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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 12, 2018 11:18:36 GMT -5
So the thread about Little Lucy okra got me to missing okra. It also got me to thinking about ways to cook okra for those who have never tried it, or are looking to branch out. In that thread, brownrexx said that she and her hubby had tried grilling the okra whole on the grill, and sauteing it in olive oil, and that they had liked it both ways. Those are both good introductions to okra. For those who like Indian food/spices, there are a lot of sauteed okra dishes with Indian spices that are really good, too. The spice coating and cooking method get rid of the slimy texture. Of course okra is famously used in gumbo, in which the okra juices thicken the broth without creating a slimy texture. Brownrexx said that she thought the big gray seeds did not look appealing in a soup, and I can understand that, but actually the okra seeds have a nice texture once cooked. The classic Southern way to fix okra is to bread and fry it. Done properly, it's delicious, but it's not health food by any stretch of the imagination. Now I confess that I am a hardcore okra fan - I even like it boiled. (Mom used to put whole okra in with the field peas during the last half-hour of cooking.) We'd eat the peas and okra with some fresh sliced tomato on the side. Yum! But the texture of whole boiled okra is definitely off-putting to most people who didn't grow up eating it that way. Actually, even a lot of Southerners are grossed out by boiled whole okra - it is mushy and very slimy. But in my book, people who eat raw oysters have no business complaining about boiled okra. Another classic Southern favorite is okra with tomatoes (with or without corn). The acidity from the tomatoes breaks down the slime. It's very good over rice, or can be used in gumbos and other soups. It's always best homemade, of course, but here in the South you can actually buy it canned: smile.amazon.com/Margaret-Holmes-Tomatoes-Okra-14-5oz/dp/B007Y5EE4W/ref=sr_1_13_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1515773056&sr=8-13&keywords=okra+canned (Note: it's much cheaper in the stores than over Amazon). And who can forget pickled okra! No slime again because of the acidity, only a nice crunch. You can make (or buy) your pickled okra hot, or not. I had always believed that okra had to be cooked; I never saw or heard anyone talk about eating it raw until I read on a garden forum last year about eating okra straight off the plant. So last year I tried it. Sure enough, it was really good (eating the small tender pods only, of course). It had a nice crunch and was a little sweeter raw. But it does have a bit of the slimy texture. But if you can't stand any hint of the slime, raw might not be your best bet. So...what is your favorite way to eat okra? One of the above, or something else?
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 12, 2018 11:46:40 GMT -5
Fried is mostest, bestest way. However, I like it all different ways.
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on Jan 12, 2018 11:59:06 GMT -5
Gumbo or boiled in tomatoes by preference. I saw somewhere where somebody split it lengthwise, stuffed it with cheese, and wrapped it in bacon before grilling it like a jalapeño popper. I suppose that there was some spice added but I would have to search my back issues of Chile Pepper magazine. I would like to try some Indian dishes with it in a restaurant before trying to cook it myself. I helps to know the goal.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 12, 2018 12:14:23 GMT -5
Knowing the goal? Why that takes all of the fun out of trying a new recipe!
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 12, 2018 12:44:05 GMT -5
Justin Wilson had a way of removing the slime, but I can't remember it now. Knowing him, it had something to do with wine.
His motto: A day without wine is like a day without sunshine
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aqua
Pro Member
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Zone:: 8b9a
Favorite Vegetable:: all of them
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Post by aqua on Jan 12, 2018 13:03:35 GMT -5
I like it raw, just a little dip in salt. Raw, outside, barefoot. Yes.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 12, 2018 13:05:18 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL You touched on most of the ways I could think of to use okra, including what I use it in the most - Indian cooking. But another favorite of mine you didn't mention: Thai Curry. Okra is great added to Thai Curries, esp. green curries. But then, I've never made a Thai curry that I didn't like!
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poppopt
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Post by poppopt on Jan 12, 2018 14:35:12 GMT -5
Fried. My wife likes to cut it up and put it in a ziplock bag along with a little flour, a little salt, and maybe a few other seasonings, shake it all up, and then just dump it to fry in a greased cast iron frying pan. It's not even slightly slimy. It's pretty good eats. Gettin' a hankerin' for some just talkin' about it.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 12, 2018 15:14:50 GMT -5
Fried. My wife likes to cut it up and put it in a ziplock bag along with a little flour, a little salt, and maybe a few other seasonings, shake it all up, and then just dump it to fry in a greased cast iron frying pan. It's not even slightly slimy. It's pretty good eats. Gettin' a hankerin' for some just talkin' about it. Yes Sir! Exactly the way we do it. I also prefer fresh to frozen. Some say they can't tell a difference with frozen vegetables, but I can. Frozen veggies have a twang that hard to describe, still edible, but not good as fresh
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Post by brownrexx on Jan 13, 2018 8:50:09 GMT -5
You guys have given me some good ideas to try. I am definitely growing okra again this year. I really did like it on the grill. Just coat the pods with olive oil and then grill. They were very good. I used small pods. Hubby liked them raw right off of the plant too. I didn't try that myself. I like the idea of cooking them with tomatoes and I will try that. Laura_in_FL, I don't eat raw oysters and I don't think that I would like boiled okra either. The description of slimy and mushy does not exactly appeal to me. Crispy sounds a lot better! Ha, ha.
