A bloomin' good twist on fried chicken, salty shrimp, and beef that's made for that special batter. Outback Steakhouse's Bloomin' Onion is a world famous dish, so utilizing it for other dishes is a no brainer. But the question is, which Bloomin' dish is the best?
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00A bloomin' good twist on fried chicken, salty shrimp, and beef that's made for that special
00:06batter, Outback Steakhouse's Bloomin' Onion is a world-famous dish, so utilizing it for
00:11other dishes is a no-brainer.
00:13But the question is, which Bloomin' dish is the best?
00:17We'll start out by stating the somewhat obvious.
00:19If you like the seasoning on the Bloomin' Onion, you probably can't go too wrong with
00:23any of the Bloomin' Onion spinoffs.
00:26What is that?
00:26Is that a Bloomin' Onion from Outback?
00:28Yeah.
00:29Want some?
00:30Yeah.
00:33They all mimic the flavor or texture of the original, but to varying degrees of success.
00:38Though this Bloomin' Chicken Sandwich Entree has some highlights, it was our least favorite
00:43of the onion homages.
00:44The sandwich wasn't a total disaster.
00:46It remained juicy inside the breading, which can be difficult to do when you're mass-producing
00:50chicken sandwiches.
00:52The bun texture paired with the chicken and the fresh toppings, like house-made pickles
00:56and lettuce, had good contrast in each bite.
00:59The bloom sauce, which comes drizzled on the sandwich, added a kick of extra flavor.
01:04The major downfall here was that the piece of chicken was on the thinner side, which
01:08meant the ratio of breading to chicken tasted unbalanced.
01:11The seasoning overwhelmed the flavor of the chicken itself, so it felt like we were eating
01:15fried food inside a bun with decent toppings.
01:19If we ordered this again, we'd likely try the grilled version to see if the fried component
01:23was the major culprit.
01:25We ordered these Bloomin' Fried Shrimp as an entree even though they're billed as an
01:29appetizer.
01:30We can see why Outback suggests sharing.
01:32Without lighter sides for some variety, these golden brown beauties can start to feel a
01:36little heavy after just a few.
01:38They also seem to be the saltiest out of the dishes we tried, contrasting the sweeter,
01:43natural flavors of the shrimp.
01:44That said, these shrimp were perfectly tender on the inside, and expertly fried for the
01:49satisfying crunch you know and love from the original onion coating.
01:52The end result was a crisp, succulent bite, which paired well with the accompanying bloom
01:57sauce.
01:58If we ordered these again, we would plan to share the plate as intended in the appetizer
02:02round, and likely choose between these or the onion.
02:06Outback calls this entree its twist on fried chicken, and it's not hard to see why.
02:11A boneless chicken breast is battered in the Bloomin' Onion seasoning and fried to golden
02:16Then served with bloom sauce on the side and drizzled on top.
02:19When our entree arrived, the portion of chicken appeared very large.
02:23It looked to be a single chicken breast that was butterflied to maintain a fairly even
02:27thickness throughout.
02:28That resulted in an evenly cooked entree that remained juicy and flavorful.
02:32The chicken is a good complementary protein for the Bloomin' Onion batter in this case,
02:36since the portion is much larger than in the chicken sandwich.
02:39The spices in the seasoning are exactly what you'd expect from an onion spinoff and go
02:44well with the chicken.
02:45The outside was perfectly crisp, while the meat remained tender.
02:48For the amount of food you get with this entree and the quality of the main event, this felt
02:52like a great value despite it being the most expensive on our list of spinoffs.
02:57Of all the Bloomin' Onion spinoffs, the Bloomin' Burger was by far our favorite.
03:02It consisted of a thick burger patty, cooked to order and topped with gooey American cheese,
03:08fresh toppings like house-made pickles, lettuce, tomato, and onion, then capped off with Bloomin'
03:13Onion petals and, of course, Bloomsauce.
03:16The burger is the perfect vehicle for pairing with the Bloomin' Onion petals, in our opinion,
03:21because the savory beef complements the onion seasoning and contrasts the slight sweetness
03:26from the onion itself.
03:27The Bloomsauce is a welcome creamy element to the party, and the other standard burger
03:32toppings lend a crisp freshness that add to the well-balanced result.
03:36It's a towering mouthful of food, but it's a great one each time.
03:40Unlike the other spinoffs, the burger patty isn't coated in the Bloomin' Onion breading.
03:44Burgers aren't a light meal on their own either, but the generous portion of fried onions on
03:48top gives it that extra pop of flavor without overwhelming the dish.
03:52If you're in the mood for a classic burger meal with a little bit of an Outback twist,
03:57this menu item should be ordered as-is and enjoyed thoroughly.
04:01We arrived at Outback with one objective, to immerse ourselves in Bloomin' Onion goodness.
04:06With the spinoff menu items, we certainly accomplished that.
04:09Each item tasted, at least in part, like the famous onion appetizer, even if some of
04:14them were a little overwhelming.
04:16The dishes that celebrated those flavors the best were the chicken entree and the burger,
04:21which offered a good balance between the distinctive spices in the Bloomin' seasoning and other
04:25elements on the plate.
04:27We likely wouldn't pair Bloomin' appetizers with the entrees in the future.
04:31All of them can be delicious in their own ways, but when we had more than one Bloomin'
04:35dish in the meal, it started to feel a bit heavy and one-note in terms of flavor.
04:39Regardless of which Bloomin' Onion dish you order, plan to hydrate, since the seasoning
04:43is very salty.
04:45A standard Bloomin' Onion contains 4,930 milligrams of sodium, more than double the 2,300 milligrams
04:53per day recommended for adults by the FDA.
04:56The entrees were in the 1,300 to 3,000 milligram range, and the shrimp appetizer clocked in
05:02at a whopping 5,830 milligrams of sodium.
05:06Water's up, everyone.
05:08As an added bonus, we became new members of Outback's dining rewards program and got a
05:13free Bloomin' Onion appetizer.
05:16Diners simply sign up for the rewards program ahead of time and input basic contact information.
05:22Then their account is linked to rewards for all of the Bloomin' brands.
05:25Once you set up your account, you'll get a text or email that verifies you're eligible
05:29for a free Bloomin' Onion the next time you visit Outback.
05:33The server will take your phone number before preparing the check, and the appetizer is
05:36comped for you.
05:37We tried this out to test the process, and it was incredibly seamless.
05:41Enjoy the rest of your Outback Steakhouse meal, Judy.
05:46G'day.