
I love okra
In all of its mucilaginous glory
Okra. Gumbo. Whatever you want to call it
That seed pod fruit of the plant related to the hibiscus and mallow family of plants
Abelmoschus esculenus
Father of mallows, edible for men
Literal translation of the Latin name
Don’t know who came up with that, but it does make sense
Where is it from?
I don’t know. I don’t care
Does it even matter if it’s from Ethiopia? West Africa? Asia?
Nope
Not to me
I buy mine at the downtown or Mount Pleasant farmers’ markets. I’ve been known to throw an elbow at a matron or two fighting for the smaller pods. (See below)
For supper on a recent Sunday after a day of eating, I fried up a mess of gumbo. In deep fat. Stunk up the kitchen, but, oh, Lawd, it was worth it
Served it with some ketchup, some hot sauce, some ranch dressing
We gobbled it down
No other dish on our little bread plates
Here’s the receipt. Have no fear of frying, but do wear an apron as the grease splatters. And, do use a deep pot/Dutch oven. And, do use a candy/frying thermometer

Fried Okra
A mess of small okra (1-2 lbs). I don’t buy pods bigger than a little finger as they are too fibrous otherwise
Buttermilk – 2 cups worth
Hot sauce
Cornmeal – 1 cup
Seafood breader – I use House Autry – and trust me on this – use the seafood breader – 1 cup
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper
Crisco – either the oil or the solid. About 3 cups worth
Candy thermometer
Newspapers and brown paper bags
About 45 minutes before serving, cut okra into one inch pieces, removing the cap and the tip
Place sliced okra into a bowl and cover with buttermilk and give a few dashes of hot sauce, some salt, some pepper
Meanwhile, heat oven to 250 degrees and line a cookie sheet with newspaper and top with a brown paper bag or two
In a bowl, combine the cornmeal and seafood breader
After the okra has soaked for 15 minutes, begin to heat oil/crisco/fat slowly over medium heat
Using the candy thermometer, measure the temperature of the oil/crisco/fat. It needs to be at 350 degrees.
After the okra has soaked in the buttermilk for 30 minutes, coat in the bowl with the meal and breading. Dredge it well
Once the oil reaches 350, fry the okra in batches. I add the okra by hand, and I do a good handful at a time – about a cup – and fry for five minutes or until golden brown. You may get a few grease pops, but you’re a strong, fighter type. I know it. Stir it once or twice while it’s frying.
Watch the heat in the pot as you don’t want it too cold. The temperature drops with each batch of okra. Also, don’t want the heat to get over 375 or the okra will scorch
Once the first batch is done, transfer those golden nuggets to the brown paper bag lined cookie tray and place in the oven. I use a long handled slotted spoon. One of those mesh fry rigs used on the cooking channels would be great for removing the hot okra from the pot
The okra will hold while each batch fries
You can’t mess it up if your oil is hot and you have no fear
No fear of frying. No fear of making a mess. No fear of stinking up the kitchen
Before serving, sprinkle the hot okra with a little sea salt or Kosher salt
Don’t worry about leftovers. There won’t be any

Well now, that is a truly divine sharing. Love love. Thank you so much…fry em , steam or grill..you just gotta eat em. 👏💥👍
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Just come on over and cook for us. Sounds divine.
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