Onion Straws

Today's recipe has an extra purpose.  My oil needs to be changed in my fryer and I have some buttermilk that needs to be used.  So it's time to make onion straws.  If you remember from our vacation we had some really good ones from Mark's Feed Store in Louisville.  I also learned about a great dipping sauce there that I am going to try tonight as well.  I hope you enjoy these onion straws/rings or whatever you want to call them.

The first step you need to do is slice one large onion or two smaller onions into thin rings.

Put the slices in a fairly shallow dish.

Measure out about 2 cups of buttermilk.

Pour the buttermilk over the onions.  Let it stand for at least one hour.  I turned them a few times too to make sure they got coated really well. I started out with them in the refrigerator but then was worried about the smell and took them out.

The second step when you are ready to fry them up is to create the coating.

In a shallow pan add 2 cups of plain flour.

To that add some pepper and the recipe says one tablespoon of salt but I feel like that is too salty so maybe one teaspoon will be enough.

The recipe also calls for cayenne pepper to taste.  I was out of cayenne pepper so I added chili powder. You can use either.  You want just enough to add a little bit of a zip.

Stir it up well.

Now for the sauce.  It actually test better the longer it sits so you could start out with this.  The girl at Mark's told me their dipping sauce was Ranch dressing and a teaspoon of bbq sauce.  I chose to use my Dreamland sauce.

I didn't want to make a lot of the sauce so I got us each a little bowl and added just a little bit of ranch dressing.

I then added a teaspoonful of Dreamland sauce.  It is easier to add more sauce so start slow.

Mix it up and taste it to see if it is to your liking.  I like the Dreamland sauce because it has a little bit of zip to it.  Then put in the refrigerator. 

Heat your oil either in a skillet or a fryer.  Then drop a few onion rings into the flour mixture and coat well.

When the oil is heated drop a few in at a time.

When golden brown drain on paper towels. 

Ready to eat.  Must say that they fixed my cravings for Mark's feed store onions.

Here are the onions and dip from Mark's.

So the next time you have a hankering for Mark's Feed Store onions even if you have never been there give these a try.