Monday, April 4, 2011

Onion Rings a la Jamie



In El Paso there is a famous family-owned drive-through burger joint.   Before McD's and all the others, we had Charcoaler.  It  holds a special place in the heart of every local yokel who was once a hormonally hungry teenager and fortunate enough to be able to drive through and chow down.  My theory is that we imprinted it in our brains like a baby with it's mother as the ultimate in hunger satisfaction!
That's why former El Pasoans often make it their first stop in town before they go home for Mom's cooking. Really!
Everyone has their favorite order to yell at the speaker, but those onion rings are truly special.  Crisp, salty, real onions and hot enough to melt braces, those onion rings can make you moan.
And darned if my neighbor Jamie made some the other day that could be mistaken for.....those.
It's one of those recipes that is just so simple you won't believe it.
You will need:
A white onion or two.  Or yellow onion.  Or vidalia onion.  Whatever floats your boat.
All Purpose Flour
Salt
Water
Frying oil.  I used peanut.
That's it.
Here's how to make them:
Slice the onions and put the rings into cold water to soak for a while.

They can soak as you are getting everything else together.
Mix 1c. all purpose flour, 1c. water, and 1 tsp. salt.  Stir this glue (I mean batter) up well and let it sit.

Put about 3-4 inches of oil in a heavy dutch oven and crank it up.
Get another bowl and put in 1 or 2 cups of plain all purpose flour.
Line a pan with lots of brown paper or paper towels or even newspaper to place them on when they are cooked.
Check now to see if your oil is hot. Drop some flour in there and see if it foams and bubbles.  If not, wait a while longer.
Take the onion rings out of the cold water, shake them around to dry them off, and dip 3 or 4 in the water/flour mixture making sure they are coated well,  then put them straight into the bowl with the flour.   You can either use your hand to coat them or just shake the bowl around until the rings are coated.  Don't worry if they look pretty shaggy, that's the way they are supposed to be.

Put them (carefully!) into the hot oil and take them out when they are good and brown.
Sprinkle liberally with salt and serve.

".....and a Number 2, an apple fried pie, and a large chocolate milk over ice, please.  Thank you, Mr. Cox."



4 comments:

Lindsey M said...

Those look delicious! What an easy recipe. I don't know why but I thought onion rings would be harder to make than that. Yum!

Jan said...

I did, too, Lindsey! I was blown away by the simplicity of this recipe. You will love them.

Mary Ann said...

I can't wait to try them...You are the best cook!
Mary Ann

Jan said...

Oh, Mary Ann, youare going to love these. And, no, you are the best cook.