I have my own recipe, and they turn out perfect every time.
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slice tomatoes, place on a wire rack, sprinkle each side lightly with salt - this pulls the juices
In a plastic bag, combine equal amts of flour and cornmeal
Shake individual slices in bag, return to rack
Place in refrig for a while
When your grease is good and hot, retoss tomatoes in the cornmeal/flour, mixture and add to grease.

Fry, turning a couple times, to get good and crisp.

IMPORTANT: When removing them, place on a paper towel, to drain, and then onto a plate. Don't let them sit on the paper towel long.

That's just my way, I'm sure others have theirs.
My family always stands around while I am frying waiting for the first ones to comes out of the skillet.

I slice them about less than 1/4 inch thick....dredge with lightly salted flour and fry....preferably in bacon grease....but oil is OK....and butter wonderful as well.
Pepper, and eat with white bread and butter.
If there is just the slightest hint of pink, this won't work!....they taste odd!
Linda C

I slice mine about 1/4". In a pie plate-I place either regular flour or pancake mix, seasoned with salt & pepper.Mix well.In another pie plate-I beat up an egg and add 2Tbs water to it & mix. In a large frying pan-I melt both Oil & some butter. Once hot-add the tomatoes which have first been dipped in the egg mixture, then into the flour mixture-coating both sides. Fry on medium low until they feel tender when poked with a fork. Drain on paper towels & eat till gone!!

I do mine just like LindaC and they have to be fried until the coating is crunchy, with lots of salt and freshly ground pepper.

Anne

This is something I've never tried, or even seen. I must get round to it one day. I suppose it's just a vege accompaniment for meats?

Here's another version:

Fried Green Tomatoes
3 very green tomatoes, thickly sliced
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
2 cups breadcrumbs
flour
poppy seeds
2 teaspoons basil seeds

Dip tomato slices into beaten egg. Combine remaining ingredients and use to coat the tomato slices. If liked, dip into egg and crumb mixture a second time. Quickly fry coated tomato in heated butter until brown. Serve with Aioli if desired.

Aioli
2 egg yolks
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup oil
3 teaspoons lemon juice
salt and pepper

Beat egg yolks with the garlic, add oil, drop by drop, beating well all the time. When half the oil has been used, add half the lemon juice then beat in remaining oil, drop by drop. Season with salt and pepper and add remaining lemon juice.

Daisy, I grew up thinking fried green tomatoes were a breakfast food.

Grandpa loved them with bacon and eggs for breakfast and would eat them as often as he could talk Grandma Myrtle into frying them.

Annie

I slice my green tomatoes a little thinner than 1/4 inch. I salt and pepper them and let sit a few minutes. Then I dip in a mixture of beaten egg with a teaspoon or two of water, then into cornmeal mixture. I fry them until crisp in hot bacon grease or oil. I don't add any flour to my batter.

The parmesan and poppy seeds sound interesting. I've never heard of basil seed.

Beverley, basil grows from seed, you know. I must say, this is the only recipe I've seen using the seeds, though. Use the leaves instead if you can't collect your own seeds.

Oh, that kind of basil seed. Who would have thunk it!

OK, I know that you asked about fried green tomatoes which are very good. However, it reminded me of when I was young and everyone I knew lived in the country and had big gardens.

Well, just how many cucumbers can you eat and/or pickle? So we used to take the smaller to medium sized cucumbers and slice them lengthwise. Then dip them in a seasoned flour mixture and fry them up in bacon fat. They were soooooo good.

Fried summer squash is good, as well!!

Fried summer squash sounds good. I'll have to try it.

Don't forget fried okra. I dip mine in egg and fry in Nabisco
cracker meal. Not gritty like cornmeal. Same way I fry oysters.

I've never heard of fried cucumbers however there are some who fry dill pickles.

I fry summer squash weekly in the spring and summer. I slice it, salt both sides and let it sit to draw out the water, then batter it with cornmeal and fry in a little oil. Ummmm, delicious! I love fried okra too.

Now there's two ways to fry okra.
Country style, and crispy!!
I prefer crispy!!

I fry my green tomatoes like Beverly does, except coat them, then put them in the refrig, and then recoat right before frying.

If you are trying to cut down on fat, I dip yellow squash slices in beaten eggs, then in seasoned 1/2 and 1/2 cornmeal and flour. Put on a sprayed baking sheet and bake at 400° for 10-15 minutes. They will be crispy and I like to dip them in Ranch Dressing. We grow our own yellow squash and I get my husband to let the yellow squash get pretty big and this works great with that size squash.

Thanks, Roselin, that's a good idea. I don't care for okra but I love fried green tomatoes and I fry zucchini and the yellow crooknecks in a similar way. The oven method would be faster and less greasy, I'll try it.

Annie

I'm going to try that method Roselin. I don't use much grease when I fry, but it's still messy and the squash soaks it all up. Do you dip in Ranch Dressing before you cook or when you are eating them?

