I am one of those weird folks who like okra just about any way you might choose to prepare it. I understand there are some who will not touch okra in any form. There are some who think there is no way to rid okra of the slime, and some who just don’t like the taste. This post is not intended to convert you, because if everyone liked okra as much as I do, there might not be enough for all of us and a worldwide okra shortage would get governments involved and that would not be good for anyone.
Without leading you through a list of okra dishes like the shrimp list Benjamin “Bubba” Buford shared with Forrest Gump, my favorite okra dishes include okra boiled in peas or beans, as an ingredient in sausage gumbo, chicken and sausage gumbo, shrimp gumbo, seafood gumbo, chicken and okra stew, sausage and okra stew, chicken and sausage stew, okra stewed with fresh tomatoes, okra sautéed with bacon, onion, or bacon and onion, or that same way with chicken added, or sausage added , or chicken and sausage added, or shrimp, or shrimp and chicken, or cooked alone on the grill or grilled with any or all of the meats mentioned above, with chicken livers and onions in brown gravy, loose fried, batter fried, from a buffet line, or gas station, or meat and three place, a fish fry, pickled okra, and in Creole anything.
I guess I said I wasn't going to do that. Sorry.
Fresh okra is always better, but frost usually signifies the end of okra grown in the garden season. and switches to grocery okra, either fresh or frozen. Thank goodness, okra freezes well, as full pods or cut into pieces. 1/2 or 3/4 inch pieces is my favorite size for sliced okra. Small pods 2 – 4 inches are best for cooking okra whole or pickling it. If the goal is to slice it for gumbo or to fry, you need to be careful to harvest it before it gets tough, since tough okra might be full of fiber, but is hard to chew. When slicing the stuff, I place the edge of a sharp knife against the pod and if there is much resistance to the sharp edge of the blade, I toss it as being too tough.
Anyhow, here are a few of my favorite recipes.
Okra pods, boiled with, or without peas or beans.
I’m not sure my grandmother ever cooked purple hull peas without adding at least a few small pods of okra. I think she liked the flavor, but I had several uncles who would have looked at the serving bowl on the dining table and said, “I see the peas, but where is my okra.” If she had left it out.
To boil okra, place the pods in a boiler, add water to cover, a little butter or oil, a half teaspoon of sugar and salt, then boil until the pods are tender. Yes, there will be slime. I love the taste, so I am never bothered by a little slime which is just a part of eating boiled okra. As good as okra is by itself, it is even better cooked with purple hull peas. By now, you probably know I am happy to be a simple country boy southerner. As such, I could have a dinner composed of nothing more than peas or beans cooked with okra and topped with Cornbread and chopped onion. To cook these, just add the okra to however you cook peas or beans. I do them exactly the same as okra cooked by itself.
Loose Fried
Loose fried with cornmeal is how my mom pan fried the okra we
had before batter-breaded fried okra became so popular. To me, this is "Old School" fried okra.
To loose fry okra, cut the pods into 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces and add to a hot skillet with a few Tablespoons of vegetable oil or bacon fat. Salt and pepper the okra, then add a Tablespoon or two of cornmeal. stir and cook until the okra is done. You may need to add a little more oil as the okra cooks, and you may need to drain it on a paper towel when you remove it from the skillet. Sometimes, I will add a little chopped onion to the skillet while cooking the okra.
Batter Fried.
I love the fact that pretty much any gas station that sells fried chicken also sells fried bater coated okra. I have seen lots of folks walk the hot food cabinet at the gas station and then buy a large portion of fried okra to eat as a tasty snack or meal. I am one of those folks who occasionally eat at buffet restaurants, Cracker Barrel, and places like Piccadilly’s or Bubba's meat and three cafe. When we do eat at those places, I always get fried okra with my meat and veggies. My batter fried okra is not as pretty as gas station batter fried, but I always enjoy eating it.
I do mine with sliced okra, buttermilk, salt and pepper, cornmeal and oil for deep frying, as opposed to using a lot less oil for pan frying lose okra.
Creole Okra Dishes
In my opinion, the main difference in Creole and Cajun dishes is the tomato you often find in Creole dishes. Maybe okra too. One dish we eat a lot at our house is frozen or fresh sliced okra, pan fried with tomatoes, onion, bacon, sausage, chicken, pork, shrimp or some combination of those meats.
The sliced okra is added to a hot skillet with bacon fat, just like loose fried, except no corn meal is added. At this point I usually add salt, pepper and diced onion.
Continue cooking until the tomatoes are cooked and the contents are dried then add the bacon.
If you like, you can add cooked chicken pieces, or sausage, or pork pieces. or shrimp, If adding any of these, it is best to precook them and add at the end when the okra and tomatoes are done. If adding shrimp, it can be added raw , since it will quickly cook in a hot pan.
And as a one dish meal, with bacon and chicken.
