Baked Blooming Onion

Hay cut. Hay raked. Hay baled. Cattle work this week. Patrick rode in the truck. He pointed out two heifers I had not noticed. He sees things I do not. The work is shared.

Patrick on the porch in the afternoon. Coffee in the good cup. The cottonwoods.

Grilled ribeye Saturday. Charcoal in the kettle. Three minutes per side. Rest. Eat.

The week held. The work continues.

The Musselshell was clear Sunday. Could see trout in the deeper pools. Did not fish. Just watched.

Three days of horses this week. The work is meditative. The horses know. The owners pay. The cycle holds.

A reader emailed about the elk chili recipe. Asked what beer to use if non-alcoholic was not available. I wrote back: any beer is wrong if you don't drink. Use stock.

The barn cats are doing their job. Down to one mouse this week, in the feed shed. The cats brought it to the porch as proof. They are professionals.

The Tuesday Roundup AA meeting was eleven this week — three new guys from a referral. The room was full. The coffee was strong.

Worked on the truck Saturday afternoon. Plugs and wires. Two hours. Hands black with grease. Came in. Showered. Ate.

Drove the back fence line Saturday. Two posts down from elk. Replaced them in the morning. The fence held the rest of the week.

Wrote a blog post Friday night. The first one in two months. About making chili in a snowstorm. Short. Practical. Posted it. Forgot about it.

A neighbor's heifer was choking on a corn cob. I drove over with my emergency kit. Cleared the cob with a length of garden hose. The heifer recovered. The neighbor brought a pie the next day.

Drove to Billings for parts Friday. Stopped at the cemetery on the way home. Stood for ten minutes. Came home.

Truck started cold Tuesday. Twelve below. Battery is the original. I will replace it before next winter. I always say I will replace it before next winter. I never have.

Storm came through Friday night. Thunder. The dog hid under the bed. The kids slept through it. The cattle bunched up by the windbreak. Standard.

Listened to the cattle market report on AM radio while I worked the shop. Beef is up. Feed is up. The math is the math.

Mended the chute hinge Wednesday. Welder was finicky. Got it on the third try. Patrick used to do this. I do it now.

The wood pile is half what it was at Thanksgiving. I will split another cord on Saturday. The cord will be ready by next winter. The wood always is.

Hank, the dog, herded the chickens by accident. He apologized in the way dogs apologize — eyes down, tail low. The chickens were unimpressed.

Hauled three bull calves to the auction yard Wednesday. Got a fair price. Came home. Counted the cash. Put it in the ranch account.

Took a walk to the river before supper Tuesday. The cottonwoods were silver. The water was running. I did not think much. I just walked.

Mr. Whelan from down the road came over Saturday with a story about a horse he sold in 1979. The story took an hour. I listened. He needed someone to tell it to.

The ribeye on Saturday did not need much — charcoal, time, and a little patience. But the side dish did. I had a bag of large sweet onions in the root cellar that had been sitting there since fall, and this felt like the week to use one. A baked blooming onion takes some prep, but after three days of horses, a fence line, and a neighbor’s choking heifer, standing at a cutting board for twenty minutes felt almost restful. It came out of the oven just as the steak was resting. That is the way it should go.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 large sweet onion (about 1 lb)
2 eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil (for drizzling)
Dipping sauce: 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon ketchup, 1 teaspoon horseradish, 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika, salt to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and place a wire rack on top if you have one.
Cut the onion. Peel the onion and slice off the top 1/2 inch, leaving the root end intact. Place root-side down. Starting 1/2 inch from the root, cut downward to make 12–16 evenly spaced cuts all the way around, forming the “petals.” Do not cut through the root.
Open the bloom. Carefully turn the onion right-side up and gently spread the petals open with your fingers. Microwave for 1 minute to loosen the layers slightly if needed.
Make the coating. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, oregano, salt, pepper, and cayenne. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and milk.
Coat the onion. Set the onion on the rack. Spoon the egg mixture over and between the petals, then spoon the flour mixture generously over the entire onion, pressing gently so it adheres between the layers. Shake off any large excess.
Oil and bake. Drizzle or brush the coated onion with olive oil, making sure to get between the petals. Bake at 425°F for 20–25 minutes, until petals are golden and crisp at the tips.
Make the dipping sauce. While the onion bakes, stir together mayonnaise, ketchup, horseradish, smoked paprika, and a pinch of salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve. Transfer the blooming onion to a plate. Serve immediately with dipping sauce alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

Baked Blooming Onion — Something Worth Making When the Week Has Been Earned