Today's Case:
Howard Johnson's Onion Rings
Re: Howard Johnson's Onion Rings and Clams
From: Jimmy
To: Phaedrus
Date: 4/23/2025, 4:01 PM
On 4/23/2025 2:55 PM, Jimmy wrote:
Howard Johnson - onion rings i dream of these, not crisp but soft like pancake batter crust
Hello Jimmy,
I searched for this back in 2017:
I did find a bit of additional information about them here: 1-16-2017
and they've been on my "not found" list ever since. I did a thorough search again today and again I had no success.
I did find a bit of additional information here:
Howard Johnson's Restaurant Menu
"The same breading mix used for the tender sweet fried clams, was also used for the onion rings. It came pre-packaged. The fried clam strips and onion rings were double breaded, using evaporated milk and the clam mix."
I also found it mentioned elsewhere that the "flour" used to coat the onion rings and clams was pre-made. That means that there was no recipe for the batter at the local Howard Johnson's. It was a mix that was made elsewhere and shipped to the local Howard Johnson's.
I did find a copycat recipe for HOJO's clams from the book "A History of Howard Johnson's, Anthony Mitchell Sammarco, 2013". If the same batter was used for the onion rings as for the clams, try making the dredge from the below clams recipe and using it to coat your onion rings. Don't forget to double-dip them.
I also have heard that you can make a similar batter using Aunt Jemima's Pancake mix and cornmeal.
Phaed
Fried Clams
Source: A History of Howard Johnson's, Anthony Mitchell Sammarco, 2013
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla
Dash salt and pepper
4 doz freshly shucked clams
1 cup cake flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
Oil for frying
Preparation
Combine evaporated and whole milk, egg, vanilla, salt and pepper. Soak clams in
liquid and then dredge in combination of cake flour and cornmeal, fluffing them in
the flour mix for light but thorough coverage. Shake off excess flour and fry in oil.
