Watcha eating?

[farmgirl19]

We love fried okra. I don't like to make it from scratch because it takes some time and makes a mess. Now, Okra fritters is an interesting idea since it should be quick to make and not as messy. I like store bought okra pickles but mine have not turned out that well.

BOILED Okra is just nasty. :shocked::confused2:


Later,
Dan

Add a little vinegar to the water you boil it in, and it will cut most of the slime.

However, I think boiling vegetables tends to remove much of the flavor and nutrition, then we pour those nutrients down the drain. Much more flavor if not boiled, IMO.

 

[farmgirl19]

Six baked chicken legs using shake & bake... I helped.

mark

I remember that commercial!

 

[IslandTractor]

Here is one, anyone can do:

Fresh okra, (whole)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, or seasoning salt

Place okra in large bowl. Drizzle with Olive Oil then salt and pepper to taste. Place on grill. (I place it inthe warming rack.) In ~5 minutes, turn them with a pair of tongs. When the okra gives a with pressure from the tongs, remove and enjoy.

It sometimes helps if you use a grill rack that keeps smaller things from falling through. Most grocery store okra is the smaller variety, and will fall through easily. My heairloom is larger pods, and still tender.

Note: If you happen to be without a grill, you can broil this in the oven, just use a broiling pan for the okra, and place on a lower rack.

I'll try that once the weather warms up enough to encourage grilling and I find a source of fresh okra. We are still getting freezing weather up here but it won't be long. I love grilled eggplant and I'm thinking the okra might be nice mixed in. I imagine grilling the okra would fix the unfortunate slimy characteristic too.

 

[dmccarty]

Add a little vinegar to the water you boil it in, and it will cut most of the slime.

However, I think boiling vegetables tends to remove much of the flavor and nutrition, then we pour those nutrients down the drain. Much more flavor if not boiled, IMO.

I think the only boiled veggie we eat is canned corn. Most veggies are over cooked when boiled and turn into icky mush. Okra boil is just nasty to me because of the texture and the snot. Even with the snot removed I ain't gonna like it! nope Nope NOPE! :laughing::laughing::laughing:

When we live in LA, the school cafeteria used to server boiled okra. :ashamed::confused2: I don't think any kid aint that snotty stuff! For awhile I worked in the cafeteria, can you imagine a kid working in the school cafeteria today, and one of my jobs was to clean the plates. Almost all of the boiled veggies went into the trash, ESPECIALLY that boiled okra! The food waste was taken to a pig farmer. I suppose the pigs would eat boiled okra. :confused3:

Funny thing about okra is how much food a plant produces. Our plants produce right up until frost and we have so much okra we can use it all. The plants would be well over six feet tall by the time the cold killed them. The okra patties sounds like a quick, fast, and cleaner way to eat the okra. We do love it fried. One year I did cut up okra, battered it up, and froze it. This worked real well but it still is a fair amount of work.

Broiling or grilling is a good idea we will have to try. The varieties we have planted have produced large but still edible pods.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

All of the talk of Crawdad head sucking reminded me of a cooking show with Julia Childs and I think Jacques Pepin. They were cooking lobsters and after they cut one open they went ga ga fro the lobster Tomalley. From Wikipedia:

Tomalley (from the Carib word tumale, meaning a sauce of lobster liver)[1] or lobster paste is the soft, green substance found in the body cavity of lobsters, that fulfills the functions of both the liver and the pancreas. Tomalley corresponds to the hepatopancreas in other arthropods. It is considered a delicacy, and may be eaten alone but is often added to sauces for flavour and as a thickening agent. The term lobster paste or lobster p穰 can also be used to indicate a mixture of tomalley and lobster roe. Lobster bisque, lobster stock, and lobster consomm are made using lobster bodies (heads), often including the lobster liver.

The hepatopancreas of a crab is also called tomalley; in crabs the tomalley is yellow or yellow-green in colour.[2][3][4] In Maryland and on the Delmarva Peninsula, the hepatopancreas of the blue crab is called the "muster" or "mustard", probably because of the yellow colour, which is not the bright yellow of regular prepared yellow mustard, but closer to one of the brown mustards, such as Dijon mustard. Particularly when eating steamed or boiled crabs, it is considered a delicacy.

The tomalley in general can be consumed in moderation (as with the livers of other animals). It can, however, contain high levels of PCBs which can give a number of negative health effects in large concentrations. It may also contain toxins that are associated with paralytic shellfish poisoning (saxitoxin and gonyautoxin). Those toxins do not leach out when the lobster is cooked in boiling water. The toxins responsible for most shellfish poisonings are water-insoluble, heat and acid-stable, and thus are not diminished by cooking.

Childs and Pepin went after the tomalley like it was crack. What I can't remember is if the lobster had been cooked. In either case, what they were eating looked GROSS! NASTY!

