One day, months ago, after Ben and I were watching a show on the Food Network about fried foods, Ben had asked me to recreate the beer battered onion rings that were featured. Knowing I’m not one to frequently bust out a vat of oil to “waste” on frying, I quickly filed his request in the very back of my mind. No, seriously, the very back shelf of my brain that is probably full of dust and other undesirable recipe requests.
Onion rings have never been one of my favorite foods. The only time I’ve ever had them was when someone else ordered them at a restaurant and shared one or two with me. Regardless, when I was planning out my menu for the Oktoberfest Burgers, the dusty old onion ring file jumped to the forefront of my thoughts and I just couldn’t push it out of my mind. Ben was going to get his wish. I quickly searched for a few recipes, combined them together to suit my tastes, then whipped up these lovely fried circles of joy.
Despite my previous aversion to onion rings, I certainly enjoyed these! It is important to use a nuttier beer, as it accounts for most of the flavor in the batter. You can spice up the batter however you wish. I chose to keep it simple with a little bit of garlic powder and smoked paprika. Keeping it basic allows the edge of the beer to shine through and doesn’t overpower the onion. Plus, it’s all about the dipping sauce anyway, right?
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , divided
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 egg , separated
- 1/2 cup (or more) beer, medium body
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- Juice from one lime
- Salt and pepper , to taste
- 2 large onions (the sweeter, the better), sliced into thick rings
- Canola oil , for frying
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In a large bowl, whisk together 3/4 cups of the flour, garlic powder and smoked paprika; set aside.
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In a separate large bowl, beat the egg yolk then stir in the beer, butter, lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix into the flour and spices until just incorporated. The batter should be a similar consistency to pancake batter. Add more or less beer to achieve the appropriate thickness. Allow the batter to stand for 1 hour.
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Heat a couple inches of oil to 350 degrees in a heavy sauce pan or Dutch oven. Meanwhile, whip the egg white until stiff peaks form, then fold into the beer batter. Place the onion slices into a plastic zipper bag with the remaining 3/4 cup flour. Shake to coat the onions.
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Remove flour-coated onions one at a time then dip into the beer batter. Transfer to the hot oil (in batches so to not over-crowd) and fry until golden, turning halfway to evenly brown each side. Raise oil temperature back to 350 degrees in between batches. Drain on a baking sheet lined with paper towels and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
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Source: Methods and ingredients adapted from multiple sources.
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Jen @ BeantownBaker.com says
October 24, 2011 at 6:37 AMI rarely fry things as well, but these do look tasty. I’m going to store this idea in the back of my mind as well.
Mechelle says
October 24, 2011 at 6:43 AMThese look delicious, I LOVE I mean seriously love onion rings, but the rest of the family can’t stand them. In fact they don’t like onions in any way shape form or fashion. So I rarely even buy onions, however that looks like it may be changing with this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing this. Yummy deep fried goodness and ranch dressing here we come, the perfect game day snack…and luckily for me no one else likes onions so just more for me..yayyy go onion rings.
Laura says
October 24, 2011 at 12:16 PMI think beer batter is definitely the way to go when it comes to onion rings. I like to dip them in ketchup, that’s had a splash of beer added to that as well. Kind of weird, but it works! These look great, Nikki.
Annie says
November 1, 2011 at 5:57 PMThese are absolutely gorgeous, Nikki!
Christine says
November 2, 2011 at 3:16 PMHi Nikki, Your Beer Battered Onion Rings recipe has been selected to be featured in a Recipe Guessing Game. Please share the following link with your friends and fans. To play, go here: http://knapkins.com/guess_games/271?source=blog Congrats again!! 🙂
Kendall says
December 10, 2011 at 8:03 AMThis seems like a wonderful idea! My husband and I both enjoy onion rings every once in a while. Do you think this would work for an awesome blossom?
Nikki says
December 10, 2011 at 2:32 PMI’ve never tried making an awesome blossom, so I really don’t know. I’m sure the batter would be fine, if that’s what you mean? Let me know how it turns out!
aowd25 says
January 28, 2012 at 1:14 PMThese are absolutely gorgeous,
مجالس بللحمر
مواقع بللحمر
lisa says
February 3, 2012 at 6:46 PMMine didn’t turn out so well 🙁 IDK where I went wrong but mine didn’t look like yours, didn’t taste good, or cook all the way 🙁
Sue says
February 20, 2012 at 7:29 PMThese look delicious! I love onion rings your recipe makes them sound pretty easy to make. What did you use for a dipping sauce?
Nikki says
February 20, 2012 at 8:31 PMHi Sue, I personally like ketchup (yeah, I know) but I also like dipping these in my homemade ranch and honey mustard. I haven’t made an actual dip for onion rings…yet. Maybe I’ll have to!! 😉
Amie @ Family Recipes says
February 24, 2012 at 11:03 AMI love love love onion rings! To me they could be a meal by them selves, and by adding beer I think I can convince a few others of that as well! Thank you :0)