Outback Steakhouse serves 40,000 Bloomin’ Onions every day — that’s about 62 million calories’ worth of the chain’s famous appetizer: a giant onion that’s cut to resemble a flower and deep-fried. Many readers, including Sue Rogers from Tomball, TX, wrote to us for the recipe, but only three people at the company know it, and none of them will give it up. So, chefs in Food Network Kitchens fried onions until they nailed the zesty coating — and the secret dipping sauce.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr |
| Active: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon drained horseradish
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia (about 1 pound)
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 gallon soy or corn oil, as needed, for frying
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- Combine all of the dip ingredients in a bowl, cover and refrigerate.
- Slice the onion (see Cook’s Note). Whisk the flour, cayenne, paprika, thyme, oregano, cumin and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper in a bowl. In a small deep bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and 1 cup water.
- Place the onion in a separate bowl, cut-side up, and pour all of the flour mixture on top. Cover the bowl with a plate, then shake back and forth to distribute the flour. Check to make sure the onion is fully coated, especially between the “petals.” Lift the onion by the core, turn over and pat off the excess flour; reserve the bowl of flour.
- Using a slotted spoon, fully submerge the onion in the egg mixture (spoon on top, if necessary). Remove and let the excess egg drip off, then repeat the flouring process. Refrigerate the onion while you heat the oil.
- Fill a large deep pot with at least 3 inches of the oil, leaving 2 inches of space at the top. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 400 degrees. Pat off excess flour from the onion. Using a wire skimmer, carefully lower the onion into the oil, cut-side down. Adjust the heat so the oil temperature stays close to 350 degrees. Fry about 3 minutes, then turn the onion over and cook until golden, about 3 more minutes; drain on paper towels. Season with salt and serve with the dip.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 920 |
| Total Fat | 61 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Carbohydrates | 78 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Sugar | 10 g |
| Protein | 15 g |
| Cholesterol | 105 mg |
| Sodium | 830 mg |
Reviews
It’s time to start! Michael Stice.
swapped the cayenne pepper for chili powder because i was out of it. It was super good! i also do not measure anything tbh. i cook a lot so i have a good idea of how much to add. i’d definitely recommend doubling down on the seasoning. i also added some onion powder to the dry mix and seasoned the onions with salt fresh out of the fryer! makes a BIG difference
Added a tablespoon of sour cream and it was perfect!
It was pretty good. I added more than what the measurements called for on the seasonings. And on the sauce I skipped the horse radish and cayenne pepper because I don’t like my food to be spicy. The only thing I would do different is make them into just pedals so that the flour mixture coats it evenly
No taste whatsoever! I even cut back on the flour.
The breading had zero taste and the sauce was no where close to Outback. We tossed it in the trash
Pretty Decent. But would still get Outbacks Bloomin Onion
Bland on the seasoning. sauce is decent but doesn’t match
Easy and flavorful
Excellent