I am from the South but I didn’t grow up with southern cooking, as my parents were from Chicago.

When I moved to my high school home area, it was country, and I mean COUNTRY.  This same area now is one of the most affluent areas in Georgia but at the time, it was just country.  I lived on a 40 acre horse/cow farm, but remember, my parents were from the north and lived in the city.

We had our first garden, but no okra was involved.  I don’t even think I had ever tasted Okra before.

Now, on the other hand, my husband  was raised by two wonderful, very southern people.  She cooked meals such as cornbread, beans, fried okra, with tomatoes and onion slices. No meat! I never heard of that, but now I understand.

I know anything fried is good but believe me when I say if you cook Okra the right way, it is delicious.  I don’t like fried okra from restaurants because it is usually just frozen okra with heavy breading. The key to cooking good crisp okra is using very hot oil and cooking it pretty quickly. I love using my Cast Iron Skillet but you don’t have to.

My family counts on Fried Okra at Thanksgiving, and other holidays so we grow Okra and I prepare it and freeze it so that we can enjoy it year round.

I’m almost embarrassed to even put this recipe on here because it is so easy, but my daughters swear by my Okra so I want you to make it right too.

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Fried Okra

Course Side Dish
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 5
Author Gayle

Ingredients

  • Okra
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk enough to wet all okra
  • 1 cup corn meal mix
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 pinch pepper
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil I pour into skillet until bottom of pan is covered

Instructions

  1. Cut the top of the okra piece off and then just slice the okra until you reach near the bottom into bite size pieces

  3. Pour buttermilk over cut okra, just enough to wet good so flour mixture will stick

  4. I use this kind of corn meal mix mostly

  5. Pour cornmeal then flour over okra and mix well

  6. This is finished product if you are not freezing it.

  7. If you are freezing, take lightly cooked okra, cool and put into ziplock bag. When you are ready to use it just unfreeze, lay out on cookie sheet and cook in 350 degree oven until brown and crispy. Stir a couple of times.