I had six varieties of tomatoes this year. One grafted plant
bore Brandywines and a large, fat Roma type that did OK, although they quickly
outgrew even their oversized pot. A Big Beef did not do so well, and the Early
Girl was anything but. Most outstanding
were a Celebrity salad type, and some red pear tomatoes. Some of these crawled
in to each other’s caged spaces to create a lively mixed-fruit canopy overhead.
But all good things come to an end. I just relented and
wrapped the last of the tomatoes to bring in for storage. But before that, of
course, I indulged in another round of fried green tomatoes. (Not the first
this season, and possibly not the last if some of the wrapped orbs stay green
for while yet.
You can invent or try infinite variations of this dish.
Everyone has a favorite. Some like a thicker, crunchy coating and use an
eggwash or egg and milk dip, seasoned flour dip, and breadcrumb and cornmeal
dip. I prefer to keep the coating very light, for more tomato and less floury
flavor not to mention less fat retention. And speaking of fat, for me a fried
green tomato is not complete without bacon!
Fried Green Tomatoes With Bacon
Ingredients: Green tomatoes
Bacon
Tajin (a condiment consisting of dehydrated red peppers
and citrus juice
Corn starch
Masa Harina (corn meal intended for making tortillas,
very fine ground)
Finishing salt, preferably smoked
Fry some good smoked bacon until crisp, remove to paper
towels to drain. A cast iron pan is best for this dish, or a heavy skillet.
Meanwhile, Select large green tomatoes without bruises
Cut off blossom and stem ends and core tomatoes
Slice across into about ½ inch pieces. (A little less if
very green, about ½ inch if slightly ripened
Lay out slices and sprinkle lightly with salt. Let some
of the tomato juices come up.
Mix some cornstarch and masa harina, about 1/3 corn
starch to 2/3 masa. Add a pinch of Taijin. If you don’t have Taijin, add some
red pepper mix such as Cajun, and sprinkle the tomatoes with lime juice. I like
to make this mixture on a piece of waxed paper, so you can bring it together to
cover the tomatoes and keep the four mix centered.
The point of frying the bacon is to cook your tomatoes in
the rendered fat. (If you can’t handle that, use vegetable oil or non-hydrogenated
shortening.) You can pour off some of the bacon fat if you cooked a lot of
bacon, but reserve it in case you need to add it to the skillet as you fry the
tomato slices. You want a good heavy coating of fat in the pan.
Dip the tomato slices into the dry mixture, lightly
coating both sides. Shake off any excess. Fry one piece and taste so that you
can adjust red pepper seasoning if desired. PWhen you're happy with the seasoning, proceed to dip the other slices. Set them on some toweling to dry a
bit.
Reduce the heat to medium and place slices in pan with
some space between them. Turn over just as they turn golden. Don’t over-cook or
the tomatoes will get sludgy. Place on
paper toweling to drain until all slices are cooked.
Finish with seasoned salt – applewood smoked salt is
superb for this.
If desired, you can use some of the leftover bacon fat to
make a mustard gravy, good with the tomatoes. Just brown some flour in a little
of the bacon grease, add some water and some mustard (your choice but avoid sweetened
or overly flavored varieties) to taste, and stir to thicken slightly. Pour some
on a plate and arrange your tomatoes on top and drizzle a little bit over the
tomato slices.
Serve with the crispy bacon, either in slices or crumbled
over the tomatoes, or make hot spinach and bacon salad to accompany your
tomatoes.
