It looks like I'm going to have a bumper crop of okra this year, and my wife and I both love fried okra. We've been having trouble for years with breading and frying it right, and maybe someone here can help.
When I was a kid, my grandma made it best. As I remember, she washed and sliced the pods about 1/2" long, then laid them out on a towel on the counter. She'd put flour, salt, pepper, and maybe some cornmeal in a paper bag and shake the sliced okra in that - then she'd fry it. Hers would turn out just lightly coated and golden brown, and the flavor was mostly that of the okra.
When we try that the okra is slimy and it picks up 'way too much breading, then a lot of the breading falls off during frying. The end result is that there's so much breading we can hardly taste the okra - not right at all.
Maybe grandma let the okra lay out before breading so it dried, or maybe she dried it with a towel? I can't remember.
Could someone who makes some good fried okra tell us how to do it, please? Thanks.
