BLT's and Fried Pumpkin Blossoms

Aug 06 2014

Last night my wife said she was hungry for pizza so I was all set to have some of Sandman’s pizza. That changed this morning when a friend showed up at the door at 9 am. She had a large plate of pumpkin blossoms freshly picked and cleaned from her garden. There was no way I would not fry up those babies for supper instead of pizza. I told the wife we’ll have some BLT’s with them.

So it was off to the grocery for some buns and lettuce and to my butchers for some of his good thick sliced bacon. I had enough tomatoes on hand. I did up the bacon on my Traeger after lunch. 300 deg. grill level and it took about 50 minutes to get it where I like it. A pellet smoker is the best bacon fryer there is; no grease spatters on the stove and no dirty skillet to wash. You can get it just the way you like from limp to crispy.

Our friend cleans her pumpkin blossoms different than I do. She cuts the green stem off, opens the flower and washes clean. I just snip the very end of the stem off and the pistil comes out easily. I leave the flower whole and wash. Either way they are delicious.

I got my stuff out for the BLT’s and 3 bowls with crushed cracker crumbs, egg wash and flour for doing the blossoms. I folded the blossoms dipped in flour, egg wash, cracker crumbs and fried until browned up on both sides. I used olive oil and 3 pats of butter in my Lodge 12 inch steel skillet to fry them. I made up my wife’s sandwich and fried her up a skillet full of the blossoms then made up my sandwich and blossoms. That was a taste treat for us, they were so good I forced myself to fry up 3 more and have a couple slices of tomatoes with them!

The bacon

The blossoms

Set up to cook

First batch in

Wife's plate

My plate

My dessert

Update Aug 07

I had enough of the pumpkin blossoms left I fried them up for my lunch today. Too lazy to crush up some crackers I used Panko bread crumbs this time. I bundled them up too instead of leaving them more flat. You get a little less breading that way and more of the blossom taste.

I think I like the cracker crumbs better and do like them more bundled. It is hard for me to describe the taste I guess for me they are like a light sweet oyster taste. I split them with the wife, she got 3 and I got 5! Try some and enjoy!