Just A Couple Extra Ingredients Turn Fried Onions Into The Ultimate Cookout Topping

Fries may be the quintessential American side dish, but let's not minimize the impact of fried onions. Beer-battered onion rings, gooey Tennessee onion casserole, and melting onions are all worth a taste. But in our book, tobacco onions just might be our favorite onion side of all time — especially during grilling season.

Also called shoestring onions, tobacco onions are deep-fried, paper-thin slivers of breaded, seasoned onion. Often coated with flour, cayenne pepper, and salt, the alliums got their name in the 1980s from Texas chef Dean Fearing, who named them for the way they shrivel like shredded tobacco leaves when fried. They're very popular in the Southern U.S., but also in England and Ireland, where you'll commonly see tobacco onions on steak, salad, soup, or as a burger topping in pubs.

Recipes for tobacco onions vary, but the preparation is typically the same. First, cut the onions very thin to ensure they frizzle properly. Next, combine flour, salt, and your desired dry seasonings to make the breading. Then, toss the onions to coat, shake off the extra flour, and fry them in hot oil. In five minutes or less, they'll be golden and ready to wow your guests; just be sure to place them in a single layer on a paper towel-lined plate or rack to keep them from going soggy.

Spanish, yellow, or Vidalia onions all work, and vegetable oil is the default. Cayenne is the most common seasoning. It imparts spice and color that make the onions even more appetizing. For the dredge, use all-purpose flour or rice flour. In addition to salt, some cooks add garlic and sweet paprika. Some soak the onions in buttermilk before coating to tenderize the onions, curb their sharpness, and help the breading stick. Buttermilk or not, due to the onions' thinness, they'll have more crunch than standard onion rings.

Some recipes suggest cooking them in a deep fryer, but you can pan fry them instead with much less oil. Use a sturdy, deep skillet that's large enough to give the onions space as they fry; overcrowding the pan will cause an excess of water to steam the onions, resulting in less crispness. It would help to have a spider strainer to remove the onions from the oil for easier scooping and draining.

Like the English and Irish, you can sprinkle tobacco onions over creamy soups and chowders (they're a scrumptious way to upgrade potato soup). Similarly, you can use them in place of croutons on a salad; their sweet-and-savory flavor pairs well with robust, rich dressings, like Caesar. Of course, you can serve them with burgers, hot dogs, and grilled meats, but we think they're peak delicious atop a seared flat iron steak. They're also tasty on mashed potatoes, chili, and rice.