Fried okra is delicious, and easy to make at home. The breading for the okra incorporates some buttermilk & cornmeal, which provides a tangy & satisfying crunch. The fried okra pairs wonderfully with a bold remoulade sauce.
Fried Okra with Remoulade Sauce
Fried okra is delicious, and easy to make at home. The breading for the okra incorporates some buttermilk & cornmeal, which provides a tangy & satisfying crunch. The fried okra pairs wonderfully with a bold remoulade sauce.
Ingredients
For the Remoulade Sauce:
- 3 cloves garlic, (very finely minced)
- 1 shallot, (finely minced)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp bread & butter pickles, (small dice)
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp whole grain mustard
- 1 Tbsp yellow American mustard
- 1 Tbsp Tabasco hot sauce,
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, (finely minced)
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp ground sweet paprika
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
For the Fried Okra:
- ½ cup cornmeal
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
- ½ tsp granulated onion
- ½ tsp granulated garlic
- ¼ tsp ground cayenne powder
- 2 tsp Tabasco hot sauce, or your favorite hot sauce
- 3 cups vegetable oil, (for deep frying okra)
- 3 cups fresh okra, (sliced into ½” sections, dried with paper towels)
- ¾ cup buttermilk
Instructions
For the Remoulade Sauce:
- Finely mince the garlic cloves and shallot.
- Place minced garlic and shallot in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Add the zest and juice of 1 lemon and allow mixture to sit for 5 minutes.
- Add the diced bread & butter pickles, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, yellow American mustard, hot sauce, and mayonnaise, and whisk together to fully combine.
- Stir in the fresh parsley, Worcestershire sauce, sweet paprika, onion powder, and ground cayenne pepper.
- Taste, and season with kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper.
- Set mixture aside in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap, until ready to serve.
For the Fried Okra:
- To make the fried okra, begin by preparing your dry cornmeal and flour mix.
- Combine the cornmeal with the all-purpose flour, kosher salt, black pepper, granulated onion, granulated garlic, ground cayenne powder, and hot sauce.
- Mix the ingredients together until everything is evenly distributed.
- Place 3 cups vegetable oil in a deep fat fryer or Dutch oven and heat oil to 375F.
- Dry your sliced okra completely on paper towels.
- Set up a bowl with the buttermilk next to the dry cornmeal seasoning mixture.
- Dip the okra to gently coat in the buttermilk, and drain off any excess buttermilk back into the bowl with the buttermilk.
- Gently coat the okra slices that have been dipped in buttermilk in the cornmeal seasoning, making sure there is a light and even coating of the cornmeal mixture surrounding each slice of okra.
- Carefully fry the seasoned okra in the 375F hot oil in small batches, taking care to not allow your oil to get too hot or too cold.
- *Be very careful when frying the okra!
- When the okra is cooked and the cornmeal coating is golden brown in color, carefully remove fried okra from the oil, and drain on paper towels.
- Season right away with a sprinkle of kosher salt, if desired.
- Serve fried okra immediately, with the delicious remoulade dipping sauce that you made earlier.
Notes
The remoulade sauce can be made a day or two in advance. It is great as a versatile dipping sauce, and amazing with fried foods like homemade French fries.
The fried okra is best eaten right away, when it is piping hot and has just come out of the fryer and drained on paper towels.
The fried okra is best eaten right away, when it is piping hot and has just come out of the fryer and drained on paper towels.