Your opinion please: Onion Salad

[zzzippper]

This is an adaptation of a recipe from the Weber Grilling book.  It was intended as a pickled onion topping for hot dogs but I'm looking to make it into a sweet wet onion salad or relish.  Any suggestions are welcome.

1 vidalia onion (original recipe was white or yellow)
1 red onion
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 granulated sugar
1 tbs kosher salt
2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp crushed red pepper

Thinly slice the onions and place in a shallow non-conductive bowl.  In a medium bowl combine all other ingredients and whisk to dissolve the sugar and salt.  Pour over onions and stir to coat all.  Let marinade for 3 hours and serve.

The original called for marinading at room temp for three hours and then draining but that's when it was meant as a hot dog topping.

Suggestions or alternatives?  Thanks

[Habanero Smoker]

I never had a salad just made from onions. Onions prepared this way would also work well for a hamburger topping.

If I were to make it a salad, then I would cut down on the vinegar, and add some olive oil. As a basic guide for a vinaigrette you use about 3 parts oil to one part vinegar, you can always adjust to oil to your liking. For example if you use 1/4 cup vinegar you would use 3/4 cup olive oil. When I make a vinaigrette I like to whisk in all ingredients except the oil. When those ingredients are well mixed, then I whisk in the oil.

[zzzippper]

Thanks.  My mom used to make a chilled cucumber/onion salad in a sweet vinegary wet dressing.  That's kind of what I was going for but without the cukes.

[Wildcat]

A local establishment here serves pickled onions.  Great stuff.

[Smokin Soon]

I use a marinated onion mix quite close to that for some of my bean concoctions I put together with various leftover meats and sausages. The white vinegar and spices really gives it a nice flavor. If I vac seal
a lot of pork butt for future use into portions to make a couple of sammys, some onion relish goes in too. But probably not for everyone as I am an onion lover!  ;D

[La Quinta]

Ya know what...for a hot dog...(with all of that "spicey vineger") I would finely mince some B&B pickles...I know they are pickled but they might take the edge off of the onions and the vinegar? I'm just thinkin out loud here...I'm not sure the sugar will carry through? Plus you get another level of texture....a little crunch from the pickles...(and a different level of sweetness) I know Vidalias are sweet...but an onion is an onion...they will leech out some of their acid...

Again...thinkin out loud... :)

[Habanero Smoker]

I forgot about the sugar. If you are making a salad, and using a vinaigrette, I would cut the sugar down to 1 or 2 teaspoons and work from there. Maybe add some dijon mustard.

After writing my first post I remembered that I often make a salad out of just sliced tomatoes and onions.