I just slice mine, roll in cornmeal, place on cookie sheet. Freeze. Then bag into large freezer bags. They are ready for frying and don't stick together. I have a small dishpan ready to do now. Sometimes I don't even use the cornmeal. I let a lot of it get too big as always and those I just cut open and toss to the chickens....nothing goes to waste with the chickens.

I tried a new variety this year, Alabama Red, I think. It has short fat pods so I am not quite sure when its just right. It seems very prolific.

I have never picked okra before so don't have a favored recipe.

My mother has pickled okra a few times but I'm not a big fan of any kind of pickles so I'm not a good judge.
I use Allrecipes.com a lot to find recipes. I like the user reviews and I like the way you can sort by highest rating, although some have a lot more reviews than others.

I searched Allrecipes for Okra, then sorted by rating, and will link it below. There's one for "Grandma Oma's Pickled Okra" if you scroll down a little. It will be helpful to read some of the comments too. Some of the recipes call for fresh or frozen okra. You can blanch okra and freeze it. I don't have my mother's pickled okra recipe but will check next time I visit to see if it's similar to "Grandma Oma's"
Welcome to the Ozarks Gardening Forum!

Here is a link that might be useful: Allrecipes.com - Okra recipes

I'm sorry; I forgot to say Welcome! We are happy to see new gardeners here and I especially enjoy the ones who harvest and preserve their veggies and fruits.