Crispy Onion Straws

July 7, 2024

I love onions and whether it is a warm bowl of french onion soup, an onion gravy over pot roast or a basket of onion rings, I will take some. I am making burgers later and wanted to add onions in some way. I do love caramelized onions over a burger, but I wanted something crispy today, so we are making some fried onion straws. Pile these crispy, salty flavor bombs over your burger and life will be good.

Let’s get started…

You don’t need much to make fried onion straws, but you do need about an hour of wait time. They are totally worth the wait though. I promise.

Soaking onions in buttermilk is an important step for several reasons. It tenderizes the onions, draws out any obnoxiousness from their flavor and makes your future batter hold on really well.

Very thinly slice two large yellow onions. Break up the slices and place them into a large bowl with about 2 cups of buttermilk. I usually put my onions in first and then add enough buttermilk to cover most of them. They are only soaking in the buttermilk, so being accurate with this measurement is unnecessary. The most important thing is that the onions are covered. Let them soak on your countertop for an hour.

While the onions are soaking, combine 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour with 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon of cajun or creole seasoning, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper in a large bowl and set aside.

A few minutes before the onions are done soaking, warm about 36 ounces of a neutral oil to 375 degrees in a wide skillet over medium to medium high heat.

Use a fork to transfer some of the soaked onions into the seasoned flour mixture and toss them around until each one is completely coated. Carefully drop the batter coated onion straws into the hot oil and fry them for 2-3 minutes or until they are golden brown and crispy.

If you see any of the onions clumping together, stir them a bit to break them apart. Once they are done, use a large slotted spoon or mesh spider to transfer the onions onto paper towel lined plates.

As soon as you pull them out of the oil, sprinkle them with some salt. They will stay more crispy if you don’t stack a bunch of them on top of each other, so I usually set up two or three plates so they can stay spread out while I fry the next batches.

Once they are all fried up, pile them into a big bowl and at least try to not eat them all yourself. Its going to be tough, but all you can do is try…

You can serve them with ANYTHING! I love them on burgers, chicken sandwiches, use them as a side dish, pile them over a salad, serve them with french onion dip or over a bowl of soup… the list goes on and on. They are so crispy and super flavorful.

Next time you want to make a burger (or anything else) a little extra special, make these!

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