There are probably few things more comforting and delicious than beer battered onion rings. I don’t make them often, but when I do, I go big or go home. Frozen onion rings from the grocery store are okay, but they really don’t do much to tickle my inner or outer fat kid. So when I get a hankering for onion rings, I hold nothing back, and make these awesome beer battered onion rings.
I draw my inspiration for these spicy, sweet, and super crunchy onion rings from River City Cafe at Myrtle Beach, SC. These make for a perfect appetizer, burger side item, or mid-afternoon snack.
Here is a YouTube video that my wife and I made recently. Check it out if you want to learn to make these beer battered onion rings at home. They are really simple to make, and are a real crowd pleaser.
Ingridents
- Buttermilk (or simply add a couple tablespoons of distilled vinegar to regular milk)
- Frank’s Hot Sauce
- 1 large can of Fosters beer (lager) — Or any other lager based beer
- 1 large vidalia onion (or sweet onions if vidalia are unavailable)
- All purpose flour
- Panko bread crumbs
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Cayenne powder
- 1 gallon of peanut oil
Tools
- Deep fryer or large dutch oven with thermometer
Directions
- Mix hot sauce and buttermilk. Slice onions into large rings (at least 1 inch thick), and soak in buttermilk for a few hours or overnight.
- Prepare beer batter a couple hours ahead of time for maximum flavor (or overnight). Mix 1 1/2 cups of flour mixed with all seasoning. Season to taste. Slowly stir in beer until you get about pancake batter like consistency.
- When ready to prepare, drain buttermilk.
- Prepare flour mix to dredge onion rings in. Make another 1 1/2 cups of flour mixed with all the seasoning. Season to taste. Add panko bread crumbs (further break down in food processor if necessary)
- Dip onion rings into beer batter. Coat all sides. Then dredge onion rings in flour mix.
- Deep fry in peanut oil at 375 degrees for approx 3 minutes until golden brown.
- Hold in warm onion until ready to serve
- Serve with optional dip: 2 tablespoons of Duke’s mayo with a good squirt of sriracha hot sauce.