Dip in the Ranch dressing after you cook them.

Try using Zateran's spicy mix for frying seafood. It makes the BEST fried green tomatoes I have ever tasted.

If you do the two step method, you don't have soggy fried tomatoes.

Salt, to draw the juices on both sides, shake with flour/cornmeal, place on rack and in refrig for a while.

Then reshake in flour/cornmeal right before frying. Do not let tomato sit on paper towel.

When done, drain, QUICKLY on a paper towel, turn put on plate.

Well folks. I finally tried Fried Green Tomatoes.

I think perhaps a Southern Drawl may be a prerequisite?

OK, Daisy, so what did you think? They are crunchy, salty, sour. I love 'em, but many people don't.

How about you?

Annie

Yes, indeed Fried Green Tomatoes are often served @breakfast or brunch,especially in Louisiana. Most of the other recipes here all work fine, too. But here's my recipe with a slight Cajun twist. Takes a bit more time but worth it,I think. Slice tomatoes & place in a glass shallow dish.
Cover with a mixture of buttermilk or milk with a TLBS. of vinegar, one egg, seasoned or plain salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper and several dashes of TABASCO. Don't worry; the TABASCO will NOT make the tomatoes hot or too spicey; it just adds a, "zing," that some will wonder about. Soak tomatoes in mixture for at least one hr. Adding a bit of stale beer to the mixture helps set-up the tomatoes for a more crispy/yeasty texture when added to the coating. I usually use a plastic or brown paper bag for my coating. For the coating, mix equal parts flour, corn meal & dry bread crumbs and add a bit more salt and pepper. Place the pre-soaked tomatoes to the coating and cover them well with it. Now, here's where I go one step further. I return the coated tomatoes to the milk mixture and then back into the flour/cornmeal coating. Fry in an iron skillet, if possible, with at least one inch of both bacon drippings and vegetable oil. Peanut oil works well, too. Do not use Olive oil! Fry at a fairly high temp. but not too high so that you end-up with a fried outside but a hard tomatoe. Best served soon after. I sometimes make a dipping sauce of melted VELVEETA ( I hate it; but it works best), a bit of Thousand Island salad dressing, sour cream and just a touch of horseradish. I also fry onions along with my tomatoes on ocassion. Try it and taste for yourself. Let me know how it turned out for you even if you did not like them, let me know that, too and tell me how it might be improved.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Source: Fannie Flagg "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe"
I hadn't had fried green tomatoes since I moved out of Georgia in the 70s, but the play and book reminded me how good they were and now I enjoy them every summer.

1 medium green tomato per person
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 cup cornmeal
Bacon drippings (or vegetable oil)

Select a very green tomato and slice about 1/4" thick. Season with salt and pepper and coat both sides with cornmeal. Shake off excess. Cornmeal stays on better if the slices are allowed to rest for a few minutes after coating.
In a large heavy skillet, heat enough bacon drippings to coat the bottom of the pan and fry tomato slices until lightly browned on both sides.
NOTE: Some recipes call for flour, eggs or breadcrumbs, but this is the way we cooked them when I was growing up. Be sure the tomatoes are really green. Even a bit of color or softness won't do.

This is how we always make them at my house in Georgia. Pretty much the same as the others but a little different.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Fried Green Tomatoes *

Recipe By : Reuben Ware
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:30
Categories : Appetizers Vegetables

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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4 large green tomatoes -- sliced 1/4" thick
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 1/2 cups milk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 dash paprika

Preheat deep fryer to 350 degrees. In small bowl, set aside 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour. In medium bowl, mix milk and eggs to create an egg wash. In large bowl, combine remaining flour, cornmeal and salt. Add celery salt, cayenne, pepper, onion powder, and paprika. This is the cornmeal breading mixture for the tomatoes.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper to place the breaded tomatoes on after final dredging. Begin the dipping process by dredging the tomatoes in the all-purpose flour, then the egg wash, and finally through the cornmeal breading mixture. Repeat this process until all the tomatoes are breaded. Once the oil has reached 350 degrees F, begin frying until golden brown. Tomatoes will float to the top when finished cooking. Drain on paper towels.

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I like to dip the sliced tomatoes in an egg and milk mixture. Then coat with seasoned bread crumbs. Fry in a black skillet with butter. This works well for squash, zucchini, and eggplant as well.

I love green fried tomatoes. I was so happy to read all your different ways to fry the tomatoes. I fried about 15 green tomatoes the other day. I had 6 people for dinner and all wanting green fried tomatoes. I fried mine simular to most of you. Everyone loved them. One tomatoe is not enough for each person if that is all you are serving. We like butter bread with ours too....smile!
Since reading all these I am having some tonight. Might try a some different way as some of you do...smile!
God Bless and have a great evening!
Betty in Florida