Grandma Jean's Fried Eggplant
1 young eggplant, peeled and sliced thinly.
Preparation: Place eggplant in a deep bowl. Salt it heavily with iodized table salt. Cover it with crushed or broken ice. Weight the salted and iced eggplant down in the bowl with something heavy on top to keep the eggplant submerged. The salt will act as an astringent and draw excess water from the eggplant. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to an hour.
Technique & Ingredients: Rinse and drain the soaked eggplant thoroughly. Pat dry with paper towels. Rub slices with lemon juice or lemon slices of desired. This helps prevent it from darkening.
In a pan or dish, mix 1/2 cup self-rising flour and 1/2 cup very finely crushed
Saltine Crackers. Add 1/2 teaspoon powdered onion and 1/2 teaspoon garlic
powder, if desired. Add 1/2 teaspoon iodized table salt and combine the mixture
well. Set the mixture aside.
In a separate bowl, combine 2 eggs, slightly beaten, with about a tablespoon of cold water. Add 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to the eggs.
The following ORDER of dipping is extremely IMPORTANT! Dip each slice of eggplant into first the egg mixture, then the cracker mixture and then AGAIN in the egg mixture. Immediately place each slice as dipped into your hot frying pan prepared as follows.
Add about 1/4 inch of fresh cooking oil to a hot 'seasoned' black iron frying pan or heavy skillet. Using medium to medium high heat, fry prepared slices of eggplant until golden brown on each side, turning once with tongs. Be careful not to spatter the hot oil if the eggplant and egg batter is still cold!