Beer Battered Fried Onion Rings

A great onion ring is a small miracle of texture: a sweet, tender onion inside a crust so light and crisp it audibly crackles. The trick is beer batter, whose bubbles create an airy, lacy coat that fries up impossibly crunchy. Piled high and served hot with a spicy dipping sauce, these are the platonic ideal of the onion ring — the kind that never make it from the platter to the table intact.

The Beer Batter

Beer is the hero of the batter. Its carbonation lightens the mixture and its proteins help it brown, giving you a coat that fries up airy and crisp rather than heavy and doughy. Keep the batter cold and cook with it right away, while the bubbles are lively, and dredge the soaked onions in a little dry flour first so the batter has something to grip. A thin, even coat is what you want — enough to crisp, not so much it turns bready.

Frying & the Spicy Sauce

Hot oil is everything. Fry the rings at a steady high temperature so they puff and turn golden fast without absorbing grease, and don't crowd the pot — too many at once drops the temperature and leaves them soggy. Drain them on paper towels and salt them the moment they come out. While they fry, whisk together a spicy dipping sauce whose heat and tang cut the rich, fried sweetness. Serve them the instant they are cool enough to hold.

Jorj Morgan

Beer Battered Fried Onion Rings

Shatteringly crisp, golden sweet onion rings encased in an airy beer and rice flour batter. Served with a zesty, horseradish-infused dipping sauce, this is the elevated backyard appetizer.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

  

The Onions

• 2 large white sweet onions, cut into ¼-inch slices
• 2 cups buttermilk

The Spicy Dipping Sauce

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground oregano
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• 2 or more drops hot pepper sauce

The Dry Dredge

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon chili powder

The Beer Batter

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup rice flour
• 2 cups club soda
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle beer

The Fry & Finish

• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Flaky salt (like sea salt)

Equipment

• 1 Large metal baking sheet
• 1 Large rectangular ceramic baking pan
• 1 Heavy-duty enameled cast-iron Dutch oven
• 1 Heavy-bottomed cast-iron skillet
• 1 Heavy-bottomed saucepan

Method

 

Soak the Onions

1. Separate the onion rings and place into a shallow bowl or baking dish.
2. Cover with buttermilk pushing the rings down into the liquid while you get everything else ready to go.

Make the Dipping Sauce

1. Whisk together mayonnaise, ketchup, horseradish, paprika, and oregano.
2. Taste and season with some of the salt and pepper.
3. Stir in as much hot sauce as you like. Pour the dipping sauce into a bowl.

Prepare the Dredge and Batter

1. Whisk together 1 cup all-purpose flour with the rice flour in a shallow bowl or baking dish.
2. Stir in the club soda and beer.
3. Place the remaining 2 cups all-purpose flour into a shallow baking dish.
4. Whisk in chili powder and season generously with salt and pepper.

Heat the Oil

1. Heat about 3-inches of vegetable oil in a deep, large pot over medium-high heat to 350°. The vegetable oil should come no higher than one third up the side of the pot.

Fry and Serve

1. Once you add the onion rings, the oil will bubble up. The temperature of the oil will go down when you add battered onion rings and then come up again as they cook. I use a candy thermometer to make sure that the temperature is hot before I add more onion rings to the oil.
2. Lift an onion ring out of the buttermilk and shake off the extra liquid.
3. Dredge into the seasoned flour and then dip into the beer batter, again shaking off the excess liquid.
4. Place the battered onion ring into the hot oil.
5. Continue this process to fry several rings at a time, being careful not to place too many into the oil at the same time.
6. You want them to swim freely as they fry.
7. Use a slotted spoon or spider strainer to turn the rings in the oil until golden brown on both sides, about 3 to 5 minutes.
8. Remove the rings to a paper towel lined baking sheet.
9. Continue with the remaining rings until there are none left.
10. Once you remove the onion rings from the oil, immediately sprinkle with parsley and flakey salt. Serve with dipping sauce.