This image from Wikipedia looks like crab tomalley and eggs. The stuff Childs and Pepin were eating was GREEN! Not that the yellow "mustard" looks any better. :laughing::laughing::laughing:


Later,
Dan

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Here is one, anyone can do:

Fresh okra, (whole)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, or seasoning salt

Place okra in large bowl. Drizzle with Olive Oil then salt and pepper to taste. Place on grill. (I place it inthe warming rack.) In ~5 minutes, turn them with a pair of tongs. When the okra gives a with pressure from the tongs, remove and enjoy.

It sometimes helps if you use a grill rack that keeps smaller things from falling through. Most grocery store okra is the smaller variety, and will fall through easily. My heairloom is larger pods, and still tender.

Note: If you happen to be without a grill, you can broil this in the oven, just use a broiling pan for the okra, and place on a lower rack.

So we're talking medium heat here? Do you leave them on until they brown slightly? I'm wondering if maybe a little garlic salt might be kinda tasty here also. We love okra; mostly fried... But I can remember our youngest daughter going to the garden, picking and eating the young okra pods raw (worst thing about okra is picking).

Here's one for the FWIW department; went to the grocery store yesterday and they had some samples of freeze dried whole okra pods. They were coated with something that made them taste sweet; not something I liked...but I'm betting they would have been better with a little salt instead.

 

[farmgirl19]

I'll try that once the weather warms up enough to encourage grilling and I find a source of fresh okra. We are still getting freezing weather up here but it won't be long. I love grilled eggplant and I'm thinking the okra might be nice mixed in. I imagine grilling the okra would fix the unfortunate slimy characteristic too.

It is not slimy, when grilled. I cook on the grill a LOT in the summer, and cook the yellow crookneck and zucchini squash, along with the okra. I start the squash a little befor ethe okra, since the okra doesn't take long. I do basically the same with my squashes, only I cut them in half, lengthwise, the drizzle the cut side with Olive Oil, add a little homemade seasoning salt, and place on the warming rack. I turn them once, and remove them when tender.

What is funny, I have eaten and LOVED fried okra, all of my life. I began grilling it a few years ago, and now that is my favorite way to eat it. I have had a couple of people try it, that really didn't want to try it, as they said they didn't like okra. (Which to me is unAmerican!) They tried it to be polite, and there wasn't enough left to put on the table, as we all stood out near the grill laughing and drinking beer, and snacking on the okra, as it came off of the grill. Even those that don't like okra, will generally love it grilled. So I usually make a double mess on the grill.

One note here: While I will eat cold, leftover fried okra, the grilled okra is best when it comes off of the heat. It loses texture when ledftover, so not as desirable.

 

[brin]

Be careful to keep a close eye on your fried Okra...it does not take long an if you overcook it .....it is just no good...you just want it lightly brown...about 4 minutes or so at 325 deg. oil...then try one or two..go from there ...they are touchy... I think fried Okra tastes similar to fried oysters..and I love okra cut up and cooked with diced tomatoes and diced onions , oregano, garlic, pepper, Cayenne pepper if you like it and thyme...So very good.

 

[farmgirl19]

So we're talking medium heat here? Do you leave them on until they brown slightly? I'm wondering if maybe a little garlic salt might be kinda tasty here also. We love okra; mostly fried... But I can remember our youngest daughter going to the garden, picking and eating the young okra pods raw (worst thing about okra is picking).

Here's one for the FWIW department; went to the grocery store yesterday and they had some samples of freeze dried whole okra pods. They were coated with something that made them taste sweet; not something I liked...but I'm betting they would have been better with a little salt instead.

I'll eat it raw too! And yes, the picking of okra is the worst part! I guess hte grill is medium heat, but then I put the okra up on teh warming rack, away from the heat source. I like to cook with a propane gas grill, even though I have a wood/coal, grill/smoker. I heat the grill up on High, then turn to Low, just before I place the goodies on it. And leave it on low after that. Gets me the good sear marks, etc., but doesn't cook it too fast.

I think you can try any type of salt. I have used just salt and pepper, or seasoning salt, or even lemon pepper. I have homemade seasoning salt, and prefer it best.

Yes, our stores are carrying the freeze dried stuff too. Too expensive for me, and definitely loses the good okra flavor with teh sweetener added. Of course, I may see what I can do with the dehydration unit, when I am coming to the end of this year's crop. I am always up for trying new ideas.

 

[farmgirl19]

Dan;

I always plant Perkins Mammoth. I get it from R H Shumway. Plants get up to 10-12 feet tall, and pods can get over 6 inches, and still be tender. It is what my dad always planted, and I have tried other varieties, but have come back and stayed with Perkins. It is one of those wondeful heirloom seeds!