Pickled Okra

[Bird]

Yesterday I was craving pickled stuff. Made a Trip to the grocery store and found some canned okra.

It was soft but was eatable. I believe it may not have been a true pickle.

I'm not sure what you got. If it was just "canned" maybe it was like the stewed (or boiled) okra, which is very soft. But the pickled okra should be pretty crisp, and of course, has the "pickled" or vinegar and garlic flavor.

 

[dmccarty]

I used to have a brine recipe for smoking salmon, and I used that same "brine" for shark, sheepshead, and even oysters. I used to leave the oysters in that brine overnight, then I'd put aluminum foil on the racks and punch it full of holes with a fork, and spread the oysters on there to smoke them. A smoked oyster on a cracker makes very good snacking.

I saw a cooking show where they smoke some oysters. I wanted to try it out this summer but I don't cook outside when its hot. Now that summer is gone I'm looking forward to smoking meat again. And I'm trying the oysters.

Did you put any oil on the aluminum foil to keep the oysters from sticking?

I got a 7n1 Grill/Smoker do hickey from Cabella's this time last year. Put some hardwood in there, let it burn into coals, place the meat on the grill, watch the temperature and slowly adding a wee bit of wood ends up with some very good smoked meat. The pork is good. And ribeye is outstanding. Does not really take that long. A few sipped beers.

I fry the oil on this gizmo as well. Those oysters are getting smoked soon.

Later,
Dan

 

[Bird]

Did you put any oil on the aluminum foil to keep the oysters from sticking?

No, I never had a problem with them sticking to the foil.

I think I know what kind of rig you got at Cabela's. I used to fry turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas when we lived down in the country, but my outdoor cooking equipment was among the things I sold in a garage sale when we moved back to town about 6 years ago.

So, a couple of weeks ago, I did some shopping lots of places and eventually bought a 35 gallon turkey frying rig from Cabela's. Now it also has the basket for being a fish fryer, but then I saw a really nice stainless steel fish frying pot, basket, and lid at Academy Sports, so I bought that, only to find out it won't fit onto the burner of the turkey fryer, so I bought a separate burner for it. I've got two 20# propane bottles, and 4 outdoor propane burners now.

Incidentally, peanut oil is cheaper at Academy Sport than Walmart or Sam's Club. And the injectible marinades are cheaper at Academy Sports than at any of the grocery stores (Walmart, Brookshire's, Kroger's, and Albertson's).

And just as an experiment that may or may not turn out well, I injected the Creole Garlic marinade in about a 3# pork sirloin roast, and about a 3# beef eye of round roast today and put them back in the refrigerator. They'll go in the smoker in the morning with hickory chips for smoke and we'll see what happens.

 

[Egon]

Land oh Goshen, how does Bird find time for anything other than cooking!

 

[kthompson]

Land oh Goshen, how does Bird find time for anything other than cooking!

You mean like eating?


Not sure who said they were hoping steaming remove the need for sucking, well it will open them partly depending on how "dry" you steam them to be. The dryer the more open they are.

It would seem roaster oysters and picked okra would make a good meal. Oh yeah with Texas Pete of course. kt

 

[N80]

I like oysters and okra pretty much anyway they come, including raw (yep, small okra raw are quite tasty).

Bird, my wife picked up some of that Talk O Texas pickled okra in a grocery store in Charleston, SC about 15 years ago. I'd always liked okra but had never had it pickled. It was love at first taste! Since that time there is always a jar in the fridge. I like the hot ones best. I can hardly imagine eating a sandwich without 2 or 3 on the side. Occasionally we get homemade ones as gifts. Love those too.

I like pickled cukes a lot and would love to patronize Mt. Olivet, which is local, but the Clausens baby dills (in the refridgerator section only) are so much better. Much more crisp. Its a toss up between them and the okra pickles.

 

[Bird]

how does Bird find time for anything other than cooking

Yeah, I kinda like to cook, and even more like to eat. That's why I'm 40 pounds overweight. It's going to be awhile before Thanksgiving, but I had to test that new turkey fryer, so I just did a small turkey (6 days ago), then sliced and boned it, and divided it up 3 ways; one for us and one for each of the neighbors on either side of us. If the beef and pork that I smoke tomorrow turn out to be any good, I'll do that with them, too.

Incidentally, Walmart, Kroger's, Albertson's, and Brookshire's all have Tony Chachere's injectable marinades. I'd never seen that brand before, so that's what I used in the test turkey. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good enough for me to ever buy that brand again.

And George, I don't eat many pickled cucumbers, but those Clausen's baby dills are pretty good. I also occasionally like the little sweet gherkins. The very small pickles have always been my favorites.

 

[Egon]

We need a special "Birds Kitchen" forum!

 

[Bird]

small okra raw are quite tasty

George, about 30 years ago, I had a secretary who usually carred her lunch to work; frequently raw fruit and vegetables, including raw okra. I had never hear of anyone eating okra raw. Naturally, I had to try it. I thought it wasn't bad, nor was it good enough to try again. I like mine cooked or pickled.

So you're now only the second person I've known to like raw okra.

 

[N80]

It was probably about 30 years ago that I first saw someone eating raw okra too. It was my father's cousin, a wealthy surgeon with lots of land, older fellow. He kept a huge garden at his home that he planted and tended and he always had lots of surplus vegetables and he would ask us to come by and get all we wanted. One time he was in the garden picking okra and every now and again he'd pick a small one and eat it. I remember thinking that it must taste, and feel (okra is hairy) awful, but I tried it and now I actually like them. But they have to be small, slender and very tender.