Monday, August 20, 2012

Dehydrating Okra

Okra is a southern staple in the garden.  It loves the heat and will continue to produce till it starts getting cooler. It's one of those plants that gives and gives (and gives).  A lot of folks farther to the north can't grow it well because they just don't have enough time and heat.  Did you know that you have to pick it daily or it gets tough on the vine.  Or that it doesn't keep long once it's picked.  Which means if you are canning it you'll have to do smaller batches unless you've got a ton of plants. I've got a better option.

I met a guy (I won't mention his name) from Washington state who had never grown okra before. Since he knew everything there was about gardening (cough) he decided to give it a try down here. So he proceeded to plant a 250 foot row double spaced in okra.  Now if you've ever grown this stuff before you know just how prolific and how fast it grows. That's why most folks only grow 15-20 plants.  I tried to tell him that with 200 feet of okra that he would need someone out there all day every day doing nothing but picking okra.  Shoot, by the time you picked a 250' double row, it   you'd have to start back down it again. We left before I got to watch him freak out come about the middle of August!  I still laugh when I picture him out there picking okra till the sun goes down.  I bet that was one lesson learned!  LOL!!!

So what can you do with all that bounty?  I've found the best way (I think) to preserve okra so you can have it in the dead of winter and still get that awesome fresh okra taste.  Dry it! 

 This is one of those veggies that does amazingly well when dried and re-hydrated. (right down to the "slime") Oh, and did I mention it's easy to do???
                                    Dehydrating Okra

Slice okra into even size pieces for uniform drying.  Lay it out on your dryer trays so the pieces aren't overlapping. It's ok if they touch, you just don't want them on top of each other.  Set the dryer to your veggie setting (135-145 degrees) and let it go till it's crisp and totally dried.  Put it in an air tight container to store it. That's it.  Pretty simple yes?

Now if you want to there are some things you can do before you dry your okra.  You can season it with different spices before drying. When it's dried it also makes great snack food. Things like seasoned salt, Cajun seasoning, Greek seasoning.... let your imagination go with it. 

When its re-hydrated you can use it just like you would fresh okra.  You can put it in soups or stews or even better.... Gumbo!  Or you can do my favorite thing with it. Fry it in a cornmeal mix and pig out!   Man, I love me some fried okra. 

I found a tip somewhere that says to coat the okra you are going to fry with a beaten egg and let it sit in the fridge for at least 15-20 minutes.  

Then coat it in your cornmeal/flour mixture and fry it. It make all the difference in the world.  I've got to admit it works wonderfully. 
 The coating stays on and it almost reminds me of the frozen battered stuff you get from the frozen food section at the grocery store only it tastes better!  I've thought about trying to flash freeze it on cookie sheets once it's battered but haven't actually tried it yet. I'm pretty sure it would work though. I'm going to have to try it and see for myself. It would be a cool time saver and as close to fast food as I've been in ages! LOL

                           Now that's some good eating!

18 comments:

  1. I like okra, but just a few plants give me as much as I need.

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    1. Okra IS yummy but you are so right... a few go a long way!

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  2. I'm quite fond of okra pickles, and using it in soups, not just gumbo. It thickens them nicely and has a good flavor when their young. I imagine the dried ones work quite well that way.

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    1. I like okra pickles too but just not often. I'll end up putting a few pints up before the season's over though! As far as using the dried okra in soups, it works great. As a matter of fact I like it better than the frozen.

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  3. Sci,

    Your okra looks yummy! I'll be up for dinner, lol....
    Thank you for posting this, I've never grown okra but now I know not to plant more than 10-15 plants. I'm not going to be the fool, picking all night long to have to start over again the next day.....

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    1. LOL Sandy! Come on up. As for Mr. Know-it-All, I laugh every time I think of him and all that okra.

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  4. So, I re-hydrate it, then soak it in egg in the fridge for 15-20 minutes, or just soak it? Sorry for my ignorance. :/ Also, how do you re-hydrate it, just cover it in water and wait? I've never re-hydrated veggies other than to add them to soups and things, and they re-hydrate in the liquid that's already there. I'm dehydrating more and more, and I'd like to learn other ways to use them. :) Thx.

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    1. Rep, I'm sorry I really wasn't too clear about that was I? First you want to re=hydrate the okra. Just put it in a bowl and cover with warm water. Let it set until it's reconstituted. THEN you soak it in the beaten egg. Turns out just like fresh fried okra!

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  5. I'm not one to believe just because it is written in a blog on the internet that it has to be true, HOWEVER, you are right-on about dehydrated Okra!!
    Yesterday we had about 3 gallons of Okra that we picked and needed some way to deal with it, so after reading your post we said "what the ..." and sliced up 4 trays and this morning we checked and it is perfectly dry and it is good to eat just off the trays.

    Thanks for the tip

    Hagar

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    1. Hagar, I'm sure glad you liked it. I honestly think dehydrated okra is one of my favorite things to do. Sounds like ya'lls okra is coming on strong too! Must be all this heat.

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  6. I've got 14 okra plants and we can't get enough for our family from that many. Maybe it depends on the variety? I just freeze it in little slices (uncooked) and pop it into the batter when I have enough for a mess for my family. We ate it last night. Everybody in my family loves it, even those picky kids.

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  7. This sounds great. But, I'm the only one in our house hold that likes okra. And I never thought of growing our own. I've never had dried okra either. I might have to buy some, and dry it, and try it.

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  8. Where I live is too far north to grow okra. I've seen it in the grocery srore and wondered what one would do with it. Now, I feel fully educated. I always learn something new and interesting when I visit your blog. Thanks!

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  9. i love your blog, to express your views, this is the correct way.

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  10. Thanks. Might try deyhdrating. I freeze mine. Just roll it in the cornmeal mix & freeze flat on tin foil. Stacking several layers of foil is ok. Next day just bag it in freezer bags remove as much air as possible. To fry, just drop it frozen into the hot grease (knock off excess ice crystals). Works well, taste is great (nearly fresh)
    p.s. I don't know where is too far north, but it grows great in Nebraska!

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  11. Man, I really need to get my dehydrator going again. Okra chips sound yummy.

    Where you at anyways? Busy eating bon-bons?? :)

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  12. This is one clever idea. I would love to have okra even during winter when its scarce. Thanks so much for this idea.
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  13. I love okra, my favorite is the burgundy one, I am so annoyed to discover I can't grow it where I live, apparently it's the altitude, we get a long enough summer and enough heat... After being TOLD I couldn't grow it up here, I tried for 3 years, by the end of summer, these plants which would normally be taller than I can harvest, would only be about a foot tall, and if I was lucky I would get one or two okra's from each plant... I would have to plant my entire mountain with them to get any kind of harvest.

    Wretha

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