CORNMEAL-FRIED ONION RINGS

So I love how when January rolls around all the food magazines and cooking shows are all suddenly promoting "heathy eating."  This past Saturday, Food Network was devoted to it.  Both Anne Burrel and Tyler Florence made steamed fish tucked away in a cozy little pocket made of parchment paper (although at the end, Tyler still put about 4 tablespoons of a compound butter on his fish.  I'm kind of making fun of it, but I totally get it.  From Halloween through New Years Eve, it becomes two months of non-stop indulgence and I am no different.  I ate lots of chocolate, I couldn't GET enough bread, and my drinking was putting me on a fast track to needing a liver transplant.  Come New Years day I vowed to turn my life around.  However not even a week went by and I was soon heating up a dutch oven full of oil to deep fry myself some onion rings.

Listen you guys, I'm sort of obsessed with deep frying.  As I mentioned before, for New Years Eve I fried some olives that were stuffed with Italian sausage and coated in Panko.  And then a few nights later, I fried up some fontina stuffed risotto balls, also coated with Panko.  And on a recent episode of Jamie at Home, Jamie braised rabbit in white wine until it was almost but not quite falling apart and then fried it.  I so want to give that a try.  But I wasn't always like this.  In my old apartment I once tried to make fried chicken but in the end, the whole thing seemed like such an ordeal and it felt like the entire kitchen was slicked with grease that I had little to no interest in revisiting frying.

However, a while ago I was reading in one of my cookbooks (I can't remember which one, but it might have been either Sunday Suppers at Lucques or maybe The Zuni Cafe Cookbook) and the author was wistfully remembering back to one of his or her culinary influences.  This person apparently was fearless in the kitchen and an example of it was that she would fry things at the drop of a hat.  For some reason, that idea has stuck with me.  I liked the idea of that sort of spontaneity with out concern about cleanup.  I wanted to be like that.  After reading it I pictured casual gatherings of friends all hanging out drinking wine or beer and suddenly I'd call out, "Hey! Let's make some pomme frites!"  One friend would peel and slice potatoes.  I'd be manning the dutch oven full of oil, bringing it up to temperature, WITHOUT a thermometer (I'd just know when it was hot enough).  Another friend would be whipping up a bowl of aioli to dip the frittes in and yet another friend would be refilling all of our wine glasses.  Perhaps outside, someone else would be grilling up steaks using a stem of rosemary plucked from the garden to brush them with good olive oil.  I mean, doesn't that sound so fun?  Of course in my head, all of this took place in my rustic farmhouse surrounded my by own vineyard.

As romantic as the idea of careless spontaneity is, my frying obsession is also prompted a great deal by frugality.  I just hate to throw things away and I'd only fried a couple handfuls of olives in six cups of oil.  I wanted to get my money's worth out if it before I ditched it.  As long as you strain the oil through cheese cloth or paper towels to remove any particles, you can reuse the oil several times - just store the oil in a cool dark place.  After the olives and risotto balls I kept wondering, "What can I fry next?"  I looked around my kitchen and my eyes landed on a bowl of onions.  Bingo!

This recipe mostly comes from Ina Garten, but the seasoning of the flour and cornmeal mixture was inspired by some of the flavors I used when I made blackened catfish.

INGREDIENTS

1 large yellow or Spanish onion

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Tabasco (or other hot sauce) to taste, but at least a teaspoon

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (medium) yellow cornmeal

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped

4 to 6 cups vegetable or peanut oil

METHOD

Slice off the top and root ends of the onion or onions and carefully peel off the brown skin, then slice into 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick slices and then separate them into rings.

In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoons of pepper and the Tabasco.  Add the onions and using your hands toss well to make sure everything is coated.  

Place the in the refrigerator and let marinate for 20 minutes, up to several hours.

In a separate, wide and shallow bowl, combine the flour, corn meal, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, the cayenne and the thyme.  Set aside.

When you are ready to fry the onion rings, preheat the oven to 200 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with paper towels.

Pour the oil into a dutch oven and attach a candy thermometer to the side.  Heat until the oil is 350 degrees F, adjusting the heat level to maintain a constant temperature. 

One at a time, lift a ring out of the buttermilk and place in the seasoned flour and cornmeal mixture.  Gently dredge them and then place on a rimmed baking sheet.  

Continue until all the onion rings have been coated.

Working in batches, drop some of the onion rings into the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd the pot.  Fry until golden brown, flipping every so often with a pair of tongs.  

Once the onion rings are cooked, remove from the oil and place on the baking sheet lined with paper towels and place in the oven to stay way while you continue cooking the rest.  They should remain crisp in the oven for 30 minutes.  Serve hot with lots of ketchup!

I tend not to care for the types of onion rings that have a heavy, poofy batter enveloping them.  I much prefer something more delicate and crisp, and that is exactly what these are.  The coating is so light and crunchy (not tempura light, but not far) and just really well seasoned.   When adding the Tabasco and cayenne, don't be shy.  It would really take a lot to make these onion rings what would be considered spicy spicy.  In fact, since I really like the heat, I even add a healthy dose of Tabasco to the ketchup I'm dipping them in.  One thing to note is that since the onions shrink down while cooking, it might be wise not to separate every single layer of rings before marinating and then dredging them.  Maybe try to keep two layers of onion for each ring.  Or mix it up, keep some think and some thin.

As we ate these I remarked to Mark that these would be (obviously) great alongside a thick steak or a big burger.  Or a few rings topping a burger.  It is football season (so my sports enthusiast friends tell me) and a big mountain of these would be perfect to serve some friends while watching the game.  Now I wish I had a burger.

1 very large onion serves 2 very generously and more likely 4

Comments

[sarahwise]

oh man, why would you do this to me?

[marissa]

I volunteer to pour the wine.

[riya]

pic looks so good on the newspaper..

[javapot]

My absolute favourite - looks so delicious. Am booking marking this.

[mona]

my favorite part: "Hey! Let's make some pomme frites!"

[Ellen]

Have you tried fried lobster?? More important--have you tried rice bran oil??

[Donald]

I will definitely man the grill!

I love onion rings. Have you tried frying leeks? They work really, really well.

[we are never full]

oh yeah, girl! our 'detox' after the holidays lasted all of 5 days. i just realized i'm not meant to be a healthy eater 100% of the time. these onion rings look great and i really love that you used cornmeal. you're talking to a girl who fried lamb! (check it out if you'd like): http://www.weareneverfull.com/fried-lamb-rib-chops-dont-feel-bad-just-enjoy/

[Deborah Dowd]

I love onion rings, and Iremember my mother used to do the soaking in buttermilk. Some things are just worth frying!

[Acai Berry]

This looks so good and so easy to make. Great now i'm drooling! lol thanks for the recipe so I can now go make this.

[mp3-legende]

delicous

[Edwina]

Your repertoire never ceases to amaze me - yummers!