An Ingredient Swap For The Most Flavorful Fried Green Tomatoes Ever

Bacon fat plus green tomatoes equals one quirky, perky, delish dish that you need to try at least once. As far as the actual recipe is concerned, there are some pretty basic ingredients. Firm, green tomatoes — of course — buttermilk, cornmeal, flour, seasonings, and oil to cook them in until they're golden and crispy. If you really want to add some Snap! Crackle! Pop!, try adding some flavored cracker crumbs to the mix. Variations on these ingredients exist, naturally, but those are the basics for making a platter of truly admirable fried green 'maters.

As for the perky and quirky flavor, it arises from the tangy green tomatoes juxtaposed with the fat-infused cornmeal. Vegetable oil works just fine, but bacon fat, oh beloved bacon fat, how tasty doth thou make fried green tomatoes. Adding bacon fat to the vegetable oil introduces a smoky undertone that upgrades the flavor of the tomatoes. It even makes the flavor more tart due to the contrast between the sweet cornmeal and the tangy green fruit. The combination of the three flavors — smoky, tart, and sweet — is what makes the dish memorable.

Fried green tomatoes are so delicious on their own or as the building blocks for a sandwich. For example, elevate your tuna sandwich by topping it with a few of these fried fruits. Or augment the smoky bacon flavor by adding a strip or two of your favorite bacon, the fried green tomatoes, some red onions, and cheese to create what's bound to become your new favorite sammy.

Fried green tomatoes don't require a lot of bacon fat in order to cook properly. In fact, if you're running short on it, you can combine the bacon fat with olive oil (or another kind of oil) to stretch the bacon grease a bit. You'll still get the smoky flavor, despite the shortfall of bacon fat. 

You do need to be aware, however, that olive oil and bacon have different smoke points: 390 degrees Fahrenheit (or higher) for olive oil and 325 degrees Fahrenheit for bacon. Due to this, the smoke point of the olive oil will be "lowered" because of the bacon's comparatively lower smoke point. You should start with about a ¼ cup of bacon grease. You can always add more if need be, and if you're a die-hard bacon lover, you likely will.

Conversely, if you do have plenty of bacon grease left over, try saving it for future batches of the fried fruit. Pure bacon fat stored at 40 degrees Fahrenheit in your fridge remains edible for about six months. That's more than enough time for you to really master, and even improve upon, your own version of the fried green tomatoes recipe as the months go by.