Deep Fried Onion Strings

We are in birthday month!  This means lots of junk food.  Since the kids pick their meals, they usually pick things that we wouldn't normally have.  After homemade Pop Tarts, we had Chick-Fil-A for lunch and burgers and onion strings for dinner.  This is another great recipe from the Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook.  We piled these onions on our burgers and ate them on the side too.

Deep Fried Onion Strings

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  1 large onion
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  2 c. buttermilk
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  2 c. all-purpose flour
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  1/2 T. salt
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  Black pepper, to taste
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  A dash of cayenne pepper
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  Canola oil for frying

Peel onion and slice very thin. Separate onions and put in a shallow dish. Pour buttermilk over onions and let set on the counter for at least an hour, pressing onions down into the buttermilk to keep them submerged in buttermilk.  Combine flour, salt, pepper and cayenne in bowl.  Pour oil into Dutch oven, about 3 inches deep. Heat oil to 375 degrees (a kitchen thermometer is handy...I use mine all the time). When you sprinkle flour over the oil, it should sizzle.  Using tongs remove some onions and immediately dredge in flour. Tap tongs on side of bowl to remove excess flour.  Carefully drop into oil, stirring around to break up clumps. These will cook pretty fast.  Drain on a plate lined with paper towels and serve hot.  Makes 2 servings.  I tripled this and it fed 6 people with plenty leftover.