the interweb says it was actually from a Steve Martin special. I don't think Okra Cola was very tasty. :eek:

Oh, this is SO true! I hate cutting it (the plants might as well be cactus they are so prickly!), but the end result is rather yummy.

I have never liked her. Everything she does is just a ploy to make money. She is a very altruistic selfish person. As for her book club, well I never saw so much rubbish in there. And we have her to thank for Dr. Phil too.








:D

Her name is "Arko" spelled backward, you know...

I've actually a very late taste in my life of Okra. Seems like a very nice vegetable addition to my cuisine. Don't know why someone would find it disgusting in anyway. I enjoy it very much, in whatever condition it is served. Although I would prefer it to be served at intervals, so it doesn't get old. The only vegetables that I can consume daily are cucumbers and tomatoes :)

Growing up in Malaysia okra was quite a staple dish, so yeah I love it! It's best eaten grilled with portugese-style fish, or the spicy shrimp paste version that removes the sliminess of the dish.

Fried Okra or a Indian Curry which uses Okra is delish

Seems pickled okra was more of a hit than pickled garlic. I like them both :D

I eat fried like its popcorn.....I have to make it from scratch and have to spend a fortune in NZ to get it.....the trials of a southern boy that doesn't get back home often enough...

As for the other preparations, the only way that I don't like it is boiled with canned tomatoes....too slimy....and my grandmother used to put a big dollop on my plate to eat.....mixed with enough crumbled cornbread, it was less slimy and then edible....