# Grits was good - now on to fried okra **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 20, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163 "2004-09-20T18:23:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/21 "2004-09-21T17:26:50Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > Oh HELL no. Do not under any circumstances batter okra. That is an unforgiveable sin. It almost completely masks the flavor. Wouldn’t that be the point? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/22 "2004-09-21T17:49:20Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Wouldn’t that be the point? Bah. You’re from Pennsylvania. What would you know about flavor? You people eat scrapple. 😉 If you don’t like the flavor of okra, maybe you shouldn’t be in this thread? ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/23 "2004-09-21T17:51:20Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > I will second the recommendation of pickled okra. > > I never tried okra pickles until adulthood. Nobody I knew in north Georgia made them. (Is there a region where these are standard fare?) I’d say either the lowcuntry-especially-near-Charleston, SC area or Southern Louisiana. That’s where I’ve seen pickled, fried and gumbo okra the most. Somebody needs to start one of these threads for Boiled Peanuts. Yes, fresh ones’re out of season by now, but there are some frozen and canned varieties that are just ding-danged delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/24 "2004-09-21T17:55:17Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > Bah. You’re from Pennsylvania. What would you know about flavor? You people eat scrapple. 😉 Not all of us. Eech, that stuff isn’t even quality enough to make it in to a hot dog 😉 . This Pennsylvanian was lucky enough to have been born with Louisiana taste buds. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/25 "2004-09-21T18:16:14Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > I’d say either the lowcuntry-especially-near-Charleston, SC area or Southern Louisiana. That’s where I’ve seen pickled, fried and gumbo okra the most. > > Somebody needs to start one of these threads for Boiled Peanuts. Yes, fresh ones’re out of season by now, but there are some frozen and canned varieties that are just ding-danged delicious. You just **had** to mention boiled peanuts didn’t ya **Askia**? You just couldn’t let well enough alone. Oh no! **You** had to bring up boiled peanuts. Now, I will be forced to stop by my favorite local store that makes fresh boiled peanuts everyday on my way home and buy some. All I got to say to you is lucky for you there’s cold beer in my beerator. 😃 Hot boiled peanuts and cold beer. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM And I still want me some fried okra too! ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/26 "2004-09-21T19:44:53Z")
You sure you want a recipe for Dirty Rice? Real cajun Dirty Rice?? OK You asked for it… Per my mama: > [@](#): > > Take your left over white rice (about 4 cups) and set aside. Finely chop about a pound and a half of chicken livers\*. (You can use gizzards too but they can be gritty) In a skillet, get a little oil hot and add your chopped liver. Stir until it begins to brown. Add 4 smashed garlic cloves, 1 cup chopped onions, 1 cup chopped celery, and 1 cup chopped green peppers. Stir until the onions begin to brown. Add 2 cups sliced mushrooms. Turn heat to low. Add salt, parsley, sage, thyme, and cayenne pepper to taste. Stir in rice, put on the lid and turn off the heat. Serve in 15 minutes when the flavors have blended. \*You should soak the bitter out of the livers in cold salt water for an hour before removing the gristle and chopping. Or you could substitute 3/4 pound hamburger and 3/4 pound sausage like all good children do. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/27 "2004-09-21T19:48:48Z")
Once on a radio call-in show about “Your least favorite food,” I heard a woman name “slimy okra” – but she had a method to get the slime off before cooking. I forget the details (this was in the late '70s) – I think it involved soaking the okra in water and milk. Does anybody know more? ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/28 "2004-09-21T20:01:27Z")
> [@DeVena](#): > > You sure you want a recipe for Dirty Rice? Real cajun Dirty Rice?? > > OK You asked for it… Per my mama: > > \*You should soak the bitter out of the livers in cold salt water for an hour before removing the gristle and chopping. Or you could substitute 3/4 pound hamburger and 3/4 pound sausage like all good children do. I. LOVE. YOUR. MAMA!!! (and you, too 😉 ) Thank you both so much. This looks as close as I’ve seen to what my grandmother used to make. I’m beginning to think I was imagining the eggplant 😕 . I’ll be substituting out the liver, I think. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/29 "2004-09-21T20:40:39Z")
Despite my settling in Connecticut, I was born and raised in Texas, and lived two years in Tennessee. And I’m here to tell you: I’ll eat just about anything except okra. It’s one of the few vegetables that contains mucus. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/30 "2004-09-21T21:01:13Z")
> [@robby](#): > > It’s one of the few vegetables that contains mucus. 😛 That’s what the caller at that radio show was complaining about – slimy okra. But she had a procedure for de-sliming it – and for the life of me I can’t remember how it worked. Does anybody know? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/31 "2004-09-21T21:02:21Z")
