At restaurants, onions can be sliced into very thin rings on a meat slicer. By cutting the onions in half first, home cooks can get close to the same thinness with a knife, even though it means sacrificing the ring shape.
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Separate onions into strips. Mix with buttermilk in large bowl. Cover with plastic and refrigerate 1 hour. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
Step 2
Stir flour, salt, paprika, and cayenne pepper in another large bowl. Drain onions. Add to flour mixture and toss to coat. Pour oil into heavy saucepan to depth of 3 inches. Heat to 350°F; Working in small batches, shake excess flour off onions and cook in hot oil until golden brown and crispy, about 2 minutes per batch. Using slotted spoon, transfer onions to paper towels and drain.
Step 3
Transfer onions to platter. Season with salt and serve immediately.
