Fried Green Tomato BLT

These Fried Green Tomato BLTs are a delicious twist on a classic Southern dish!

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These Fried Green Tomato BLTs are a delicious twist on a classic Southern dish!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.)

These Fried Green Tomato BLTs are a delicious twist on a classic Southern dish!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.

These Fried Green Tomato BLTs are a delicious twist on a classic Southern dish!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.

These Fried Green Tomato BLTs are a delicious twist on a classic Southern dish!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?

These Fried Green Tomato BLTs are a delicious twist on a classic Southern dish!

Fried Green Tomato BLT

These Fried Green Tomato BLTs are a delicious twist on a classic Southern dish!
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Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 sandwiches
Calories: 663kcal

Ingredients

For the Fried Green Tomatoes

For the BLT

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!

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26 Comments

  1. 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

    1. 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!

    1. 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! 🙂

  2. 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!!

    1. 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. 🙂

      1. 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!!

        1. 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!

        2. 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!! 🙂

  3. 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… 🙂

    1. 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!!

  4. 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…

    1. 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.

  5. 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!

  6. 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!

    1. 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!

    1. 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!

    1. 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! 🙂

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