I’ll do fried okra, mustard greens , fried tomatoes, cracklin’ cornbread, blackened catfish, boiled peanuts, and fried smoked ham. I draw the line at chit’lins though. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/32 "2004-09-21T21:46:55Z")
Wow, I got preoccupied there for a day and look at all the replies! I have tasted okra before. I love spicy okra pickles, and I sometimes steam some whole okra for a scant couple of minutes and serve it with a little soy sauce and lemon drizzled on. The slimey sap doesn’t bother me at all, and the smooth crisp texture is addicting. I like all those little white tender seeds inside. Oh, yeah, I’ve also made shrimp gumbo a couple of times. It is the only known dish which could induce Mr. Pug to consume okra, celery _and_ green peppers at one go. Okay, then, fried okra tonight. Since Mr. Pug will detest it, I get it all to myself! ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/33 "2004-09-21T22:04:48Z")
Seconding **DeVenaMama** ’s recipe. Barb hates okra, but that’s precisely how our favorite restaurant prepares it, and they do a wonderful job – none of the “slimy” and such complaints, and it is delicious! ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/34 "2004-09-21T23:07:12Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > Bah. You’re from Pennsylvania. What would you know about flavor? You people eat scrapple. 😉 > > If you don’t like the flavor of okra, maybe you shouldn’t be in this thread? I may be _in_ Pennsylvania, but I’m _from_ Albuquerque. And with all the rest of my extended family (that I’ve actually seen more than once in my life) being in Georgia and South Carolina, I think I’m perfectly qualified to talk about okra and most other Southern cooking. Saying I’m from Pennsylvania. Yeesh. What are you going to do next, say I’m from Texas? I don’t know, maybe I’d like it better now that I’m an adult. But I know that one of the nastiest things I ever smelled was my grandmother cooking okra with vinegar being involved somewhere. So I highly suggest not using vinegar. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/35 "2004-09-21T23:13:32Z")
Vinegar is one of the suggestions Google turns up for reducing the slime. Along with not overcooking it, or cooking it for a longer period, or just learning to like the slime. And yes, **BrainGlutton** , soaking the sliced okra in milk and then draining appears to be another option. ---
**Author:** ![CurlyD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@CurlyD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurlyD)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/36 "2004-09-22T01:42:42Z")
**DeVena** , yo mama is all that! My mama-in-law was born in PA, but moved to northern Florida as a teenager, where she learned to cook all the good southern stuff. She agrees with your Mama on both fried okra and dirty rice. **Askia** , how does someone from Ohio know so much about lowcountry-near-CharlestonSC cooking? (Goose Creek is in the Lowcountry.) Shrimp & grits, boiled peanuts, etc. - YUM! I ain’t gonna start a thread, but I know how to boil peanuts. Buy 3 pounds of green peanuts at Piggly Wiggly. Put 'em in a big pot. Add plenty of water and lots of salt - so much salt that you think it might be TOO much. (Piggly Wiggly always stacks salt around their green peanuts display, so’s we don’t forget.) Bring to a boil, then boil slowly for 3 hours. Drain and rinse. Good hot or chilled. Better than the roadside stand variety, which soak in the hot pot of water for too long. I’ve heard that you can pressure cook green peanuts for about 20 minutes, but I’ve never tried this. A friend was in NJ, and tried to tell some natives about boiled peanuts. Friend’s accent was thick. When he said “boiled peanuts” a native said “BALD PENIS??” ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/37 "2004-09-22T02:02:35Z")
A properly boiled peanut is a very young peanut. If you opened the shell, you would not see your basic Planters™ goober all filled out and waiting to be roasted and salted and ensconced in a salted nuts can. It would instead be a skinnier item, surrounded by the \*somewhat squishy embryonic peanut-growth-medium tissues that are in the hull. - OK, I’ve only seen the suckers boiled up. But when you open the hulls cooked, the young peanut flesh is surrounded by soft squishy stuff. And they are considerably smaller and skinnier than full-grown peanuts, although you can boil the older ones too. They just aren’t quite as good. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/38 "2004-09-22T09:39:32Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Vinegar is one of the suggestions Google turns up for reducing the slime. Along with not overcooking it, or cooking it for a longer period, or just learning to like the slime. And yes, **BrainGlutton** , soaking the sliced okra in milk and then draining appears to be another option. Never use vinegar with okra that is going to be fried. (And why would anyone cook okra any other way? It’s a waste of good okra not to fry it!) Use **DeVena** ’s mama’s method. Oh yeah, and listen to **swampbear** about cooking it in small batches. If you’ve got a big batch, break it into smaller batches for cooking. It takes some care and attention to do this, but the results are worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163/39 "2004-09-22T10:55:15Z")
Eat it any way you please. Just be sure to pronounce it “okry”. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grits-was-good-now-on-to-fried-okra/265163.md?page=1)