Equipment
Ingredients
Sautéed Onions
- 2 sweet onion, sliced thinly
- 15 g unsalted butter
- 15 ml olive oil
- 2 g kosher salt
Tomatoes & Breading
- 3 green tomatoes, unripe, firm
- 90 g all-purpose flour
- 120 ml buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 5 ml hot sauce
- 70 g yellow cornmeal
- 5 g kosher salt
- 2 g black pepper, freshly ground
- 2 g paprika
- 250 ml vegetable oil
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 298 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbohydrates
- 47 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 10 g
- Sodium
- 796 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 3 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 4 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 56 mg
- Potassium
- 497 mg
- Calcium
- 84 mg
- Iron
- 2.2 mg
- Magnesium
- 37 mg
- Phosphorus
- 153 mg
- Zinc
- 0.8 mg
- Vitamin A
- 104 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 36 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.3 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 1.4 mg
- Vitamin K
- 17 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.3 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.2 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.26 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.26 mg
- Niacin
- 2.0 mg
- Folate
- 76 mcg
- Water
- 226 g
Sources: USDA FoodData Central
Method
Cut the sweet onions into thin, even slices on a cutting board using a chef's knife.
Heat the unsalted butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are deeply softened and lightly caramelized. Set aside to keep warm.
Slice the firm green tomatoes horizontally into even 1cm thick rounds. Discard the top and bottom core slices.
Prepare three mixing bowls for a dredging station. In the first bowl, place 60g of all-purpose flour. In the second bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and hot sauce. In the third bowl, combine the cornmeal, remaining 30g of all-purpose flour, kosher salt, black pepper, and paprika.
Working one at a time, dip a tomato slice into the first bowl to coat it lightly in flour, shaking off excess. Next, submerge it into the buttermilk mixture. Finally, press it firmly into the cornmeal mixture so the breading adheres fully.
Place the breaded tomato slices on a wire cooling rack and let them rest. This allows the cornmeal crust to hydrate and stick better during frying.
Pour the vegetable oil into a cast iron skillet so it reaches a depth of about 1cm. Heat the oil to 175°C (350°F) over medium-high heat.
Carefully lower the tomato slices into the hot oil using tongs, working in batches to avoid crowding the pan. Fry until the bottom is deeply golden and crispy, then flip and fry the other side.
Remove the fried tomatoes from the oil and transfer them to a clean wire cooling rack set over a baking sheet to allow excess oil to drip away. Lightly sprinkle with a pinch of extra salt while still hot.
Arrange the warm fried green tomatoes on a serving platter and top evenly with the warm, sweet sautéed onions.
Chef's Notes
- Green tomatoes are entirely unripe tomatoes, not just a green heirloom variety. They should feel very firm to the touch with no give, providing the sharp acidity necessary for this dish.
- A heavy cast iron skillet is highly recommended for frying. It retains heat beautifully and minimizes the temperature drop when cold, wet tomatoes are added.
- Resting the breaded tomatoes is a crucial step for a professional finish. The flour on the base layer absorbs moisture from the tomato, creating a glue that holds the heavier cornmeal crust in place.
- If your buttermilk mixture becomes too clumpy from trailing flour into the bowl, whisk in an extra splash of plain buttermilk or milk to smooth it out between batches.
- For an extra layer of flavor, try rendering a few strips of bacon in your skillet and using a mixture of bacon fat and vegetable oil to fry the tomatoes.
Storage
Refrigerator: 2 days — Breading will lose crispness in the refrigerator.
Reheating: Reheat in a 200°C (400°F) oven or air fryer for 5-8 minutes until crisp.
Troubleshooting
Breading falls off in the frying pan
Cause: The breading was not pressed firmly enough, or the tomatoes did not rest before frying.
Fix: Cannot be fixed once in the oil, but resting the remaining un-fried batches will resolve the issue.
Prevention: Allow the breaded tomatoes to rest on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes prior to hitting the hot oil.
Tomatoes are soggy and greasy
Cause: The frying oil was too cool, causing the cornmeal crust to absorb oil rather than frying instantly.
Fix: Re-crisp in a hot oven or air fryer if the crust is saturated.
Prevention: Ensure the oil reaches exactly 175°C (350°F) before adding the tomatoes, and do not crowd the pan.
Tomatoes turned completely mushy inside
Cause: Tomatoes were either starting to ripen or were cut too thinly.
Fix: Cannot be fixed
Prevention: Select only very firm, fully green, unripe tomatoes and slice them a full centimeter thick.
Cultural Context
Fried green tomatoes became a celebrated emblem of Southern United States cuisine, gaining massive popularity following the 1987 novel and subsequent film 'Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe'. Originally, the dish evolved out of necessity as farmers and home cooks sought a way to utilize unripe fruit at the end of the growing season before the first frost ruined the crop. The tart, sturdy nature of the unripened tomatoes proved perfectly suited to withstand the harsh heat of a skillet while balancing a rich, fatty cornmeal crust.
