Traditional Fried Green Tomatoes are soaked in buttermilk and fried in cornmeal. Served with a side of homemade remoulade, meet your new favorite recipe!
It took me 35 years and a formal culinary education to finally try Fried Green Tomatoes.
If I’m being honest, my first reaction was… WOW this tastes exactly like a Whopper!
As in a Burger King Whopper. I think it had something to do with the flavor of a warm tomato and the remoulade… I don’t know… but trust me when I say I paid the tomatoes a very high compliment.
Are Fried Green Tomatoes unripe?
The answer is: It depends.
Some heirloom tomatoes are bred to stay green even when they are ripe (just as some are bred to stay yellow or purple or striped). These are the tomatoes we used in school for this recipe, and this is what I recommend to you.
Can you eat unripe tomatoes?
Yes, definitely.
Some green tomatoes are just unripened red tomatoes. Tomatoes are often picked green from the vine and then artificially ripened with ethylene gas. These will technically work for Fried Green Tomatoes but will be very firm and tart. Not necessarily a bad thing.
How to make Fried Green Tomatoes
Start by soaking thick slices of green tomato in buttermilk spiked with spices. Soak them for 5 minutes or 2 hours, whatever you want.
Next, coat the tomato slices in cornmeal and fry in oil. Try not to flip them too much as this can dislodge the cornmeal breading.
And that’s it! Serve with my super-easy remoulade sauce which is kind of like glorified Thousand Island Dressing. Not exactly the same, but similar (if you’re wondering about the flavor profile).
Fried Green Tomatoes with Remoulade Recipe
For the Fried Green Tomatoes:
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 large green tomatoes sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 1 teaspoon Homemade Cajun Seasoning or store-bought, optional
- 3/4 cup corn meal
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil for frying (to 1/4-inch deep)
For the Remoulade:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste or 3 filets minced
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Salt and white pepper to taste
- Tabasco sauce to taste
- Worcestershire sauce to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
To make the Fried Green Tomatoes:
- In a medium bowl, combine buttermilk and cajun seasoning. Add tomato slices and turn until evenly coated. Set aside for 5 minutes to marinate.
- Meanwhile, In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Working with one tomato slice at a time, remove from buttermilk and add to cornmeal, tossing to coat.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry each tomato slice until golden brown on one side, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip each slice and continue frying until second side is golden brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
To make the Remoulade:
- In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, ketchup, lemon juice, mustard, anchovy paste, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and stir until smooth.
- Add salt, pepper, tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce to taste. Stir to combine and garnish with fresh parsley.
It’s hard to find experienced people on this topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
I made your recipe tonight and it was a huge hit with my family. Followed your instructions, marinating the green tomatoes in a buttermilk bath for 2 hours. Simply the best fried green tomatoes and remoulade we’ve ever enjoyed.
Hi Bob, thank you so much!!! I absolutely ADORE this recipe. We made it in culinary school and I liked it so much, I ended up making a variation for one of my final exams. I’m delighted that you liked the recipe too. Makes my day! Take care and thanks again. -Meggan
Uh, where are the eggs in the ingredient list? I assume 2 yolks. How about the olive oil? Did you substitute the mayo in the list for these ingredients?
Hi Jacqui, I’m so sorry and terribly embarrassed. When I first posted this recipe, I had a from-scratch version of remoulade (the one we made in culinary school, with egg yolks), but then I decided that was way too fussy and no one would ever make it. So I swapped it out for a mayonnaise-based version with the same flavors added in. It still tastes great but maybe someone might actually make it?! But regrettably I ONLY updated the ingredients, not the instructions, which leads to your question… what is going on here?! So I fixed the instructions, and I’m sorry, and if for some reason you want the original from-scratch version of remoulade, please let me know. I should probably just post both versions. Thanks and sorry again, I’m horrified at the terrible mistake!
I love fried green tomatoes. Will have to try this out sometime! Thanks for sharing :) Beautiful photos
This is the best recipe for these I’ve ever seen.