If you’re not familiar with The Pioneer Woman, and you like my blog, you should be. Ree describes herself by saying, “I’m a thirty-something ranch wife, mother of four, moderately-agoraphobic middle child who grew up on a golf course in the city. I attended college in Los Angeles and wore black pumps to work every day. I ate sushi and treated myself to pedicures on a semi-regular basis. Then, on a brief trip to my hometown, I met and fell in love with a rugged cattle rancher. Now I live in the middle of nowhere on a working cattle ranch. My days are spent wrangling children, chipping dried manure from boots, washing jeans, and frying calf nuts. I have no idea how I got here…but you know what? I love it. Don’t tell anyone”
One of my favorite recipes from The Pioneer Woman is her Onion Straws. They’re out of this world, and if you don’t believe me, make them, then complain. I betcha no one will be complaining after eating these suckers! I’ve only made a couple of changes in my revised recipe below, most notably, adding one more onion (I can’t get enough of these things) and throwing some chili powder in the mix. So, run, don’t walk home from work tonight to add these to your dinner table… Just like bacon, they go with just about anything!
TDD’s Shoestring Frizzled Onions
2 large onions
3 cups buttermilk
3 cups flour
1 and a 1/2 tablespoon salt
Lots of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
canola oil
Begin by slicing the onions very thin. We’re talking about the kind of thin where you can see the knife through the slice of onion you’re cutting as your cutting.
Place onions in a baking dish and cover with buttermilk for at least one hour. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use 3 cups of milk and a tablespoon of white vinegar.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
Heat oil to 375 degrees. It’s important your oil is actually very close to 375 for the onions to fry up nicely.
When the oil is hot, grab a handful of onions, throw into the flour mixture, tap to shake off excess, and PLUNGE into hot oil. Fry for a few minutes and remove as soon as golden brown. Place on paper towels to remove some of the excess oil. Repeat until all of the onions are fried. (well, you can nibble as you go, but you’ll want to fry up every single slice of onion, I promise!)
3 Comments
April 21, 2009 at 7:22 am
These look amazing. I never fry anything because my apartment is so small (I don’t want my bed to smell like an onion ring), but these just might be worth it.
July 14, 2009 at 11:37 am
Looks delish! When I really want to just indulge in comfort and not cook onion rings, I go to Z Burger. The burgers are good. I pair my burgers with onion rings and I’m instantly satisfied and stuffed:-)
November 23, 2009 at 7:27 pm
[...] Topping 3 cups frizzled onions [...]