Beer Battered Onion Rings

When I order a sandwich or burger at a restaurant, they usually ask “are fries okay with that?” and I always oblige with a “yes”. Here’s the thing… onion rings are awesome. Yes, they usually take a back seat to French fries, but they are a totally worthy side dish (or appetizer, or snack).

Homemade onion rings can be a tricky proposition - there's just so much that can go wrong when you make them. The coating is too heavy or too thin, or worse, just falls off the onions when you try to eat them. I was ecstatic not to run into any of those issues with this recipe. The onion rings were crispy with a thick, but not heavy, coating and had so much flavor thanks to the beer batter.

I've made other beer battered onion rings before and they all pale in comparison!

Beer Battered Onion Rings

2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) pale ale beer
2 large yellow or Vidalia onions
Vegetable oil, for frying

In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of flour with the paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Whisk in the beer until the mixture is well combined. Let the batter rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.

While the batter rests, cut the tip off of the stem side of the onions then remove the peel. Slice the onions horizontally into 1/2-inch-thick rings and toss them with the remaining 1/2 cup of flour.

Add the vegetable oil to a large, heavy-bottomed pot (Dutch oven) to a depth of 2 inches and heat it over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 375°F.

Working in batches, dip the onion rings into the prepared batter, shaking off any excess, then immediately drop them into the hot oil. Be careful not to overcrowd the pot. Allow the onions to cook in the oil, flipping them once to guarantee even browning, for a total of about 3 minutes. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate. Immediately season them with salt. Repeat the coating and frying process, returning the oil to 375°F between batches, with the remaining onions.

Comments

[Kayte]

You are absolutely right, there are so many many onion ring recipes and I am very very picky about onion rings...I rarely eat fried food, but I make an exception of pilfering one of the rings from the guys when we are out and they order them (they are fine with that by the way as I limit myself to one). These look worthy...maybe I should give them a try, but then that could be so dangerous if I really really like them.

[bellini]

If onion rings are on the menu I am there Jerry. These sound reliable and tasty.

[JDeQ]

They were good but I confess the onion rings we ordered at Mac's on the Pier in Cape Cod were even better.