There’s nothing as appetizing as enjoying a warm crispy bloomin onion with a spiced crust. That, however, is not the case if you have some leftovers from this delicious dish. The cold bloomin onion should be reheated to restore its crispiness without making it soggy or burning it. So how do you reheat a bloomin onion PERFECTLY?
The reheating process is easy but can turn to be challenging, just as it is with fried foods. So in this guide, I have compiled the different ways you can reheat your bloomin onion.
What is a Bloomin Onion?
Bloomin onion is a dish from one big onion sliced to resemble the shape of a flower. This onion is also called onion blossom, onion bloom, onion flower, or onion mum. The dish is battered, then perfectly deep-fried, and served as an appetizer with ranch dressing or side dipping sauce.
This dish originated in Tampa bay in Outback steakhouse and comes in different flavors. It’s grown popular in other restaurants like red robin and Hooters, among the other restaurants. The taste of bloomin onions can be compared to onion rings, even though their styles differ.
What Kind of Onion is a Blooming Onion?
Blooming onion, famous for its flower-like shape, is made from large onions. The onions used are the super-colossal onions that grow twice the size of medium-sized onions. The onions have up to 200 petals cut into stripes, then spread out in the shape of a flower and coated with spiced flour. After coating, the onions are deep-fried in a fryer then served warm with some dipping sauce.
Bloomin Onion Versus Onion Rings
Bloomin onions are pretty similar to onion rings. The taste of onion rings and bloomin onions are very much alike as they have the same texture. Each of them, however, has some distinct differences.
- Appearance
Bloomin onions are more appealing to the eyes because of their floral design. Onion rings, on the other hand, have this long strip of fried food.
- Presentation
The difference in the presentation of bloomin onion and onion rings is that the onion rings stand distinctively on their own. In contrast, petals of bloomin onions stand individually in one large flower. When served to a group, the people can pick off a petal at a time or pull off the petals one at a time from the flower and serve like onion wedges.
- Petal size
Usually, onion petals are small and easy to eat compared to the regular full-size onion rings.
How to Reheat a Bloomin Onion Step by Step
As I promised you at the onset of this piece, there are up to 4 great ways to reheat the onions. These differ in the type of kitchen appliance you use for the job. You can use any of these cooking appliances:
- Oven
- Air fryer
- Toaster oven
- Microwave
a) Reheating bloomin onion in the microwave
This is possibly the quickest way to have your bloomin onions for a second round. It is, however, not the best but still works fine.
Steps:
Step-1: Trim back any scorched skin of the food before reheating in the microwave.
Step-2: Place the bloomin onion in a microwavable dish and place a plastic cling film around the container to seal the food.
Step-3: Set the microwave to a high heat setting and heat for 20-30 seconds. Stop to check how well the bloomin onions have been heated.
Step-4: Microwave again in 10-second splits until heated as you like.
Step-5: Remove the dish from the microwave and take off the cling film.
Step-6: Let the onions cool before peeling off the skin.
Step-7: Enjoy the juicy fried onions.
b) Reheating bloomin onions in an air fryer
Air fryers are the new thing in the kitchen appliance industry. The air fryers are gaining popularity faster than expected due to their various benefits. They leave your bloomin onions crispy, but they require lesser oil when it comes to deep-frying, making them the healthier option overall.
Steps:
Step-1: Set the temperature of the air fryer at 400-degrees F.
Step-2: Give the onions a light spray of cooking grease or oil.
Step-3: Place the onions in the chamber and let them heat up for between 5 and 10 minutes, depending on how hot you want them. The longer they stay, the crispier they get.
Step-4: Let the onions cool for a few seconds before serving.
c) Reheating bloomin onions in the toaster oven
If the conventional oven isn’t much your thing, you could get things done faster in a toaster oven. Here’s how to reheat bloomin onions in the toaster oven:
Steps:
Step-1: Set the temperature of your toaster oven or broiler at 400-degrees F and keep it on for a few minutes.
