Miller and Carter steakhouse are a chain of about 100 restaurants in the UK. They specialise in premium beef with the ‘steak experience’ being their main event. You get a steak cut such as rib eye or sirloin, your choice of sauce, lettuce wedge with dressing, fries and the onion loaf. I enjoy cooking and eating steak a lot but they aren’t the cheapest, so I like to recreate this meal, so here’s my take on the Miller and Carter onion loaf recipe. This copycat recipe will satisfy if you’re looking for that restaurant vibe.

The Miller and Carter steak experience, rib eye, fries, beef dripping sauce and onion loaf in the bottom right

Onion loaf? What like bread? No. Actually it’s much closer to an onion bhaji like you’d find at an Indian restaurant; chunks of onion in batter fried. Though a little less chilli than those recipes!

The onion loaf can serve as a great accompaniment to a steak. With a crispy and golden-brown exterior, and a sweet and savoury taste that can enhance the overall flavour.

Though it’s not just for steak – it would work really well on a roast dinner, perfect with a barbecue and dare I say it – would work really well with pie and mash with lashings of gravy.

My version!

So my recipe below isn’t very difficult but does require a little time to salt the onions. And it is best if you have a deep fat fryer, or are happy frying in a few centimetres of oil. If not you could make thin patties and fry both sides, or alternatively oven bake. You won’t get that same crunch but it will be healthier and less stressful to manage alongside the rest of dinner. However you do it it’s a tasty, savoury side dish perfect for any hearty meal.

I also made a beef dripping sauce just like Miller and Carter’s. And the bordelaise sauce.

miller and carter onion loaf

A replica of the crispy onion side dish you can order at a steakhouse.

4 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Salting time 30 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Servings 2 loaves

Equipment

• Deep fat fryer

Ingredients

  

• 2 onions approx 350g once prepared
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons plain flour about 50g
• milk just a splash, optional
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper

Instructions

 

• Peel and halve the onions. Slice into thin half moons and place into a large bowl.
• Sprinkle with salt and stir well to coat. Set aside for 30 minutes to soften.
• After 30 minutes fill the onion bowl with cold water. Swish them around in the water, then drain them off and rinse in more cold water to get as much salt off as possible. Tip them onto a clean tea towel or several layers of paper towel. Squeeze and squish them dry.
• Beat the egg and mix with the flour, pepper and paprika. If needed add tiny amounts of milk (like a teaspoon at a time) to make a batter thick like custard. Stir the dried onions in. You will not need to salt this batter, the salt soaking earlier will do your salting for you.
• Take the onion batter and form into blocks approx 2cm deep. You can freeform this, or you can use a mini-loaf baking tray, lined with cling film. Cover and freeze for at least an hour but they can be frozen for months at this point. The freezing helps the onions bind together.
• When ready to cook preheat your fryer to 160°C. Turn the loaves out of the cling film and fry. Cook for a few minutes until browned on the underside and once golden brown flip over to cook the other side. Drain on kitchen paper. Eat immediately, they go all flabby and greasy when cold.

Notes

These can be baked in a 200C oven for 20-30 minutes until golden brown if you don't want to deep fry. They won't be as crispy but they'll be oniony and tasty (would make a great side for a roast dinner with a dash of dried sage mixed in). Alternatively you can fill a deep pan with oil and fry that way, but please take care.

Keyword copycat recipe, fakeaway