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Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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I've got frying peppers & hot cherry peppers in my garden. When I get extra I've been taking them to the local hardware store. The people there have been extemely helpful to me.
I told one of the women how to make peppers & onions. She's been passing on the directions. She's a transplant from California & there is one other transplant. The rest are natives.
I took a batch of both kinds of peppers in on Saturday. The woman who usually passes on the directions was not there. One of the native men loves the hot cherry peppers & decided to take some frying peppers too. I was trying to give him instructions but customers kept coming in. I told him how to slice the frying peppers & to slice the onions. He wanted to know if he should steam them & I said no fry them. Yet another customer came in & he had to go wait on the person & it was getting close to closing so I checked out. I left & realized later in the night that I forgot to tell him to put a little bit of olive oil in a frying pan & dump the peppers & onions in to cook.
Since he's a native, what do you think that he did with them? I've been wondering if he'd try to deep fry them.
Obviously many people in the south want to deep fry everything that can be put in a fryer. But I think anyone who knows just a little about cooking would know to put the peppers in a saute pan with a little EVOO. Or to grill them. Or smoke them. But not to deep fry them.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,725,598 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vmaxnc
Obviously many people in the south want to deep fry everything that can be put in a fryer. But I think anyone who knows just a little about cooking would know to put the peppers in a saute pan with a little EVOO. Or to grill them. Or smoke them. But not to deep fry them.
+5
Thank you! (I know about the deep frying from my childhood in the Midwest.) I was both concerned & curious. Then there's the bacon grease (My mother saved bacon grease, too.) . . .so many variables.
He's an older man & I'm not too sure what he does with the hot cherry peppers, but it has something to do with cheese.
Thank you! (I know about the deep frying from my childhood in the Midwest.) I was both concerned & curious. Then there's the bacon grease (My mother saved bacon grease, too.) . . .so many variables.
He's an older man & I'm not too sure what he does with the hot cherry peppers, but it has something to do with cheese.
I've been here 32 years (out of 45), but don't really consider myself a native. That being said, I save bacon grease too. Some things just taste better being cooked in bacon grease than EVOO or similar. Here's a "recipe' for something I made a few days ago while cleaning out the freezer to be defrosted:
1 pound bag (plus the 11 beans in the other bag that had to be chipped out of the iceberg in the bottom of the freezer) frozen string beans
1/4 red onion, diced (found in the fridge door under a bag of carrots optimistically purchased in an attempt to be healthy)
~2 tablespoons blue cheese dressing
~2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (the only thing besides S & P I had plenty of)
1 tablespoons bacon grease
S & P to taste, or you can just assume that a couple shakes of each make everything taste better, and go with that
Heat large skillet with bacon grease
Saute (the now-diced 1/4 onion that was in the fridge) until soft
Put beans in pan, (breaking up the big frozen chunks that resulted from the freezer defrosting continuously for a day, then refreezing, thereby partially necessitating the complete defrost ), cook until starting to wilt
Empty out both of the blue cheese dressing jars into pan, which when combined amounted to maybe two TBLS , then put the vinegar in the first jar and shake, then dump that into the second jar and shake
Dump that onto the beans
Toss, then reduce for as long as it takes to get the mail and feed the cats
Dump into bowl, eat for (as; because there was nothing left in the fridge or freezer that could be made into a real meal ) dinner
Be amazed at how good something thrown together as you're cleaning out the fridge and freezer turned out
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,725,598 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by vmaxnc
I've been here 32 years (out of 45), but don't really consider myself a native. That being said, I save bacon grease too. Some things just taste better being cooked in bacon grease than EVOO or similar. Here's a "recipe' for something I made a few days ago while cleaning out the freezer to be defrosted:
1 pound bag (plus the 11 beans in the other bag that had to be chipped out of the iceberg in the bottom of the freezer) frozen string beans
1/4 red onion, diced (found in the fridge door under a bag of carrots optimistically purchased in an attempt to be healthy)
~2 tablespoons blue cheese dressing
~2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (the only thing besides S & P I had plenty of)
1 tablespoons bacon grease
S & P to taste, or you can just assume that a couple shakes of each make everything taste better, and go with that
Heat large skillet with bacon grease
Saute (the now-diced 1/4 onion that was in the fridge) until soft
Put beans in pan, (breaking up the big frozen chunks that resulted from the freezer defrosting continuously for a day, then refreezing, thereby partially necessitating the complete defrost ), cook until starting to wilt
Empty out both of the blue cheese dressing jars into pan, which when combined amounted to maybe two TBLS , then put the vinegar in the first jar and shake, then dump that into the second jar and shake
Dump that onto the beans
Toss, then reduce for as long as it takes to get the mail and feed the cats
Dump into bowl, eat for (as; because there was nothing left in the fridge or freezer that could be made into a real meal ) dinner
Be amazed at how good something thrown together as you're cleaning out the fridge and freezer turned out
So true, I've done that sort of thing too.
My favorite use for bacon grease is German potato salad (the hot potato salad). The bacon grease, vinegar, & sugar dressing is also used for green beans or to pour on greens (I think the dressing is heated & then poured onto the greens.
