Tobacco Onions
Tobacco onions are irresistibly crispy, thinly sliced sweet yellow onions coated in a flavorful blend of seasonings and buttermilk, deep-fried to golden perfection.
Servings: 3 cups
Calories: 320kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet yellow onions, thinly sliced (no more than ¼ inch thick) and separated into individual rings
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Canola oil for frying, amount will vary depending on the size of your pot
Instructions
- Place the thinly sliced sweet yellow onion rings into a shallow dish. Pour the buttermilk over all the onion slices. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Remove the buttermilk-coated onion slices from the refrigerator and drain off all the excess buttermilk.
- In a medium bowl, combine together the all-purpose flour, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
- Add the onion slices, in 2-3 batches, to the seasoned flour and toss to coat. Shake off any excess flour coating from the onions, then place onto a plate until all the onions are coated.
- Add the canola oil to a large, heavy-duty pot. Heat the oil to 350°F.
- Place a fourth of the flour-coated onions into the hot oil. Allow the tobacco onions to fry for 3-3½ minutes or until dark golden and crispy.
- Using a slotted spoon or spider utensil, remove the crispy onions from the hot oil and transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate to allow the excess oil to drain.
- Repeat steps 6 and 7 until all the tobacco onions have been fried.
Notes
- You can use an electric deep fryer with a max oil capacity of 4 quarts and a max food capacity of 2.5 quarts. If you use an electric deep fryer, you will need to follow your brand of fryer’s instructions for frying.
- You still need to fry at 350°F and in multiple batches to not overcrowd the fryer with onions when frying. Lower the deep fryer basket into the oil before adding items with batter on them to help keep the batter from sticking to the wire basket when frying.
- Placing a pasta strainer into the sink, then pouring the onions and buttermilk into it and shaking out all the excess liquid is a great way to get as much of the buttermilk off the onions. The buttermilk helps the seasoned flour mixture to stick to the onions when fried.
- You will need to fry your tobacco onions in multiple batches, depending on the size of your frying pot, as you do not want to add too many onions at once, or you may cause your oil to bubble up too much and can cause an overflow. Remember that onions have a lot of water in them, which will cause the onions to make the oil splatter.
- If you are frying in a large pot, you can use a spider scoop to gently lower your tobacco onions into the hot oil and move them around so that they crisp and fry up evenly. Then, you will use your spider to gently lift the onions out of the hot oil and place them onto a paper towel-lined plate to absorb all the excess oil.
Nutrition
Calories: 320kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 952mg | Potassium: 523mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 667IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 232mg | Iron: 3mg