Fried Okra

So for Eric's birthday his Dad took us all out to lunch and Eric picked Golden Corral, because ... he LOVES the fried okra there (it's a "southern" thing) when we got there they didn't even have any; however Eric asked a cook & they special order made him some. Well being the good (trophy) wife that I am (hehe! ... Well and my friend Sarah gave me this recipe) I thought I would make my hubby some homemade okra tonight. I told Eric and he said that he didn't think I could make it as good as Golden Corral does, so it was a challenge ... it was on! Eric said that Golden Corral okra is a "10" and mine is a "9" so I guess I did pretty well :D

Make four servings


Ingredients:
4 cups fresh okra, cut into 1/2-inch rounds, stems & ends discarded
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper


Directions:
1. Fill a small sauce pot 2/3 full of oil. Do not exceed 2/3 or oil will bubble over during frying. Heat oil over medium high heat. Using a fry/candy thermometer, heat oil to 385ºF.

2. Wash and cut up okra put in a large mixing bowl.

3. In a small bowl beat egg with milk. Pour over the cut okra and toss until the okra is well coated.

4. In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, salt and pepper. Add in the wet okra (try not to add in the extra egg/milk coating), and toss until the okra well coated with the dry mix. Set aside.

5. Use a large slotted spoon (NOT PLASTIC - I did and it melted!) to safely add coated okra down into the hot oil. Fry up from 1 to 2-minutes, until light to golden brown. Scoop out okra with a slotted spoon, drain on a plate lined with a paper towel.