Fried Banana Peppers

By the 1970s, banana peppers were grown in mountain gardens everywhere, and frying them whole in a cast iron skillet with a little bacon grease produced something remarkable — charred, soft, slightly spicy peppers that were eaten whole as a side dish or stuffed into a biscuit or bread as a sandwich. Simple, flavorful, and packed in lunch pails straight from the skillet.

Ingredients

• 8–10 whole banana peppers or Hungarian wax peppers
• 3 tbsp olive oil or bacon grease
• Salt and black pepper
• Optional: 2 cloves garlic, halved

Directions

1. Leave peppers whole with stems on. Pierce each pepper once with a fork — this prevents them from exploding from steam buildup.
2. Heat cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil.

Place peppers in the skillet in a single layer.

1. Cook, turning occasionally, 8–12 minutes until peppers are charred and blistered on all sides and softened.
2. Add garlic halves alongside if using — they’ll caramelize beautifully.

Season with salt and pepper.

1. Eat whole — stem, seeds, and all is traditional. Or remove stem before eating.
2. Excellent stuffed into a biscuit or alongside any protein.

Notes

Charred banana peppers have a sweet, smoky, mildly spicy flavor that is completely different from raw peppers. The high heat of cast iron creates the blistering that makes this preparation work. In the mountain tradition, these were eaten as a side with nearly everything. Stuffed with cheese and baked was a dressier version for Sunday dinner.