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Onion Strings

Posted on 09/02/2010 by Maura

I am learning, slowly but surely, that cooking has nothing to do with what you like, only what other people like.  This, for me, is a hard thing to wrap my head around since for 23 years the world has revolved around yours truly (just kidding).  However, if you want people to eat what you’re slaving over, they obviously have to want it.

When I was preparing my menu for my birthday dinner, I wanted an herbed baked chicken with roasted vegetables and roasted garlic mashed potatoes.  My dad told me, “I don’t care what you make, but no chicken.”  And, that was that.  So, I racked my brain for other ideas that wouldn’t be too labor intensive and my brain kept coming back to good quality burgers with sharp cheddar, and pepper and rosemary bacon.  I’d make some mac and cheese and a watermelon salad, and my menu was finalized!

That is, until the day of my birthday dinner when I thought to myself, “What could make this dinner even more worthy of my brother and Tim’s love and affection?”  Onion strings.  Honestly, who doesn’t love fried onions on their burger, or just fried onions in general?

Needless to say, the burgers were a huge hit!  We slathered them with barbecue sauce and I served them on homemade sourdough rolls that were split and grilled.  Yum!  These onion strings really made the meal, in my opinion.  I can’t wait to serve them up with steaks or barbecue chicken.  Stay tuned for the burger recipe!

Enjoy!

Onion Strings

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 large Vidalia onions, sliced very thin

1 quart (4 cups) buttermilk

4 cups flour

2 tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

black pepper, to taste

2 quarts vegetable oil

Instructions

Place the onions in a large glass dish.  Pour the buttermilk over top and let sit in the buttermilk for at least an hour.  Turn them half way through.

Pour oil into a large saucepan or a dutch oven and heat until the oil reaches 375 degrees.

Whisk the dry ingredients in a shallow dish.  Once the onions have sat long enough, toss them in the flour mixture to coat, tap off excess, then place on a plate.  Repeat until all of the onions are coated.

Plunge the onions into the oil in handfuls, and cook until golden brown.  Let the excess grease drain on a papertowel-lined plate.

These are best when eaten immediately, so eat!

Recipe by The Pioneer Woman

About Maura

I have a secret: I cannot do anything in moderation. I always have to take things to the extreme, at the expense of my own and my family's sanity and often times my dad’s checkbook. When I started taking horseback riding lessons, I insisted on having a pony. When I ice skated for probably the second time, I made my mom buy me ice skates that were never again worn. When I thought I wanted to be a teacher, I made my parents turn one of the rooms in the basement into a school room, stocked with an overhead projector, pull-down maps and a real, classroom-sized chalkboard and white board. When I discovered cooking I bossed my older sister around in the kitchen for an entire day, forcing her to make dozens of recipes with me against her will and then had her do all the dishes (sorry Cait). And, when I discovered food blogs I bought the biggest binder I could find, printed out 250 recipes in one day and laminated and categorized each one. My dad was not happy about the ink situation. So, what does this tell you about me? For one, you can trust that every recipe I post is more than delicious and has been meticulously tried and tested for you. Also, that I’m an anal freak. Enjoy! View all posts by Maura → This entry was posted in Appetizer, Side Dishes, Vegetables, vegetarian. Bookmark the permalink. ← Lemon Poppyseed Bread Watermelon Salad →