Hope you enjoyed seeing so much okra cooked so many ways.
Thanks for looking at my post.
God Bless you.
27 comments:
Nothing like the fighting okra
Damn, sent this to my wife as a hint. Love Okra and began eating it in earnest years ago after being recommended by a GI Doc.
"The fiber in okra has been found to be a demulcent, soothing to the intestinal tract, and potentially helpful in cases of gastritis. In fact, the mucilage in okra has been shown to have anti-adhesive properties that block the adhesion and colonization of Helicobacter pylori bacteria to stomach lining".
Unfortunately, I love the unhealthiest version of okra, fried. Just okra, cornmeal, salt, pepper and a touch of cayenne. Fry to very crispy, almost the texture of popcorn.
11:10
I worked for Baxter in Cleveland back when they were dominant in Women's Basketball. Cleveland was an interesting town back then. In case anyone wants to know, it gets hot as the blazes in the delta in the summer.
Today already reminds me of days back then, and cutting the grass when it was close to 100 degrees. As much as I can remember, there was no such thing as Heat index back then. What the dry air thermometer said, it wa what it was with no "Feels like 100 degree".
Here's to some fighting okra right back at ya.
11:23 I was just going to say that stuff about helicopter pie backerteria.
11:28 - nothing bad about liking it cooked that way. Read 11:23's post about the Fighting Okras beating up on them dreaded Helicopter piefaced Backerterias.
My momma's going to cook fried okra at the Neshoba County Fair for lunch on Sunday.
What a great collection of okra recipes. I'm nearly 70 and swear my mama and grandma cooked okra every way mentioned. I love them all.
If you don't grow your own in a garden, now's the time to get some fresh okra from the farmers market for your dinner and your freezer.
I love okra in my gumbo, I always worry about it getting slimy so I started running it through a food processor and making a big ole green slimeball. I stir that into my gumbo and it vanishes, I get the thickening and flavor and no one even knows it's in there.
I grow okra and cook every one of those often. There are three more that I like: steamed and sprinkled with lemon juice, roasted in the oven, and pan fried with some curry-type spices.
Your photos are always beautiful.
Okra (prepared any way), fresh garden tomato, fresh field peas, cornbread - manna from Heaven!!!
I enjoy okra, especially in Gumbo. I tease those who are squeamish toward it that one can just start to sip the tip of a big spoonful of okra Gumbo and the rest would follow it off the spoon.
i like it seared in a hot pan with just olive oil salt and pepper and then finish it in the oven until just tender and while warm toss it in a little butter to finish
My mom made an okra salad- boiled okra, chopped onions, sliced boiled eggs with french dressings. Chill for an hour or so. Really really tasty.
Apparently okra originated in southwestern africa.
The Nigerian word for okua is "gumbo".
Think about that when someone offers you gumbo made with file rather than with okra.
Unless I missed it, this tribute to okra overlooked its highest and best use. A proper bloody mary is served with a pickled okra on a wooden skewer. Bacon, olives, celery and other vegetables are optional, but okra is an essential ingredient of a proper bloody mary.
Mr. Bear, I really like your post. It is one of the nice things Mr. Fish post. We get enough slime from political comments so slime from okra is better some days.
It’s so easy to get the slime out, I taught everyone knew!
A couple of years a back, I started precooking my okra for gumbo in the oven. 350 for 30-45 minutes, seasoned with salt, black pepper, Slap Ya Momma and a little oil. All of the slim cooks away during this precook and the flavor remains in my gumbo. If I start this way, by the time I am ready to add it, the okra is cooked the way I like it and ready to add.
I forgot to mention dehydrated okra (dry and crisp). We found it at Fresh Market several ears back and still buy it from time to time. It is a salty, crunchy snack treat. I'm not sure what you might make with it, maybe crumble it and coat stuff with it for frying stuff. I just grab a handful and eat them like chips. It is a little expensive, but a very nice "why did we buy this" purchase.
I had a photo somewhere on my computer but I can't find it.
You can dehydrate it yourself !
Have you ever tried Cowhorn, the plant can grow 10 feet high, you pick it when the fruit is 10-12 inches !
9:11 PM
I am the wrong person to ask about dehydrating anything. The dried okra from Fresh Market is slightly salty and crunchy dry if that helps you. We don't own a dehydrator, so I have zero experience.
I do like dehydrated okra and banana chips though
9:14 That is a variety I am not familiar with.
I’d be happy if the okra bloom was the state flower.
It’s grown in Louiana and Txus
I have found okra growing wild along irrigation ditches in Broommfield, CO, 50 years ago. Roomates and I all rode out from Denver on motorcycles to one of their family farms, late summer, and picked corn, squash and okra. Boiled the corn & okra and baked the squash with butter, salt and pepper, added fresh tomatoes for a memorable dinner.
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