I made both onion rings and chips tonight in my continuing effort to get the stove as filthy as possible before getting rid of it. No, I'm not really doing that, but I have been forced to cook on the range top as the oven is broken. It really irritates me to no end that repairing it would cost more than a new oven. I haven't rushed out to replace it because, much like everyone else, I'm waiting for deflation to hit. What's more, there just isn't a whole lot of choice in electric ranges if you don't want a glass top (I don't). Anyhoo, I fried up a batch of onion rings from a new recipe that turned out beautifully.
You can find the recipe HERE and he has a wonderful tutorial along with it. The batter almost sounds too simple, but they fry up just lovely. I fried in Canola oil because the Canadian rapeseed cartel managed to hook everyone in the US with their "healthy" oil that smells strangely of fish when heated to high temperatures. I like to imagine farmers in Alberta (hi, Becky!) sitting about laughing at the dumb schmucks in the US frying their onion rings in stinky oil whilst they enjoy theirs in luscious beef tallow. It's true that chips always taste better in Canada-the memory of a chip wagon in Niagara Falls being the only thing we have to sustain us through the heart-health madness overtaking the US. Well, and the whiskey. Don't be such snobs, there's nothing wrong with blended whiskey. My great uncle had a shot of whiskey every night before dinner, convinced it was good for the heart-and that was before all this heart-health rubbish. Jokes aside, the recipe at the link suggests vegetable oil has too low a smoking point but olive oil is OK? I don't know, that isn't my experience, even with the cheap Pomace grade, and the Canola worked just fine. What's more, I strained it and intend to re-use it as it didn't change colour or pick up any off odours (save for that fish smell, but that's just the nature of the stuff). I'd say use your frying experience as a guide.
So right, where was I ? Oh yeah, the onion rings. Marvelous. Do try them.
If you happen to have a sourdough starter at home, try THIS recipe with the toss-off. Also excellent.
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One note about the pomace oil. In the U.S. there is no legal definition of the term "pomace" for olive oil. Or in fact "extra virgin" or "pure". I'm fairly confident I get the real thing, since I shop at an Italian market that imports everything from Europe, where the terms are defined. But I've read stories about some companies mixing small amounts of olive with other oils -- generally corn or soybean -- and labeling it olive oil.
Real pomace oil is usually not that much cheaper than extra virgin. It is more highly refined, so it has a higher smoke point and almost no flavor.
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