Steakhouse Bloomin’ Onion Recipe With Creamy Dipping Sauce (Copycat Recipe) by Ann Marie G. Halstead

Have you ever eaten something at a restaurant and figured there was no way you could make it at home? I feel that way about a lot of my restaurant favorites, including Outback’s Bloomin’ Onion. The origins of the appetizer are unclear but it’s been on the Outback Steakhouse menu since 1998!

If you enjoy it as much as I do, I have good news for you: You can make it yourself! All you need to make the actual onion is an egg, milk, flour, salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper, dried oregano, dried thyme, ground cumin and an onion. A big onion! The tasty sauce to serve with the onion is a combination of mayonnaise, ketchup, horseradish, paprika, oregano, black pepper, salt and cayenne. Delicious! 

For a gluten-free recipe, use gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour. Serve the whole fried onion as an appetizer or snack, or as a side dish with Alice Springs chicken. You’re sure to impress your family or dinner guests!

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients

Sauce

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 2 tablespoons cream-style horseradish sauce
• 1/3 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Onion

• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/3 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 large sweet onion
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil, for frying

Here's how to make it: 

1. To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients. Mix well. Cover and keep refrigerated until needed. You can store it in an airtight container.
2. To make the batter, in a medium bowl, beat the egg and add milk. In a separate bowl, combine flour (all-purpose or gluten-free), salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper, oregano, thyme and cumin. Mix.
3. To make the onion, slice 1 inch off of the top and bottom of the onion. Remove the papery skin. Use a thin knife to cut a 1-inch diameter core out of the middle of the onion. Next, using a large, very sharp knife, slice the onion several times down the center to create the "petals." First, slice through the center of the onion to about three-fourths of the way down. Turn the onion 90 degrees and slice it again in an X across the first slice. Keep slicing the sections in half, very carefully, until the onion has been cut 16 times. Do not cut down to the bottom of the onion. Note: The last eight slices are the most difficult, so slice carefully.
4. Spread the "petals" of the onion apart. To help keep them separate you could plunge the onion into boiling water for 1 minute and then into cold water.
5. Dip the onion into the milk mixture and then coat it well with the flour mixture. Again, separate the petals and sprinkle the dry coating between them. Once you're sure the onion is well coated, dip it back into the wet mixture and into the dry coating again. This double-dipping ensures the onion is well coated (because some of the coating will wash off when you fry it).
6. Heat oil in a deep fryer or deep pot to 350 degrees F. Be sure to use enough oil to completely cover the onion when it fries. Fry the onion right side up in the oil for 10 minutes or until it turns brown. When the onion has browned, remove it from the oil and let it drain on a rack or paper towels. Open the onion wider from the center and put a small dish of the delicious dipping sauce in the center.

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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