Alexia Onion Rings

January 23, 2008 | Reviewer: Abi

Alexia Onion Rings Price: $2.50 (on sale)
Serving: 1/3 bag, 3.67
Calories: 230
Fat: 19%, 12g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 10%, 230mg
Protein: 10g
Carbs: 9%, 28g
Fiber: 17%, 4g
Sugar: 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 5 Points

Alexia says: Alexia Onion Rings combine sweet Spanish onions with a delicate all natural Japanese style Panko breading giving them a light, crispy texture that is bursting with real onion flavor.

Abi says: I bought these not just because they were on sale, but because they are described on the front of the package as ‘Crispy Golden Onions with Sea Salt’. I am currently in love with sea salt, so you could probably package freeze dried brussel sprouts and label them ‘Chou de Bruxelles avec Fleur de Sel’ and I would try them.

This package of sea-salted onion rings contains three appropriately side-dish-like servings, so I ate them on three separate occasions, each time heating them up in the oven at high temperatures, but for different amounts of time. It was very scientific.

I have an accurately heated oven, so my concern lay mostly with the large time span that could be used to cook the onion rings. Since I wouldn’t be frying them this time around (are they fried by Alexia? I do not know), I knew that it would require patience to get a crispy coating, patience and the magic of Japanese bread crumbs. Which if you think about it is sort of funny. Our culinary culture hails these Japanese bread crumbs as the Best Thing Ever! but supposedly they (Japanese people - specifically Okinawans) also live a gazillion years because they don’t eat bread, horrible, horrible bread. But back to onion rings.

On the first go-round, I cooked the onion rings for the mid-range of time (about 15 minutes, I think), flipping them halfway through the cooking process. This was a disaster. Half-cooked onion rings are soggy and limp, meaning that they resist any efforts to be flipped and fall apart. This results in separate chunks of breading and onion rings, which is exactly the opposite of what I’d like to eat. I finally pulled the rings out when they’d reached immense hotness and the approximate color of the onion rings on the package. They tasted good (I ate them plain and with ketchup) but the sea salt wasn’t exactly evident (read: Where are you, Fleur de Sel?) and I had to pick up separate pieces of somewhat slimy onion and not-quite-crispy breading. It was quite annoying because doesn’t Panko=crispity crunchiness? And aren’t onion rings meant to be a single unit, not a series of alternative bread-onion-bread bites?

On the second try I just tried flipping the onion rings later in the cook cycle. This resulted in a crispier onion ring (perfect crispness), but also a complete lack of onion. That’s right, the onion was just missing. At first I thought that I had a defective onion ring

On the final attempt I decided that the onion rings could go without flipping and would be cooked for a bit less time than the second try. These ones turned out fine on the outside (sogginess was finally banished!), but the insides were completely devoid of onion. Again. I was not a happy baker. Also, I was tired of eating onion rings that were only marginally better than the super-processed ones from Burger King.

Where did I go wrong? Was I just down to the last of the bag? Had I overcooked them to the point of onion evaporation? Is it possible for crispy breading and tender onion to exist in the same decadent appetizer? You would think so, but Alexia’s inclusion of onion powder makes me wonder just what sort of magic is involved in making onion rings. You’d think that the actual onion was enough.

comments

12 Responses to “Alexia Onion Rings”

Crow on January 23rd, 2008

I’ve attempted to bake Brussels sprouts with sea salt and butter. Comes out badly.
Crow on January 23rd, 2008

No, wait, kosher salt, not sea salt.
Shann on January 23rd, 2008

I would eat these. I am in love with onion rings.
anastasia on January 23rd, 2008

Brussels sprouts are great.

That said, I hate the magical evaporating onion thing. How does that work? I hope they just forget to add the onion in the first place.

Is that even possible?
Red Icculus on January 24th, 2008

Sorry you had a difficult experience with these onion rings. They are one of my guilty pleasures in the freezer.

For most things in the oven, I line the pan with aluminum foil and spray with pam. There is no cleanup, and it keeps the food non-stick and super crispy.
Rose on January 24th, 2008

Mmm, those look yummy. but to be honest I get kind of impatient when making fries/onion rings/anything in the oven. because usually I am hungry and want food -now- also, sea salt is mildly disgusting and reminds me of my grandmother and all her various diets.
Jeri on January 24th, 2008

These are the onion rings you buy to pretend they’re good for you because they’re expensive and you bought them at Whole Foods. Ore-Idas are better and cheaper. I bake the heck out of them and haven’t had the onion evaporation problem. Make sure you get the onion RINGS though…not “Onion Ringers” which are made from chopped up onion and are just wrong.
susan on January 29th, 2008

Huh…my family has eaten these several times and they always turn out a lovely, golden color with a crunchy texture. I love them.
Anna on February 9th, 2008

I served some of these last night and my husband asked if they were homemade. I just said “Yes, but it’s a secret recipe.”

We liked these. However, I fit into the scenario Jeri suggested and think I might as well just try Swanson. Or should I say “re-visit” Swanson.
Alexia Waffle Fries : HeatEatReview.com on February 27th, 2008

[…] are the best frozen fry products I’ve ever tasted. After lackluster experiences with both the Alexia onion rings and the Alexia potato wedges, I wasn’t expecting such a fun eating […]
Joanne on April 5th, 2008

I love these onion rings– I’ve never noticed the evaporating onion thing but I have noticed that these turn out better if you follow your frozed-food-baker-for-years instincts. Your nose sort of alerts you to when these need to be flipped. If you can evenly cook these babies they are the best! These do have to be babied a little but they are so crunchy and good that its worth it. When I or my teenagers have tried to rush these by broiling them they quickly reach black, burnt -tasting blackness. I think its because of the panko bread crumbs (you can’t live with em if you burn them but you can’t live without them if you cook them properly)!
Brittany on May 5th, 2008

My husband and I love these onion rings! Although, the first time I made them, I had a similar experience to yours (disintegrating during the flip process). Solution: aluminum foil on the baking sheet, delicately spritzed with olive oil - they flip perfectly. Also, I dont bake them for the whole 15 minutes, I bake for 10 minutes, then use broil for 2 to crisp the tops.