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Post by ragungardener on Jan 13, 2018 8:56:38 GMT -5
Being from Cajun Country we eat it fried, boiled and smothered. We don't just cut okra for a gumbo, that would be slimy so we smother it down sometimes with tomato paste and onions. It's usually frozen in individual bags and ready to go when we make gumbo or it's awesome as a side dish. We also use that smothered okra as a main dish with fresh shrimp added to it and cooked a little to make thick gravy served of rice. Even just the plain smothered okra over fresh hot rice is good. Smothering okra takes a lot of stirring on the stovetop to avoid burning so I use my big Magnalite roaster, fill it with 6 gallons of sliced okra and bake it @375° for about 3 hours stirring it every 1/2 hour then I turn off the oven and just let it cool on the oven for another few hours and finally put it into ziplocks when it's cool enough to handle. Six 1 gallon ziplocks of sliced okra will make about 14 quart bags for the freezer. You can also use this okra to make an okra gumbo without the roux.
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Post by spike on Jan 13, 2018 9:05:54 GMT -5
THIS: Not a fan.
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Post by Hensaplenty on Jan 13, 2018 9:53:57 GMT -5
I add it to home made soups and also like it roasted. Slice it (or keep it whole) and toss with salt, pepper, and olive oil, and bake on a parchment paper lined jelly pan at 375-400 degrees until done and browned a little. All roasted vegetables are great to me. (Love to mix many kinds at once!)
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 13, 2018 10:29:55 GMT -5
THIS: Not a fan. Would you eat it on a train? Would you eat it in the rain? Would you eat it here or there? Would you eat it anywhere?
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whistech
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Post by whistech on Jan 13, 2018 12:00:21 GMT -5
I love okra any way it is cooked and I believe I have ate it every way mentioned here. Can't wait until it starts producing this year.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 13, 2018 13:24:57 GMT -5
...smothered okra...You can also use this okra to make an okra gumbo without the roux. That is very good to know. The thickening provided by a roux is hard to replace when you're on a keto or other very low carb diet, where flour is to be avoided. There are other low carb thickeners, but the okra method would be a lot more flavorful for something like a gumbo-inspired soup. Of course, it wouldn't be authentic without the corn and rice, but it could still hit a lot of the same flavor notes with the spices, veggies, sausage, and shrimp.
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Post by ragungardener on Jan 13, 2018 13:28:09 GMT -5
Take a look at this okra plant, it's a cowhorn.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 13, 2018 13:31:15 GMT -5
That's an okra TREE. What spacing you use for planting your okra?
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poppopt
Junior Member
Posts: 89
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Post by poppopt on Jan 13, 2018 13:36:19 GMT -5
Who'd a thunk it?!! You can grow a patch of okra and then at the end of the season, cut up the ol' stalks for firewood!
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Post by ragungardener on Jan 13, 2018 13:47:05 GMT -5
Those were planted at 6' apart and it allowed the side shoots to grow if you have the room. Most okra will branch out if they have sunlight at the bottom of the plant. !8" is also good for row cropping, it still allows some light in and you should get some side shoots to start producing.
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Post by Gianna on Jan 13, 2018 14:25:00 GMT -5
All roasted vegetables are great to me. (Love to mix many kinds at once!)
Ooooo... Me too. Havent done it awhile, but I like to lightly toss in olive oil lots of veggies together, spread them in a roasting pan, sprinkle with herbs, then roast till golden. Magical.
A nice mix to me would be asparagus, onions, green beans, carrots, zucchini, potatoes... Not many brassicas since they tend to have dominant flavors. Oh, and since this a thread about Okra, you could toss a few of those in too. Maybe.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 30, 2018 20:00:34 GMT -5
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Post by bestofour on Jan 30, 2018 21:39:58 GMT -5
I like okra fried but I don't put any thing on it - no cornmeal or flour - just slice it and drop it in hot oil. Delicious. Also like it roasted or grilled. Never tried it raw but I will this year.
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on Jan 30, 2018 23:24:21 GMT -5
Pickled is good. Just replace cucumbers in a dill pickle recipe.
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Post by brownrexx on Jan 31, 2018 9:38:56 GMT -5
It's cornmeal mush made with Okra. C'mon, try it! You know you'll like it. LAUGHING!!!!! I would try it but it sounds kind of mushy to me. I think that I will probably like grilled, roasted or fried better. I really don't like very many mushy vegetables.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 31, 2018 9:47:27 GMT -5
brownrexx, My Uncle used to make cornmeal mush for our breakfast. You can doctor it up with butter and sugar. I used to put butter and honey in mine. Sort of a poor man's way of making "cream of wheat." It's ok. It wouldn't be my go to breakfast less I was hungry
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Post by brownrexx on Jan 31, 2018 9:50:36 GMT -5
hairymooseknuckles, I actually like cream of wheat but I don't think that I want to add okra to it!
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 31, 2018 10:04:57 GMT -5
hairymooseknuckles , I actually like cream of wheat but I don't think that I want to add okra to it! Me either. I'm gonna have to take a pass. As as my Mamma would say..."I'd just soon lay down and let the sun shine in my mouth."
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 31, 2018 10:11:55 GMT -5
Down here, cheese grits is a popular side dish with fried fish. Fried okra is another common side dish with fried fish.
So if you added some cheese to the Cou Cou, and served it with a nice piece of fried fish, it would probably go over pretty well down here. I can imagine the taste testers now:
"You put the okra in the cheese grits? Huh." (chews) "Well, that ain't half bad."
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Post by brownrexx on Jan 31, 2018 10:47:51 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL , aqua, hubby and I are thinking of a short trip to FL in the next couple of months. I may need to check out a few foods that I am not familiar with "up here". I want to visit the Everglades and probably a beach. Any advice on when the weather will be nice and warm but not hot and buggy? I really have not looked into anything yet. I visited the Everglades about 30 years ago and loved it but I don't remember the time period. Hubby has never been to FL.
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