Recipe

Shoestring Onion Rings

A beloved takeout snack made fresh

November 5, 2024

Photo: Denny Culbert

When I was growing up, there was one takeaway restaurant in Chauvin, [Louisiana], Danny’s Fried Chicken. It was across from Bayou Petit Caillou, and I daresay it must have made a killing. When my mom wanted a break from cooking on Sundays, we stood in line to get a bucket of fried chicken and livers, rice dressing, rolls, and their shoestring onion rings. I have since been on a quest to re-create and celebrate a delicious meal from Danny’s. The perfect thing about Danny’s was the women working there—we knew them all and they knew us. They meant business and were slightly mean in the best way. From ordering in the tiny space to waiting until you were handed a warm orange-and-blue paper bag to hold in your lap until you made it home, time stood still. The nostalgia in those memories is palpable. It was the only takeout I knew as a kid.

If you have a basic Japanese mandoline, this recipe will be easier and result in perfectly sliced onions. I don’t recommend a mandoline for many things. It is a dangerous contraption that, if not used correctly, can result in a trip to the ER. However, it’s definitely the way to get perfectly cut onions. You’ll need to soak the onions for at least 6 hours in this recipe. —Melissa M. Martin, excerpted from Bayou: Feasting Through the Seasons of a Cajun Life

G&G recently chatted with Martin about her new cookbook and living by the Cajun calendar. Read the interview here.

Ingredients

Shoestring Onion Rings (YIELD: 8 servings, as a snack)
- 2 lb. yellow onions
- 4 cups whole-fat buttermilk
- 2 tbsp. hot sauce, preferably Original Louisiana Hot Sauce
- Canola oil or peanut oil, for frying
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 cups cornstarch
- 1½ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. finely ground black pepper
- ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper

Preparation

Cut each onion in half through the center (not from end to end). Peel the onions. Using a very sharp knife, slice them about ⅛-inch thick or use a Japanese mandoline to thinly slice them. You want the onion slices to be long and a consistent size.

Place the sliced onions in a container and cover them with the buttermilk and hot sauce, then weigh down the onions with a plate to submerge them and let marinate in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours or up to overnight.

Prepare a tabletop fryer with oil and heat to 350°F. Alternatively, fill a large heavy-bottomed pot with 4 inches of oil and heat the oil over medium-high heat to 350°F.

Remove the onions from the refrigerator. In a large colander fitted with a bowl underneath it, strain the onions and reserve the buttermilk for double dredging.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cornstarch, 1 tsp. of the salt, the black pepper, and the cayenne. Now it’s time to double-batter the onion rings. Place half the onions in the flour mixture and dredge well. Put the dredged rings aside on a lightly floured sheet pan. Repeat with the rest of the onions.

Now dredge the onions again, first in the reserved buttermilk and then again in the flour, and return them to the floured sheet pan.

Be sure that all the onions have taken on enough flour. If you see some spots where flour has flaked off, pass the onion back through the flour mixture, really patting the flour onto the onion.

Working in small batches, add the onions to the hot oil and fry until browned and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Use the fryer onion basket or a spider to transfer the fried onions to a bowl.

Immediately toss with the remaining ½ tsp. salt. Let the oil come back to temperature before you add another batch. Consume immediately.