Crispy Cajun Onion Strings with Spicy Dipping Sauce
These amazing onion strings can be served as an appetizer, as a side dish, on top of a juicy burger, or as a crunchy topping for your favorite casserole. The Spicy Dipping Sauce is a perfect accompaniment.
Ingredients
Spicy Dipping Sauce
- 1 cup (8-ounces) sour cream (See Tip 1)
- ½ cup (4-ounces) mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon Creole mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons Cajun Seasoning (See Tip 2)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon hot sauce, or more to taste
Crispy Cajun Onion Strings
- 2 large sweet onions (See Tip 3)
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 Tablespoon Cajun Seasoning, divided (See Tip 2)
- 2 cups (10-ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 6 cups vegetable oil (See Tip 4)
Instructions
Spicy Dipping Sauce
- Whisk together all dipping sauce ingredients in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Yield: 1 ½ cups.
Crispy Cajun Onion Strings
- Peel the onions, and thinly slice. (See Tip 5)
- Separate the rings in a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of Cajun Seasoning; toss to coat. Add buttermilk; stir to combine. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
- Combine flour, cornmeal, remaining 2 teaspoons of Cajun Seasoning, and salt in a Ziploc bag. Toss to combine all ingredients.
- Heat oil to 375°F. Working in batches, remove some of the onions from the buttermilk; allow excess buttermilk to drip off. Add to Ziploc bag with flour; toss to coat. Remove onions from Ziploc bag. Shake off excess flour.
- Add coated onion strings hot oil. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until the onions are golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining onions.
- Serve alone or with Spicy Dipping Sauce. Yield: 6 servings. (See Tip 6)
Tips/Notes
- I used reduced fat sour cream.
- For the Cajun Seasoning, I used Emeril's Essence which I always keep on hand.
- I like to use sweet onions in this recipe because of their milder taste. However, you can use any yellow or white onion.
- I used peanut oil for frying the onion strings. However, you could also use vegetable oil. I wouldn't, however, recommend using olive oil since it's not a high temperature oil.
- I used a mandoline to slice the onions.
- Onion strings can be kept warm in 225°F oven until ready to serve. Leftover onion strings can be reheated in 350°F oven for five minutes, or until hot.
Nutrition
Calories: 621kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 9gFat: 43gSaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 1043mgPotassium: 387mgFiber: 2gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 515IUVitamin C: 6.1mgCalcium: 174mgIron: 2.5mg
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