Fried Green Tomato BLT
These Fried Green Tomato BLTs are a delicious twist on a classic Southern dish!
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We had a bumper crop of tomatoes this past summer. Granted, it wasn’t like Atlanta where we were giving away huge bags of tomatoes every week all the way until Thanksgiving. But we still had loads of tomatoes. And here’s the thing…garden tomatoes taste so much better than store-bought tomatoes. We’ve used fresh tomatoes in everything from Grilled Bruschetta to BLT Pasta Salad to Classic BLTs with a fun aioli. And we still ended up giving away tomatoes to my wife’s co-workers. (Usually we send in extra desserts, so we figured we’d balance it out by sending along some extra tomatoes, too.)
Sadly, all good things must come to end…including our garden. Tomatoes love hot and humid weather, and our temperature has been dipping into the upper 30’s here at night recently. Upper 30’s is definitely not hot and humid. (Although we have had a couple of random days of mid-70’s weather this week…not sure where that came from!) I was out in the yard raking leaves last week, and I noticed that we had several large green tomatoes left on the vine. I knew they would never ripen in this chilly weather, so I decided to use those last few garden tomatoes for a noble cause: Fried Green Tomato BLTs.
Fried Green Tomatoes are one of those iconic Southern foods. Truthfully, though, I didn’t really grow up eating them. (I also didn’t grow up eating grits.) In fact, the first fried green tomato I ever ate was in Atlanta. And get this…they weren’t even made by a Southerner! My wife, who is from central Pennsylvania, decided to whip up a batch of fried green tomatoes one day…and they were pretty tasty.
I can’t think of many fruits or veggies that actually taste good when they’re under-ripe. I still prefer a red, juicy tomato, but tart, green tomatoes are still pretty delicious…especially when they’re coated in a buttermilk + cornmeal mixture and then fried! But I took these bad boys one step further. I fried up the green tomatoes, and threw them onto a sandwich along with bacon and lettuce. And that Fried Green Tomato BLT was one heck of a delicious way to use those last few tomatoes from the garden! Have you ever made fried green tomatoes? Love ’em? Hate ’em? Somewhere in between?
Fried Green Tomato BLT
Ingredients
For the Fried Green Tomatoes
- 3 large green tomatoes
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ Tbsp hot sauce
- ½ Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornmeal
- ¼ cup panko bread crumbs
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2-3 cups vegetable or canola oil for frying
For the BLT
- 8 slices bread
- 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 12 slices bacon cooked
- Lettuce
Instructions
For the Fried Green Tomatoes
- Using a deep fry pan, pour oil into the pan until it is 1” deep. Using a deep-fry thermometer, heat oil over medium-high heat until temperature reaches 375°F. Meanwhile, prepare a plate with 2 layers of paper towels; set aside. (Tip: If you don’t have a deep fry thermometer, then you can drop a pinch of flour into the oil. If it browns and bubbles immediately, then the oil is ready to go!)
- Slice tomatoes ½” thick.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and eggs. Place sliced tomatoes into the buttermilk mixture; set aside.
- In another medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, bread crumbs, salt and pepper.
- Transfer about 4-5 tomato slices from the buttermilk mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients. Toss until tomatoes are well coated. Shake any extra flour off of the tomatoes and carefully place them into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, approximately 1-2 minutes per side. Remove tomatoes with a slotted metal spoon and place on tray of paper towels to dry.
- Allow oil to return to 375°F and repeat process with remaining tomatoes.
For the Fried Green Tomato BLT
- Lightly toast the 8 slices of bread.
- Spread 1 Tbsp of mayonnaise onto 4 slices of bread.
- Layer bacon, lettuce, and fried green tomatoes on top of the slices.
- Place the remaining slices of bread on top and enjoy!
OMG I love fried green tomatoes. First time I had them was in Nashville, I still remember how crunchy, juicy and tart they were.
I bet they taste delicious inside a BLT, like really legit! #WolfpackEats
I’m heading back to Nashville next week, Mike! My wife ended up down there for work, so I grabbed a plane ticket, too. Now the only question is where to start eating? Hah!
Yes ~ I want one! YUM!
I’ll send you your way, Phronsie!! 🙂
I have never tried fried green tomatoes before, but they look really good!