Step-2: Arrange the onions in a rack, leaving a small space between them to ensure they retain their crispiness.
Step-3: After the cooking time has elapsed (the toaster will beep), turn off the toaster and let the bloomin onions stay inside for a minute.
Step-4: Peel the onions and enjoy.
d) Reheating bloomin onions in the oven
The conventional oven does an equally mint job at reheating bloomin onions. After all, it produces wonderfully crispy layers and can reheat more and more giant onions at a go.
Steps:
Step-1: Set the temperature of your oven at 425-degrees F and keep it on for a few minutes.
Step-2: Cut up the onions into single-bite pieces and arrange them on a foil-lined baking sheet.
Step-3: Cook for 10 minutes. If they aren’t browned yet, cook further for five minutes.
Step-4: Enjoy the crispy-edged bloomin layers.
How to reheat bloomin onions from Outback Steakhouse
Reheating bloomin onions from Outback Steakhouse is simple. However, it all depends on what appliance you cooked them in.
Reheating deep-fried Outback Steakhouse bloomin onions
Deep-fried bloomin onions can be reheated in the air fryer or the conventional oven. You can also deep fry them again or heat them up in a pan.
Reheating air-fried bloomin onions
If cooked your bloomin onions in the air fryer, you can reheat them in the air fryer still, or you can do so in the oven or over a pan. Do not try to deep-fry air-fried onions, as they will only become soggy.
How to reheat onion rings
You can warm up leftover onion rings in the oven. You can also use a toaster, or deep fry them again or pan-fry them lightly with oil over a low flame.
Overall, the best way to reheat onion rings is to warm them in the conventional oven.
How to store bloomin onions
If, for some reason, you didn’t eat all your cooked bloomin onions, you still have a chance to enjoy them later by storing them in the fridge.
Steps to storing bloomin onions:
Step-1: Place a paper towel over in a container that you intend to store the onions in. The towel will soak up the juices that seep from the onions as they cool down. This lowers the probability of the onions becoming soggy.
Step-2: Place the onions over the paper towel and fold up the edges to cover the top of the onions.
Step-3: Close the container, or zip up the Ziploc bag and place it in the fridge.
Step-4: Refrigerated bloomin onions stay fresh for up to three days.
How to tell if the bloomin onion is bad
It’s easy to tell whether a bloomin onion has gone bad or not. Just check the following tips to ensure you are not consuming spoilt onions, even if they look okay.
- How long the onions have been stored at room temperature: Brooming onions left on the countertop for more than three hours are probably starting to go bad.
- How the onion smells: If your bloomin onions have gone bad, you’ll quickly tell from a foul smell that’s different from the fresh, strong onion smell.
- The color of the onion skin: A bloomin onion that has gone bad will have a dull, slimy outer layer and a different texture.
- Presence of mold: If you see any mold or discoloration on your bloomin onion, it has gone bad, and you should toss it in the trash.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Can you reheat fried onions?
Yes. You can reheat deep-fried bloomin onion either in the oven or pan-fry them lightly on a pan.
The reheating method is mainly dependent on the cooking method employed.
Q. Where can I get bloomin onions?
You can buy a bloomin onion from Outback Steakhouse, but you can still have it in other restaurants like Chili’s, Joe’s Crab Shack, etc.
Q. Why is a bloomin onion so bad for you?
Bloomin onions are deep-fried before serving. This makes them high in trans fats and saturated fat.
For instance, although the Bloomin’ Onion is classified as an appetizer, it has over 800 calories. Still, you get 58g fat, 22g saturated fats, and lots of sodium. In fact, a single Bloomin’ Onion serving has as much as 1500mg of sodium- pretty bad for your heart and blood pressure.
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Conclusion:
We hope you enjoyed our article on how to reheat bloomin onions. If you were looking for ways to enjoy your last night’s bloomin onions or how to tell if they have gone bad, you have all the information. As described above, you can ensure the onions last a few days by storing them in the fridge.
