In 1985 the first blooming onion hit the fryolator at Russell’s Marina Grill in New Orleans, a creation of chef Jeff Glowski. Glowski’s friend and colleague, Tim Gannon, brought the fried onion to a neighboring restaurant in NOLA. And then, in 1988, take a wild guess what popular restaurant chain Tim Gannon cofounded.
The blooming onion is the signature dish of Outback Steakhouse and for good reason: It’s crispy, greasy, savory, perfectly seasoned, and impossible to stop eating. It’s also a challenge to make at home unless you have impeccable knife skills and endless patience. For the same great flavor and deep-fried satisfaction with far less effort, I love shrinking the onion down to a more manageable size for the home cook. You might say this version has no rules—it’s just right.
Cipolline onions are ideal here for their natural sweetness, broad size, and tender bite. A dip through a sour-cream-based batter before getting dredged in a generously seasoned coating sets you up for tons of flavor. A quick deep-fry is all it takes for a platter of perfect, crunchy bites. And while there are no wrong answers when it comes to a dipping sauce (ranch, honey mustard, and BBQ are all great options), there is one answer that is the most correct: blossom sauce—a mix of mayonnaise, sour cream, ketchup, horseradish, Worcestershire, and cayenne.