French Fried Onion Rings

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There are many in the culinary world who believe the onion ring was invented by a Dallas, Texas-based restaurant chain named the Pig Stand in the 1920s. But there are numerous recipes for batter dipped and fried vegetables, including onions, in American cookbooks published before the 20th century ever began, according to the The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. The Pig Stand is most likely the first retail outlet to serve the crispy fried treats but almost certainly not the true origin of the recipe.

Most onion rings have a thick crispy breading resulting from being dipped in a batter and fried. For this recipe, I went a different route. I treat the onions much like chicken, first soaking them in buttermilk, then dredging them through seasoned flour right before putting them in hot oil for a warm bath to cook them through. The end result is a light, crispy coating surrounding the star of the show – a sweet and delicious ring of onion.

BEHIND THIS BITE

French Fried Onion Rings

Onion rings change from cook to cook and restaurant to restaurant, but most are served with a thick and heavy breading that will often dominate the flavor of the entire bite. Beer breading is a famous preparation for onion rings and often I find the flavor of beer too strong. I’m a purist when it comes to beer, I like the flavor of it all alone, as it’s being poured directly on my taste buds.

Beer is added to batter because the carbonation gives it a lighter, airier texture and the beer is often a prominent flavor in the final bite. I actually like using seltzer water when making batters, because it provides the same light batter as beer, minus the beer flavor.

The onion rings in this recipe just completely avoids the whole batter thing in general. I have made onions this way before, the difference this time is that I left the rings whole. In the past I have used onion strings, because they were only intended for a topping. Whole rings allow these to be a side to a steak or sandwich rather than just a topping.

That is all.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

French Fried Onion Rings

Serves 4 to 6; 1 hour and 30 minutes
3 Onions, sliced into rings
1 quart Buttermilk
3 cups Flour
1 Tbs Baking powder
1 Tbs Salt
1 Tbs Pepper
2 tsp Mexican oregano
Oil for frying, At least 1 inch deep in pan

Soak, coat onions
In a large bowl submerge onions in buttermilk and let soak for at least 1 hour. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, oregano, salt and pepper. In batches, remove onions from buttermilk and thoroughly coat with flour.

Fry
Heat oil to 375°.
When oil is ready, fry coated rings in batches until golden brown and crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and let drain, then serve.

Creamy Baked Onions

Creamy Baked Onions

I was at Meijer recently trying to figure out what I wanted to cook and was drawing blanks. I went to the store with an open mind and thought I would let what was on sale guide me, but after 20 minutes I wasn't having any luck. That is when I noticed a few recipe cards on a rack in the produce section. I took a look at one entitled "creamy baked onions" and it sounded like a nice little creation to try.

I thought that it would either be a disaster or something delicious.

They were sold out of the onions that the card called for so I substituted a different, larger kind. Other than that, I followed the recipe to a T and it turned out really tasty, the only problem was the onions. The larger onions were just to big to cook down into a soft sweet mess that would have resulted had I used the right kind. The outside layers were cooked through but the center couldn't get finished before the topping scorched. I didn't feel the dish was worth reproducing in a labor intensive information graphic like most of my posts, but there was stuff I wanted to mention.

Creamy Baked Onions

First is the yummy topping. Crushed herb stuffing mix tossed with butter and cheddar cheese was a flavorful and crispy garnish, I think this would be a great topping on scalloped potatoes or even mac and cheese. It was a creative way to ad some snappy flavor and crunch to the dish.

Second is the sauce, the mixture cooked into a nice gravy that could be used in a number of different things like a casserole or some sort of creamy potato dish.

I can't wait to use some of these elements in an original dish and I'm going to keep a look out for those free recipe cards at the grocery store. This was a smart dish that will lead to some tasty treats in my near future!

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
From "Market of Meijer" recipe card
1 hour, 15 minutes, side for 4 to 6
1 C Crushed herb seasoning stuffing mix
1/2 C cheddar cheese, shredded
2 Tbs Butter, melted
4 Large yellow onion, cut in half horizontally
1 Can Cream of chicken soup (10.75 oz)
2 C 2% milk
1/2 tsp Dried rosemary
1/8 tsp Ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350°

Topping
For the topping, combine stuffing mix, butter and cheese. Mix well and set aside.

Sauce
Whisk together soup, milk, rosemary, nutmeg and pepper to taste until well incorporated.

Assemble, bake dish
Place onions in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Pour sauce over onions. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, top onions with topping. Bake 30 minutes more or until onions are soft and cooked through. Remove from oven let cool slightly. Spoon sauce over onions when served.