Oven "Fried" Okra (and Onion Rings, too)
 

Found yet another use for my oven-fried pork rind coating. :yum: Did fried okra and fried onion rings recently and both came out great!

The okra is pictured here: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2011/0...ven-fried-okra/

The onion rings and that recipe are here: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2011/0...icyonion-rings/

My husband wasn't home the night I did this, so I just made a very small batch, but man, this sure was good. I haven't had fried okra in about two years! This was just like eating the cornmeal breaded fried okra we all know and love!.....well, most of us, anyway. ;)


August 13, 2011 by buttoni

This little experiment came out quite good. I suspected it would because this spiced coating has been good on every oven-fried vegetable I have tried it on so far. :) It comes out of the oven very crisp, but doesn’t stay that way long, so bake these right before you plan to sit down and eat. This dish is Atkins Induction acceptable.

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. sliced frozen okra, UNdefrosted (8 oz)
2 oz. crushed plain pork rinds
4 T. my homemade mayo: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/0...ade-mayonnaise/
½ tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend: http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/0...od-spice-blend/

DIRECTIONS: You really need a non-stick baking sheet for this recipe. If you don’t have one, lightly oil a regular sheet pan, but don’t blame me if the okra comes out too greasy. :) Preheat oven to 450º. Crush pork rinds (I use a food processor), discarding any hard bits that didn’t crush. Pour into a medium bowl and add spice blend. Stir well. In a shallow dish or pie plate, pour the mayo. Making sure each piece of okra is separated, dip about ¼ of the okra into the mayo and coat well by turning each piece gently to coat on all sides. Lift the pieces out one at a time (I like to use my ice-bucket tongs for this) and drop into the rinds. Shake the bowl to coat the okra on all sides. Using tongs, lift each piece of okra onto the baking sheet. Repeat with the next ¼ of the okra, and so on until all is done. The reason you don’t want to put all the okra in the mayo at one time is it may not get uniform mayo coating, which is essential for the coating to stick to the okra. Pop into the hot oven for about 15-20 minutes, remove pan and turn each piece. Pop back into oven for another 10 minutes. Dip onto serving platter and eat at once or it will lose its crispness.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Make 4 servings. Each 2 oz. serving contains:

195 calories
15.65 g fat
4.35 g carbs, 1.25 g fiber, 3.1 g NET CARBS
10 g protein
268 mg sodium
137 mg potaassium

31% RDA Vitamin B12, 15% e, 30% manganese, 30% riboflavin, 12% zinc and 17% iron

Oh MY! The onion rings look AMAZING! I might just give that recipe a try TODAY! Thanks!

I LOVE fried okra but haven't had any in ages. I will try this recipe. When okra is in season around here people will pay YOU to take some! LOL. Same with zucchini....

I was really missing fried okra badly and I think this recipe is gonna fit the bill for me, NM.

I think you'll like those onion rings, Freckles. I just have to tell you Freckles was my Dad's nickname for my brother when we were kids. He had bright red hair (which got much darker as he got older) and tons of freckles and he either got called Freckles or Carrot Top. We won't go into my Dad's nickname for me, as it's too embarrassing. :)

Well....didn't get to try these today....but I will in the next couple for SURE!

And my other nick name was Cara....short for carrot top!!! :lol: That was a LIFETIME ago, though...seriously.

I will post back here when I do get to try the onion rings.

:) I had not noticed your hair was read in your avatar. Red/auburn hair runs in the family on both my Dad's and Mom's side. One of us was bound to get it. I was blonde as a young child, then it darkened, with red/yellow highlights and got considerably darker by college. But I got the freckles and the extremely fair complexion that burns if I even get 15 minutes of direct sun. So I figure I probably came real close to ending up a red head. :)

I tried the onion rings with my bacon mayo and some cajun seasoning I had in the spice cabinet. Absolutely delicious! Thank you for giving me onion rings back! :)

I'm glad I could oblige. I like them once in awhile, too, and so does hubby. So I just had to come up with a version he was OK with.

Yum - I'm going to try these onion rings TODAY! Have you ever tried this method with pickles?

I've never liked pickles so a resounding NO I haven't tried it. :) Cukes I love, but dill has never much agreed with me.

This mayo-rind coating works wonderfully on sliced zucchini and yellow squash. Eggplant as well. I think it is the oven baking that so successfully keeps this coating on the veggies and not "falling off into the skillet grease" as coatings are prone to do when frying. I never fry veggies that are coated anymore. :)

Got it - I also hate the cooked dills but love, love, love kosher dill and whatever bars use to deep fry cuz they are yummy! At any rate, I've picked up some and will try them for you and let you know if they come out as well for anyone who might be curious.

Yes, please do, Teresa. Do post a comment on my linked website page so other readers will know that ponder this question. I would greatly appreciate the feedback there.

Oven-Fried Okra
 

This little experiment came out quite good. Link to photo: https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2018/...n-fried-okra-2/ It comes out of the oven crisp, but as with all fried okra, it doesn’t stay crisp for long, so bake these right before you plan to sit down and eat. If you’re looking for the taste of fried okra but want an easier preparation, you might prefer my Okra Fritters (click link to see those). This dish is Atkins Induction acceptable.

I have also done this with fresh, whole okra pods, slitting them several times lengthwise to speed cooking. The pic below lets you see how those come out:

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. sliced frozen okra, UNdefrosted (8 oz), or whole pods, slit

2 oz. crushed plain pork rinds

4 T. my homemade mayo

½ tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend (recipe below)

OPTIONAL: Pinch cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS: I think these cook best on a non-stick metal baking sheet. But if you don’t have one, lightly oil a regular sheet pan, or use parchment to line your pan. Whatever you do, DO NOT USE A SILICONE SHEET on your pan or these will not brown and crisp up properly. Preheat oven to 450º. Crush pork rinds (I use a food processor). Using a slotted spoon or small sieve, discard any hard bits that didn’t crush finely. Pour into a medium bowl and add spice blend. Stir well. In a shallow dish or pie plate, pour the mayo. Making sure each piece of okra is separated, dip about ¼ of the okra into the mayo and coat well by turning each piece gently to coat on all sides. Lift the pieces out one at a time (I like to use my ice-bucket tongs for this) and drop into the rinds. Shake the bowl to coat the okra on all sides. Using tongs, lift each piece of okra onto the baking sheet. Repeat with the next ¼ of the okra, and so on until all is done. The reason you don’t want to put all the okra in the mayo at one time is it may not get uniform mayo coating, which is essential for the coating to stick to the okra. Pop into the hot oven for about 15-20 minutes, remove pan and turn each piece. Pop back into oven for another 10 minutes. Dip onto serving platter and eat at once or it will lose its crispness.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Make 4 servings. Each 2 oz. serving contains:

195 calories, 15.65 g fat, 4.35 g carbs, 1.25 g fiber, 3.1 g NET CARBS, 10 g protein, 268 mg sodium

Seafood Spice blend:

7 T. paprika

4 T. garlic powder

2 ½ T. crushed oregano

3 T. ground thyme

3 T. onion powder

2 T. black pepper

1 T. cayenne pepper

Mix well in a bowl and store the remaining part not used in this recipe in lidded jar. Use it on any seafood recipes and tuna or salmon casseroles.

I love okra!
I don't eat pork- I wonder if parmesan would work? Or maybe crushed up cheese crunchies (like the ones trader Joe's sells and I think there is a brand called "wisps." ).
Thanks for the inspiration. Will have to play around with this.

Sounds good. I wonder if Old Bay seasoning would work well here, too.