FRIED SHALLOTS
FRIED SHALLOTS
Fried shallots made at home are just better! I like to place my shallots in the pot with oil and then turn up the heat and fry until golden brown. I find allowing the shallots to come up to temp with the oil, as oppose to waiting for the oil to get hot and then placing the shallots in the pot, to be a safer, low maintenance method of frying. There's none of the splashing, popping and overflow of hot oil that tends to happen when said hot oil interacts with moist shallots. Following the fry I place the shallots on a tray lined with paper towel and pop them in a 200F oven for 20 minutes to dehydrate. This yields the crispiest of fried shallots that make the ultimate topping for salads, fried rice, a better green bean casserole, hot dogs, sandwiches, etc! Etc! My favorite application of this star ingredient by far though, is in this chili oil .
PREP TIME: 10 minutes | COOK TIME: 15-20 minutes
TIPS
- Have landing pad- tray lined with paper towel, and slotted spoon or spider skimmer ready to go before you begin frying shallots.
INGREDIENTS
- shallots
- neutral oil
- salt
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Slice shallots with a knife or mandolin about 1/4 inch thick. I use these fried shallots mostly for chili oil and for that purpose I prefer to keep the shallots on the thicker side so they hold up.
2. Fill a pot about half way with neutral oil. Place sliced shallots in oil, then bring pot to medium high temp.
3. Allow shallots to fry till golden brown. This can take 15-20 minutes. Remove shallots with spider or slotted spoon when most of the shallots are golden brown and place them on tray lined with paper towel. Salt immediately. It is better to remove shallots when some aren't quite as golden as you would want, rather than waiting and having others burn. The not so golden brown ones can catch up when we dehydrate. No burnt shallots!
4. Place shallots on fresh paper towel and back on tray.
5. If you have a dehydrator, place shallots in dehydrator. If you do not have a dehydrator, set oven or toaster oven to 200F. Dehydrate shallots on tray lined with paper towel for 20 minutes. Time will vary depending on your oven, but remove tray when shallots are a deeper golden brown and more evenly colored throughout. Shallots will feel soft initially but as they cool, will be very crispy! This step is a game changer to eliminate extra moisture.
7. If not using right away, store in an air tight container lined with paper towel. If shallots lose crispiness you can always throw them back in dehydrator or oven at 200F.
NOTES/SUGGESTIONS
When done frying shallots, don't throw away the oil! Strain it and you now have shallot flavored oil. Cook with it, use it to make a dressing/sauce, or move right along to the next stop of making the best chili oil .
*pictured below from left to right- raw sliced shallots, shallots frying in oil, shallots right before I remove them from oil, fried shallots out of oil before dehydration, shallots after being dehydrated in 200 degree oven
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