Cornmeal-Fried Onion Rings A La Barefoot Contessa

Onion rings...ahh...I can remember when I was little my mom LOVED onion rings and would always ask for them at restaurants when they were an option to french fries. I used to make ugly faces at her and sounds when she ordered them because if they weren't Funyuns I wasn't even going to consider them (I was also the fool that never ate Chinese food when we went to the restaurants I would eat the french fries and chicken nuggets from the buffet...FOOL!)

Anyway, something happened in college and I've fallen in love with onion rings. I love them and would eat them with every meal if I could. I don't think it's a very healthy obsession, but it's a yum one! Now that we're in our new home we love to grill out so I've experimented with a few onion ring recipes. I've tried flour based recipes and those packets you buy at HEB near the onions (yuck by the way!). Anyway good ol Ina Garten won my heart with this recipe and they're so easy to make. The cornmeal helps to make a crunchier onion ring. Delicious in my opinion!

Ingredients:

2 large Spanish onions

2 cups buttermilk

salt and pepper

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 quart vegetable oil

Directions:

Peel the onions, and slice them into 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick, and separate them into rings. Combine the buttermilk, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon pepper in medium bowl. Add the onion rings, toss well, and allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes. (The onion rings can sit in the buttermilk for a few hours.) In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and set aside.

When you're ready to fry the onion rings, preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and then paper towels.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees in a large pot or dutch oven (a candy thermometer attached to the side will help you keep the constant temperature.) I used a fryer we got for our wedding that automatically sets the desired temperature. Working in batches, lift some onions out of the buttermilk and dredge them in the flour mixture. Drop into the hot oil and fry them for 2 minutes, until golden brown, turning once with tongs. Don't crowd them! Place the finished onion rings on the baking sheet, sprinkle liberally with salt, and keep them warm in the oven while you fry the next batch. Continue frying the onion rings and keep them warm in the oven until all the onions are fried. They will remain crisp and warm in the oven up to 30 minutes. Serve hot.

The verdict: AMAZING! I only used one large onion because it was just the two of us, but I wish I would have made the full batch! If you make these (and you SHOULD!) let me know how you liked them!