The shortages we’ve all observed over the past several months in frozen potatoes haven’t really affected my family. We only very occasionally purchase frozen hash browns, and it’s been at least a decade if not longer since we’ve gotten any frozen French fries. We like our home-canned ones so much better.
However, I don’t know if I even canned any French fries last year. I think I got busy and decided to wait until this year since we still had a couple cases on the shelves.
I’m now afraid that was a colossal mistake. Report after report on the poor quality of potatoes in stores and skyrocketing prices when they are available are not good. Really, really not good. I keep praying that our potato harvest will be a good one with at least enough large russets for canning a load of French fries.
In the meantime, last week I harvested the first of our onion bulbs, about half of which are sweet Walla Walla onions. Most often the onions are chopped or sliced into the entrée du jour. Two weeks ago I bought some onion jam on clearance, and the family all really liked it, so I might give canning that a try. I also got to thinking that maybe I could try making some onion rings. Not only would they be a great way to use the extra-large Walla Walla onions we grew, but they would also occasionally substitute for French fries and make that precious commodity last a little longer.
The following recipe comes from KittenCal at Food.com
Heat the oil to 350°F. (Remember, popcorn kernels will pop at 350°F, so if you don’t have a thermometer, use some popcorn to gauge your temperature.)
Combine the eggs and buttermilk in a shallow bowl.
Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl for the crispy coating.
To make the onion rings, first dip the onion slices in the dipping mixture and then in the coating mixture. Fry in hot oil, turning once, until the onion rings are lightly browned on both sides. Sprinkle with salt. Eat immediately.
Family reviews: Oh, yeah. Umm, these are basically phenomenal. Everybody (KOTPE, Buttercup, Blueberry Girl, Ellie, Aaron, my dad and stepmother, me) scarfed them down. So very tasty. I now foresee lots more onions being grown in the future.
The cook’s review: Ok, there seemed to be a lot of the egg mixture left over. I didn’t like that kind of waste of eggs, something else that has become a very precious commodity. I think one could get away with 1 large egg mixed with ¼ cup buttermilk. Most noteworthy is that the cooking oil will get very dirty. You’ll definitely want to filter it.
About the recipe unnecessarily wasting eggs, in a true TEOTWAWKI scenario, wouldn't "wasting" this much cooking oil for deep frying be a similar problem? While cooking oil can be re-used for other efforts, I still wonder about its use like this.
ReplyDeleteAfter Russia invaded Ukraine, cooking oil was in short supply in much of Europe. Given the relatively short shelf life of most oils, it will be hard to replace for most people.
P.S. I tell people, rather than tossing oil, to always save old cooking oil/rancid cooking oil for use in oil lamps.
Yep, I probably wouldn't use precious oil for onion rings when things have really and truly fallen apart. But oil can be filtered. And my vac-sealed-in-glass peanut oil has been making it five years, so I store a lot of it. There are a couple of articles here on the blog on filtering oil and alternative uses for rancid oil.
DeleteWhen I make various fried foods and there's breading/egg/what ever mix left over, I just add some more of any needed expanders- eggs, oil, crumbs &c. to make a thicker than pancake mix and add ~1/4 cup to the remaining hot oil. The product always disappears quickly. They're a down and dirty hors de vors. I heven't tried this with fish, but...
DeleteGenius!
DeleteThanks, Jennifer. I'll look up these articles.
ReplyDelete