Onion rings made from Vidalia Onions are one of the best things on the planet. You get the aroma of cooked onions to awaken your senses and a good onion flavor that’s mild and sweet. The only negative about Vidalias is that they’re seasonal. I’m so hooked on sweet onions, thanks to Vidalia’s, that I won’t buy any other variety for my all-purpose cooking onions. You’ll find them on my kitchen counter in a basket right next to Yukon gold potatoes which are the only all-purpose white potato I buy. When it comes to sweet onions and white potatoes, I know what I like.
I started off talking about onion rings and wound up on my kitchen counter in my produce baskets. Excuse me while I try to get out of this basket.
So, onion rings are tasty, tasty. My cooking process for onion rings was so laborious, I gave up on cooking them. I would slice the onions about 1/4 of an inch thick, dip them in egg wash, then in breading, then in egg wash, back in the breading before putting a few into hot grease to fry. Because of the size of the rings, only a few would fit in the pot at once. So, it took f o r e v e r to fry those babies. The breading process was a big mess. I’m a messy cook on a good day and you set me up with several dipping and breading tasks to do, plus frying, and it takes a week to get my kitchen clean. And that’s if I have everybody I know helping me clean up.
Finally, the thought occurred to me, that fried onions aren’t about the dipping and the breading and the dipping and the breading. It’s all about the sweet flavor of the cooked onion.
Thank the Heavens above!
So, I took two medium-sized sweet onions, sliced them thinly into matchsticks, threw them in a disposable plastic bag, tossed in Cajun seasoning, a tad of buttermilk and flour and fried ’em up! Easy as can be. The bag was disposable, I didn’t have flour and egg all over my kitchen and we had a plate of fresh, hot, seasoned crispy fried onions. Good bye onion rings, hello crispy fried onions. I’m so glad to meet you!
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Cajun Crispy Fried Onion Rings
yield: 4 to 6 servings
Thinly sliced onions seasoned with Cajun seasoning and coated with flour are fried in hot grease. They are a side dish or a sandwich or salad topper. I used my homemade version of Cajun seasoning that is mildly spicy. Adjust the amount of seasoning for your taste preference.
Ingredients:
2 medium sweet onions, peeled, cut in half and sliced thinly
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon buttermilk
1/4 to 1/2 cup all purpose flour
cooking oil for frying
Instructions:
Heat 2 inches of cooking oil in a large pan or skillet to 350 degrees.
Place sliced onions in a disposable gallon plastic bag. Add in Cajun seasoning. Close bag and shake to distribute the seasonings. Add one tablespoon buttermilk and mix it around in the bag. This adds something to make the flour cling better.
Add in enough flour to coat the onions. Close bag and shake well.
Drop in the heated oil in batches. Cook onions until nicely browned and crispy. Remove to paper towel to drain.
Repeat until all onions are cooked.
Cajun Crispy Fried Onions
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet onions peeled, cut in half and sliced thinly
- 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 1 tablespoon buttermilk
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- cooking oil for frying
Instructions
- Heat 2 inches of cooking oil in a large pan or skillet to 350 degrees.
- Place sliced onions in a disposable gallon plastic bag. Add in Cajun seasoning. Close bag and shake to distribute the seasonings. Add one tablespoon buttermilk and mix it around in the bag. This adds something to make the flour cling better.
- Add in enough flour to coat the onions. Close bag and shake well.
- Drop in the heated oil in batches. Cook onions until nicely browned and crispy. Remove to paper towel to drain.
- Repeat until all onions are cooked.
Sue, a Florida Farm Girl says
OMG, girl!!! Those onion rings look to die for!!
Jackie Garvin says
Sue,
We will probably be eating a lot of these this Vidalia season. 🙂
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
You had to say the word vidalia, didn’t you? I think that’s the one thing I miss most about not being on the east coast of the US. Onions. I would sell off my shoes for onion rings made from vidalia onions. 🙂 These rings sound so crunchy and delicious!
Jackie Garvin says
Maureen,
Are you able to get any sweet onions at all?
Jean says
Brilliant!! Who said fried onions have to be in rings? Could you rush a platter or two over this way please? Nothing better than Vidalia onions!
Jackie Garvin says
Isn’t that the truth, Jean? We love Vidalias, too.
Mau says
Sounds divine! You think these could be done in bigger batches in a combi oven? Say 50-100 portions?
Jackie Garvin says
May,
I’ve never made this recipe in large batches but I don’t see any reason why you can’t.
Joan Berry says
If you live in the West, get some Walla Walla sweets. They are delicious, although, in my opinion, not quite as mild as Vidalias.
Jackie Garvin says
I’m in the Deep South and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen that variety in the stores. Thanks for stopping by.
pumpkin061 says
I saved this recipe! I have always loved a good onion ring, and this is similar. They look so delicious
Jackie Garvin says
Jill,
You get the flavor and goodness of onion rings without all the mess. It’s the only way I cook them now.