We are going down under for this Frito Friday! Growing up, Outback Steakhouse was one of the restaurants that was always on our go to list. Mainly to please my brother because he LOVED the chicken fingers there. He would eat chicken fingers everywhere we went, but to him the ones from Outback Steakhouse were the best ones, they were a 10/10 for him. So, the other day I saw a commercial for Outback Steakhouse and my friends and I were talking about their creamy onion soup and about their blooming onion appetizers so it got in the mood. Naturally, I went ahead and cooked a blooming onion in my air fryer and I had to share my recipe with you all!
How do you cut the onion so that it blooms?
This is probably the trickiest part to making this dish. The first thing you are going to do is cut about ½ an inch off the pointing stem and leave the root intact on the bottom. Next, you are going to peel the skin of the onion all the way and rip it off to leave the root intact. Flip the onion over so that the root is pointing up now. Then, starting about ½ an inch from the root, make a cut all the way down to the cutting board. Do this every inch around the onion, until you have slices going around the whole onion. Once done, carefully flip the onion over and you should see that the onion is now opened and bloomed. You may have to carefully separate the tips of the outer pieces.
Do I have to use an air fryer to make a blooming onion?
Absolutely not! You can definitely deep fry these. I just like using my air fryer to make them. To deep fry them, heat up the oil in a deep fryer to about 375F. Place the onion in the hot oil after its floured and cook for six minutes, flipping halfway through.
Do I have to use panko crumbs?
No, you don’t. I like to use panko crumbs because I feel like they make the food a little crunchier in the air fryer, but if you just want to use flour feel free to only use flour.
I love to dip my blooming onion in my chipotle crack sauce! Click this link for the recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 Large Onion Can be Sweet
- 1½ cup Flour
- 1 cup Panko crumbs Optional. If not using panko crumbs, add another cup of flour.
- 1½ tlbs Old Bay seasoning
- 2 Eggs
- ½ cup Milk
Instructions
- Pre-heat your air fryer to 400°F.
- Cut about ½ an inch off the pointing stem of the onion and leave the root intact on the bottom. Peel the skin of the onion all the way and rip it off carefully to leave the root intact. Flip the onion over so that the root is pointing up now. Then, starting about ½ an inch from the root, make a cut all the way down to the cutting board. Do this every inch around the onion, until you have slices going around the whole onion.
- Flip the onion over, and the onion should be bloomed. You may have to seperate the tips of the outer onion using your hands.
- In a bowl, combine your flour, panko crumbs and old bay seasoning and mix. In a seperate bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together.
- Place the onion in the flour, panko crumbs, and old bay seasoning mix, and coat the onion. Make sure to get some in all the layers.
- After, place the onion in the eggs and milk mixture and coat the onion. I like to flip the onion while in the mixture to assure that it is all coated.
- Return the onion back into the flour, panko crumbs, and old bay seasoning mix and coat one last time. Make sure its well covered. Flip and gently shake to remove any excess flour.
- Spray the onion with coooking spray or drizzle oil on it generously, and place it in the air fryer for 20-25 minutes. You are going to have to spray it about two or three times with oil while it is cooking. (if you deep fry the blooming onion, heat oil to 375°F, and cook for 6 minutes, flipping halfway through)
- Serve and enjoy!
You are so talented! A God amongst men