Nana Kinney’s Fried Green Tomatoes – Classic Style
At the end of summer, we were left with green tomatoes unripened on the vine. Nana Kinney used to gather them up, slice them, dip them in batter and fry them up in a pan. These, along with her fried chicken, were the dishes I remember.
When digging through my mom’s old recipe cards, I came across this recipe, written in Nana’s old-style script, for fried green tomatoes. She didn’t say what she fried them up in, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to say bacon fat or lard. She never cottoned to vegetable oil or Crisco. You be the judge!
Ingredients
- Green Tomatoes (1 pound or, as Nana said – a passel)
- 1 ½ Cups Flour
- 1 ½ Cups Cornmeal (coarse ground)
- 4 Eggs (beaten with a Tbs milk)
- Salt and Pepper
Directions
Thick slice the tomatoes (¼ – ½ inch thick). Salt and pepper the slices and let sit.
Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, beat the eggs with the milk). Set aside. Then put flour in one bowl and the corn meal in another. One at a time, dredge the tomatoes, first in the flour, then in the eggs, and finally in the cornmeal. Place the tomatoes on the parchment lined sheet.
In a cast iron (or stick free) skillet, heat lard (or bacon grease) until hot (not smoking). Fry the tomatoes in small batches until brown – about 2-3 minutes per side). Remove to a paper towel lined pan to drain and cool.
