Fried Onion Dippers With Balsamic Ketchup

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 1/2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups club soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt plus more for sprinkling
• 1 (1 1/4-pound) jumbo sweet onion such as Vidalia
• 1 to 1 1/2 quarts vegetable oil
• A deep-fat thermometer

1. Cook garlic in oil in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until golden, about 1 minute.
2. Add vinegar and boil over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
3. Stir in ketchup, sugar, mustard, cloves, allspice, cayenne (if using), and salt and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, until it's thick and well blended.
4. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.
5. Heat oven to 200u0b0F.
6. Whisk together flour, club soda, and salt in a bowl until smooth. Trim both ends of onion and then peel it. Halve onion lengthwise, then cut lengthwise into 3/4-inch-wide wedges. Separate wedges into pieces.
7. Heat 2 inches oil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over medium heat until it registers 365u0b0F on thermometer.
8. Working in batches of about 8, toss onion wedges in batter until coated. Lift onion pieces out of batter one at a time, letting excess batter drip off, and carefully transfer to hot oil. Fry onion dippers, turning with a slotted spoon, until golden, about 2 minutes, then transfer with slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. (Return oil to 365u0b0F between batches.)
9. Sprinkle dippers with salt while still hot and keep warm on a rimmed baking sheet in oven until all onions have been fried.

garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, ground cloves, ground allspice, cayenne pepper, salt, flour, club soda, salt, jumbo sweet onion, vegetable oil, thermometer

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/fried-onion-dippers-with-balsamic-ketchup-51107810 (may not work)