They’re such a strange…but delicious…creation, Dannii! Who would have ever thought about taking a green tomato and then frying it? But, it totally works. They’re crispy and tart…and I love putting them on BLTs! 🙂
I love everything about this sandwich!! I think I eat a tomato a day during the summer. LOL! Oh, and you didn’t grow up eating grits? We had them every weekend. 🙂 I didn’t like them when I was younger, but I aquired a taste for them as a teen and now I love them!!
I know…can you believe that I grew up in the South but didn’t have grits all the time?? Don’t worry…I’ve been making up for that one lately. Grits (when done right) are totally amazing! For me, the key is the cast iron pan. Oh, and cheese. Lots of yummy cheese. 🙂
Yes, lots of cheese! A cast iron pan? That’s a new one for me. I’ve recently started adding cream to my grits. Oh and pimento cheese! It’s the best!!
Pimento cheese in grits? Now there’s a Southern dish if I’ve ever seen one…sounds delicious! First step: find pimento cheese in upstate New York. Haha!
This is the best brand out there! I use the jalapeno version. http://www.pimentocheese.com/
Awesome! Thank you for the link…the closest location is still 30 miles away. But it might be worth the trip to get some delicious pimento cheese!! 🙂
David, you are so right – homegrown tomatoes are so so much better than store bought ones – they are almost like a different species!!!
I don’t think I’ve ever come across a fried green blt – GENIUS dude!
P.S. I am commencing “operation-get-a-job-where-Laura-akaMrs.Spicblog-works” …I hear the perks are too delicious to pass on… 🙂
Tell me about, Shashi! I still can’t believe so many restaurants serve up tomatoes that are just mealy and tasteless. What a waste! Well, Laura is quite the enigma. She’s a metallurgist (seriously) by day, and she’s the Creative Director of Spicedblog.com at night. Unless you love steel…a lot…then it might just be easier to move in next door. Trust me, the perks will be the same. Haha!!
Does stainless steel (as in cookware ) count? 🙂
Those 30 degree lows are making me think twice about a move…hey, but – guess what? It’s still a warm 64 currently here – perfect for grilling AND “smoring” over a fire pit…just saying…
Well then maybe we need to rethink this whole idea…are there any houses for sale near you? Haha! 🙂
What a gorgeous sandwich! I wish I still had some green tomatoes from the garden but I guess I’ll have to pin it for next year!
Oh no! I guess it’s kinda hard to make fried green tomatoes without green tomatoes, huh, Serena? 🙂 You can certainly make these early in the year, too…my mother in law always talks about taking the first tomatoes of the year and frying them up.
I’ve never had fried green tomatoes! {Gasp!} This sandwich looks delicious and the perfect way to use those last lingering tomatoes in your garden. I am totally bummed that i didn’t know you when you lived here because I would have happily taken as many tomatoes as you would give me! Pinned!
Haha! That is indeed a total bummer, Lindsey. If I could go back in time, I’d meet you in Atlanta and give you a bunch of tomatoes!
David, I just came across your blog and spent the last hour drooling over your recipes- mate, you have a winner here.
I’ve heard of fried green tomatoes (in American movies) but never seen them here in Australia- I have no choice but to make these now. Cheers!
Wow, thank you so much, Arman! You are too nice. Yeah, fried green tomatoes are a strange thing for sure…I mean what other veggie/fruit do you purposely want to get under-ripe? They’re strange…but so delicious! I guess you guys are getting ready for summer down there in Australia, so tomato season might not be all that far away.
Thanks so much for commenting…heading over to check out your site now! Cheers!
I had my first fried green tomato BLT in Sonoma, CA a couple years back. It was amazing! I need to get my hands on some green tomatoes to make this happen! Pinning!
Thanks, Chris! Fried green tomatoes in Cali? Now there’s something that seems a little out of place…although I do hear that Sonoma has some good eats out there. 🙂 Maybe you can buddy up with the produce guy at your local grocery store to find a source for green tomatoes…haha!
Wow! What a great idea!!! I have lost of green tomatoes in my garden , did not know what to do with it.
Thanks, Vaya! Yup, we had a bunch of green tomatoes, too…and so we figured fried green tomatoes would be a delicious way to use ’em up. I hope you enjoy! 🙂