Monday Musings
Posted May 13, 2013
“I miss the smell of coffee, and bacon fryin’. Oh and what I wouldn’t give for a plate of fried green tomatoes like we used to have at the cafe.” OK so I have never had fried green tomatoes at a cafe, that line is actually from my absolute favorite movie of all time, Fried Green Tomatoes. From the first time I saw it, I fell in the love with the story of Idgie and Ruth, their friendship and the little make-believe town of Whistle Stop, Alabama. Naturally, I also happen to love the dish that is the story’s namesake so when my friend Champ offered to give me some green tomatoes I knew exactly what I was going to do with them. And it involved bacon ranch dip. Yes I said bacon ranch.
When making Fried Green Tomatoes, bacon drippings seem to be the traditional oil used for frying them. And with good reason, it gives them a nice bacon-y flavor that green tomatoes fried in vegetable oil just don’t have. However, since I don’t happen to have bacon drippings in my refrigerator that often, whenever I make fried green tomatoes I have to fry the bacon first. But then what do you do with the bacon? Since eating all 5 slices myself seemed a wee bit selfish, and since I love serving these tomatoes with ranch dip, I made the executive decision to add the crumbled bacon to the ranch dip so that I could share with everyone. Wasn’t that nice of me?
Note: With the added bacon the dip can be a little thick so you may need to spoon it on. Also, naturally, the bacon adds more salt, so I highly recommend tasting your dip before you add any salt to it.
Fried Green Tomatoes with Bacon Ranch Dip Recipe
Crispy fried green tomatoes with a bacon ranch dip.
Serves 4
Prep time:
Cook time:
Ingredients:
- 5 slices bacon
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon dill weed
- 1 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
- 2 medium green tomatoes sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup yellow corn meal
Instructions:
- In a skillet, fry bacon until crispy. Transfer to paper towels. Reserve pan drippings. Allow bacon to cool and then crumble. To ensure the drippings don't get too hot remove pan from heat while you prepare the dip.
- In a bowl combine mayonnaise, sour cream, granulated garlic, dill weed and vinegar. Stir in crumbled bacon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the tomatoes.
- Season both sides of sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper.
- Dredge each slice in flour, shake of excess. Next, dip in egg and then press into corn meal to coat completely.
- Return bacon pan to medium heat. Once hot, fry the tomatoes until browned, about 3 minuets per side. (Note: You may need to do this in batches.) Transfer to a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt.
- Place tomatoes on a serving platter. Serve hot with bacon ranch for dipping.
And if you haven't seen Fried Green Tomatoes yet, I highly recommend you rent it. Or I could always recite it for you line for line, but that might be weird.
Responses to "Fried Green Tomatoes with Bacon Ranch Dip"
- Rosa
- Karly
- Cookie
- Champ
- Deseree
Leave a Comment