Crispy Cajun Onion Strings with Spicy Dipping Sauce

5 from 13 votes

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.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Resting time1

Total Time25

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Mardi Gras

Servings: servings

Calories: 621kcal

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)

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.

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