When I was growing up in Michigan, most people still saved regular grease in one can & bacon grease in another. (My mother did not save regular grease.) So. . .I'm very familiar with a lot of the local cooking techniques. I think that's why I was concerned after it dawned on me that I forgot to specify how to fry the peppers & onions. To a degree, it's generational. . .heck, I was a teenager before I ever heard of frying something with olive oil, & that was because we moved to South Jersey where there were enough Italians that the technique had become fairly mainstream, but lots of women, my mother included, used corn oil.
I am southern born and raised (for many years anyway). Most people these days do not fry in fat back and grease like our parents and grandparents did. That wasn't only a southern thing. People did that everywhere but southerners and midwesterners liked really enjoy(ed) good fried foods and used different forms of grease. Today, everyone that I know uses olive oil for their frying needs. But occasionally, it is great to get some good ole fried chicken, catfish, and hushpuppies.
My theory is that all peppers are great if sauteed with onions, garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam marsala, and raisons or cranberries if more sweetness is desired. This also serves as a base for curries. Once these ingrediances are sauteed to where they are soft enough to consume, one can add okra, corn, chicken, shrimp, racoon, possum, or whatever they wish. If you wish for this dish to be hot, add cayenne pepper or paprika. God, I love my cooking. Got to go. Now I am hungry. Oh yea, you can add some vinegar or cooking wine to your liking as well.
Southbound, i think he knew what to do with them as far as adding a bit of olive oil or some other cooking oil. I don't think he would have deep fried them.
Neither I, nor my parents or sisters, have ever owned a deep fryer. When you say "fry" to us, you mean cooking oil in a pan as opposed to steaming, broiling or baking.
I quit using bacon fat decades ago, too, altho my grandmothers used it and I love the way it tastes in green beans. I now use bacon bits and a little olive oil when "cooking down" my beans - made that switch in the late 70s.
So altho I see fryers for sale - and assume someone out there is buying them and using them! - I think folks would use the term "deep fry" rather than "fry" - even here in the South.
Those peppers and onions do sound awfully good. I bet the man used a little cooking oil of some sort and they were delicious!
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,725,598 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by anifani821
Southbound, i think he knew what to do with them as far as adding a bit of olive oil or some other cooking oil. I don't think he would have deep fried them.
Neither I, nor my parents or sisters, have ever owned a deep fryer. When you say "fry" to us, you mean cooking oil in a pan as opposed to steaming, broiling or baking.
I quit using bacon fat decades ago, too, altho my grandmothers used it and I love the way it tastes in green beans. I now use bacon bits and a little olive oil when "cooking down" my beans - made that switch in the late 70s.
So altho I see fryers for sale - and assume someone out there is buying them and using them! - I think folks would use the term "deep fry" rather than "fry" - even here in the South.
Those peppers and onions do sound awfully good. I bet the man used a little cooking oil of some sort and they were delicious!
Thanks Ani, I'm hoping. . .
The reason that I got concerned is that I've heard a number of people say fry then make mention of the grease can. They may think that I don't know what they're talking about, but I sure do.
I know that you've had peppers & onions on some of your trips to Philly & South Jersey, Ani. They're like grits. They're everywhere, no matter what time of the day or night. I can give you seeds if you want. They are the big, oblong peppers that you see in huge piles in the supermarket with the sign that says "Frying Peppers". I knew that the official name is Cubanelle & bought 9 plants last spring. I'm converting Kings Mountain one person at a time.
The hot cherry peppers are what you see, chopped or sliced, that people put on hoagies. I tell them that much & what they do with them is up to them.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,725,598 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stella Artois
I am southern born and raised (for many years anyway). Most people these days do not fry in fat back and grease like our parents and grandparents did. That wasn't only a southern thing. People did that everywhere but southerners and midwesterners liked really enjoy(ed) good fried foods and used different forms of grease. Today, everyone that I know uses olive oil for their frying needs. But occasionally, it is great to get some good ole fried chicken, catfish, and hushpuppies.
My theory is that all peppers are great if sauteed with onions, garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam marsala, and raisons or cranberries if more sweetness is desired. This also serves as a base for curries. Once these ingrediances are sauteed to where they are soft enough to consume, one can add okra, corn, chicken, shrimp, racoon, possum, or whatever they wish. If you wish for this dish to be hot, add cayenne pepper or paprika. God, I love my cooking. Got to go. Now I am hungry. Oh yea, you can add some vinegar or cooking wine to your liking as well.
Peppers & onions are just so darned simple, but the peppers that are used are cubanelle peppers.
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) I was both concerned & curious. Then there's the bacon grease (My mother saved bacon grease, too.) . . .so many variables.
), cook until starting to wilt
, then put the vinegar in the first jar and shake, then dump that into the second jar and shake
) dinner
The bacon grease, vinegar, & sugar dressing is also used for green beans or to pour on greens (I think the dressing is heated & then poured onto the greens.
They may think that I don't know what they're talking about, but I sure do.
