Tom's Morningside Shallow-Fried Onion Rings
Sides, Soups & Salads
Drop thick-cut Spanish onions into the puffy, downy batter you know from having sat in a vinyl booth at two in the morning under the hum of a neon sign, rejecting the heavy, jagged, panko-crusted monstrosity of a modern gastropub. Slide them into a half-inch of hot canola oil and watch as the batter hisses; out on Route 1 they plunge these into a fifty-pound commercial fryer, but your cast-iron skillet does the exact same heavy lifting. Pull them when the crust shatters, drop them on a wire rack, and salt them immediately.
Ingredients
- sweet onions2 large
- all-purpose flour1/2 cup
- all-purpose flour1 cup
- cornstarch1/4 cup
- baking powder1 tbsp
- seasoned salt1 1/2 tsp
- garlic powder1/2 tsp
- smoked paprika1/2 tsp
- buttermilk1 cup
- egg1 large
- club soda2 tbsp
- vegetable oil3 cup
- kosher salt1 tbsp
Method
- 01
Toss the separated onion rings in the half-cup of flour until lightly dusted, shaking off the excess.
Do not skip this dry dredge. It acts as the glue that binds the slippery onion to the wet batter so it doesn't slide right out of its crust on the first bite.
- 02
Whisk the remaining one cup of flour, cornstarch, baking powder, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and paprika in a medium bowl.
In a separate cup, beat the egg into the cold buttermilk, then pour the wet ingredients into the dry, whisking gently until it looks like thick pancake batter. Splash in the club soda if it feels too thick.
- 03
Let the batter sit untouched for ten minutes.
Just like resting our diner pancakes, this pause allows the flour to hydrate and the baking powder to start producing the bubbles that will make the crust airy and crisp.
- 04
Heat one inch of oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until it reaches 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
The massive thermal retention of the iron is non-negotiable here; it rapidly pumps heat back into the oil when the cold batter hits, preventing a greasy crust. If you lack a thermometer, drop a bread cube into the oil; if it turns golden brown in exactly 45 seconds, you are ready to fry.
- 05
Dip a floured onion ring into the rested batter, let the excess drip off, and carefully lower it into the hot oil.
Drop in four to six rings at a time. Do not crowd the skillet, which will drop the oil temperature and result in sad, oil-logged onions.
- 06
Fry the rings until the bottom edge is a deep, shattering golden brown, about two minutes, then flip and fry for another minute or two.
Remove the golden rings to a wire rack set over a baking sheet and immediately hit them with a shower of kosher salt while the oil is still glistening so the seasoning actually sticks.
- 07
Scrape the oil with a slotted spoon between every single batch.
This is the cast-iron equivalent of the short-order flat-top scrape. Scoop out any loose bits of fried batter floating in the oil, otherwise they will burn and impart a bitter, acrid taste to your next batch.
Notes
The Cast-Iron Stand-In.
A modern home cook rarely owns a massive commercial flat-top or a five-gallon deep fryer. The cast-iron skillet is the great equalizer. Its volumetric heat capacity powers through the temperature drop that ruins shallow-fried foods in thinner aluminum pans.
Moisture Management.
Moisture is the enemy of the crisp diner texture. Just like violently wringing out grated potatoes for perfect hash browns, you must apply a preliminary dry-flour dredge to the onions to manage their water content.
From Cook Diner Food at Home.