The Blooming Onion

I've been trying to stay away from television shows that include food in the evening times, but yesterday Darryl insisted I watch Chuck's Day Off with him. Chuck Hughes is a favourite of mine and we've been trying to plan a trip to Montreal for a few years now to go to his restaurant but it just hasn't happened yet. The episode we actually watched had nothing to do with my craving for a Blooming Onion....which I haven't had in years. They are a popular item at restaurants serving pub style food items and seemed pretty straight forward. Off to google! This is how is went down....

Blooming Onion

Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3/4 tablespoon ketchup

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp Green Relish

1 Tbsp Minced onion (I used the onion from the center of the whole onions)

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 pinch ground black pepper

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

1 large onion (Preferably Spanish or Sweet)

2 quarts vegetable oil for deep-frying

1. Make the dipping sauce: Combine first 9 ingredients together. Cover and place in refrigerator until ready to use.
2. Beat egg and combine it with milk in a bowl large enough to hold the onion. In another bowl, combine flour, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, and cumin.

3.  Prepare the onion: cut approximately 3/4 to 1 inch off of the top and bottom of the onion, remove skin. Remove the 1-inch diameter core from the middle of the onion. Using a large, sharp knife, slice down the center of the onion about 3/4 of the way down, turn 90 degrees and slice again. Keep slicing the sections in half, being careful not to cut to the bottom, until you have 16 sections. Spread the petals apart to make coating easier. Place in a bowl with ice water and allow to sit for at least an hour to help onion petals to spread apart. (I was impatient and didn't allow for this to take place!)

4.  Dip the onion in the milk, then coat well with the flour mixture. Separate the petals again and sprinkle the flour mixture between them. Once you have coated all of the petals well, dip it into the milk and into the flour mixture again. Place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes while you preheat the oil.

5.  Pour enough oil to cover the onion into a deep fryer or deep pot. Preheat the oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

6.  Fry the onion right side up in the oil for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oil and let drain in a rack or paper towels.                

7. Serve warm with your dipping sauce!

Enjoy!

There are many different recipes out there for The Blooming Onion. My boys gave me two thumbs up on this one so I think this will be "the one". This would work for onion rings..and maybe a little easier, so if you don't feel like doing the extra work, just use the seasoned flour recipe for onion rings. I tweaked it a little and the sauce is my own concoction. 

:) Happy Cooking!