I’m a food geek, so I have all manner of cooking tools.And what I’m getting at with this nod to my geekdom is this:when it’s hot, summery weather I have the stuff to get all my cooking done outside,while keeping that AC crankin’ in the house with no competition.
So in order to make a tasty onion ring side dish to go with my main course, the outdoor gas burner – the big one I use for lobster boils and turkey frying – gets a little workout.
I’ve used this beer battered recipe and technique for other foods, also. For fried fish or chicken, I just add 1/2 tsp. baking powder to the dry ingredients to infuse some more air into the batter. For the onion rings, fish or chicken, the buttermilk soak is important. Especially for the onions, as the lactic acid helps to mellow the flavor – and the thickness helps to make the batter coat and stick better. Mmmm, tasty.
Ingredients- Beer Battered Onion Rings
2 large sweet yellow onions, sliced into 1/2 inch rings
3 cups buttermilk
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup club soda, cold
2 12 oz. bottles or cans of beer, cold
1 T. honey
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. ancho chili pepper
Peanut oil for frying. (You can use vegetable or canola oils, but peanut oil holds high temps better)
coarse sea salt
2-3 T. fresh parsley, chopped.
Ingredients-Mustard Sauce
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup honey mustard
1 T. freshly prepared horseradish
2 T. honey
1 tsp. cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
First off, you can prepare the mustard sauce way in advance, or while you’re making the rings. Either way, just mix all the ingredients together thoroughly in a bowl and set aside in the fridge. (Makes for an outstanding spread for homemade sub sandwiches, too.)
In a large, shallow bowl place the sliced onion rings and pour the buttermilk over them, coating thoroughly. You can also do this in a large, sealable plastic bag, which I prefer. That way you can flip the bag over several times to give every onion ring a better soak. Don’t go more than an hour, though, otherwise, the rings will get too mushy.
In a large, shallow bowl place 2 cups of AP flour and mix together with a little salt and pepper. To another bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, and then slowly whisk in the beer, club soda, and honey.
Place a Dutch oven or large, deep frying pan over the burner. Pour in 2-3 inches of oil and heat to a steady temp of 350 degrees. Use a thermometer to maintain the proper temp.
If you’re preparing the mustard sauce now, do it while the oil is heating up.
In batches of five or six, take the onion rings out of the buttermilk, dredge them in the dry flour, and dip them into the batter. Shake off the excess buttermilk, flour and batter after each step. Place the rings right away into the hot oil and cook for 3-minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Let them drain on a baking sheet covered with paper towels or brown paper, or use a rack over the sheet. Keep them warm with a foil tent. When all the onion rings are done, plate them together, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh parsley. Serve immediately. With steaks, burgers, whatever – and, of course, more beer.
For a more scientific explanation of why beer battered really is better, check out this article by Scientific American – Beer Batter Is Better.