Best way to make Bloomin' Onions...

[hoarp001]

Hi, I have been trying (without much success) to make a Outback Steakhouse style bloomin' onion. I have a slicer which cuts teh onion perfectly but my problem is getting it to stay flowered. I read on the side of the slicer box that you should soak it in ice water and then boil it, but all this seems to do is saturate it to the point that its so floppy it just lies on the plate like a dead jellyfish. If I do not soak it in ice water, the petals snap and the ones that dont snap keep slowly lifting back up.

Do any of you experts have a tried and tested method for maing these things properly?

Thanks for any help,

Pete.

 

[suzanne]

You might try looking for information from Todd Wilbur, who writes the Top Secret Recipes books. I'm pretty sure he has had directions for making those things.

As for what you're doing -- maybe you're boiling it too long? My guess is that the boiling is just to soften it a little, not fully cook it. But that's just a guess; I've never even eaten it, let along tried to make one.

 

[hoarp001]

Ok, thanks how do I contact Todd Wilbur?

Thanks

 

[phoebe]

I've never made them, but just did a search and came up with this link from "Top Secret Recipes." It may answer your question: http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/thesleuth.asp?id=29


Also try Googling "onion blossom" recipe for other recipes.

 

[hoarp001]

Hmm, its a shame the pictures dont work.

the cutter i have makes a peretty good cut, it was 15 quid from lakeland ltd

As yet I have not tried frying one of my onions but im going to have a go tomorrow, maybe the frying will sort it out.

Also, my brother is a Coeliac (or celiac if you are american) and is gluten intolerant. I have some gluten free flour which is suprisingly similar to real flour but since it lacks the gluten it also lacks sticking power... Will this be a problem or will the batter just fall off when its fried?

thanks.

 

[blueicus]

A no gluten flour "should" work just as effectively as a normal flour, although have you also tried simply dunking in ice water but not blanching it? That way at least there's no fear of pre-cooking the onion until it's a jellyfish-like mess. Also for the blanching part, only "cook" it for about 30-60 seconds, if the point is to cook it adequately so that when you fry you don't get raw bits of onion on burnt batter.

 

[hoarp001]

Ok, so i should blanch it for only afew seconds?

I have found gluten free chipshop batter on the net, apparently this has some mystical ingrediant that helps it stick, so il use that...


w w w . g l u 2 g o . c o m
(it wont let me post a web address so i had to put the spaces in)

 

[hoarp001]

Ok, I have some developments. I tried frying them today, the tasted pretty good, even with the gluten free flour but they just didnt flower properly.

I emailed outback on the off chance they would tell me. You can probably guess their response.

We use a special machine to cut the onions but, unfortunately I cannot disclose preparation details of our signature dish!


Mm oh well. Anyway I have another theory. I have a feeling that the blades on all the machines are angled like that so that each petal base is cut at a slightly sharper angle than the previous one. Knowing that, i think it might work if after I press the cutter donw I manualy use a sharp knife to deepen the cut at a sharper angle...

Hopefuly that will work, if not then im out of ideas...

 

[blueicus]

How large does your cutter make the outer layers? A problem that your onion isn't blooming as you want it to could be because the outer parts are too large (I noticed that when I had to prep scallion "brushes" for service that the thinner the strands of scallion I made the better they fanned out when dunked into the ice water). If your cutter is making the outer pieces too large, get a knife and make some additional incisions into the first several layers, making sure you're not chopping pieces of onion out. It may improve your "bloom".

 

[hoarp001]

Hi, the first layer of petals are about 1cm wide. The inner ones go down to about 6

One other thing just struck me. The recepeies all say Vidalia onion. I am using a spanish onion, Its the only one big enough i found. Are they the same thing or am i useing the wrong kind of onion?

 

[blueicus]

A vidalia is a type of sweet onion that is grown in various parts of Georgia (notably Vidalia) that is such because of the low sulphur content in the soil. A spanish onion should reveal similar results.

 

[hoarp001]

Pete Hoare
to Outback
More options 6:42 pm (1 hour ago)
...Can you atleast tell me what kind of onions you use?!


Outback Staines
to me
More options 7:31 pm (26 minutes ago)
For Sure,

We use Spanish or Chilean onions.


So atleast im using the right onions

hehe

ive got through about 10 onions so far...

 

[hoarp001]

Sorry to post again, but i just had another email. It seems that someone else at the resturant saw my email and replied properly.

They soak them in iced water for 24 hours?! this causes them open properly and stiffen into that shape

 

[Sm_okie]

I know this is a VERY old thread but one of my chef instructors in school said the trick to blooming it is when you put it in the fryer you kinda swim it but give it a good clockwise(or counterclockwise) spin, I guess it's like the centripetal force it flowers it out. Worked when I tried it given following the same advise as given here alredady. Obviously please be careful not to splash oil around

 

[maryb]

easier to just make onion nuggets... cut the root and top off peel, cut in half across the middle then lay the cut side down and cut in 8ths. break the petals apart, batter, deep fry

 

[mike9]

I never saw the attraction other than the wow factor. By the time you get 1/3rd of it gone it's soggy and not very tasty. This was 25yrs ago so maybe they've improved.

 

[chefross]

Wow......I've soaked the cut onion upside down in salted ice water. after an hour it usually opens. I rinse and pat dry. I do the "Dip-it" batter and fry until golden brown.
The soggy center in a result of not frying enough. It should be crisp throughout.

 

[mike9]

It was at an OutBack in Florida so maybe they couldn't keep up with the volume?

 

[Planka]

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a video on YouTube of how they do this in Outback steak house. I do remember the spinning motion used as they went into the oil.

 

[rick alan]

Whatever you do add some allspice to the batter.