Okay – this is just not normal cooking for our family. This is the first time I’ve made onion rings. We’ve made tempura vegetables & shrimp and fried chicken, of course, but it’s rare that I fry anything. So when we came across these monster onions at Bernard’s Farm, we had to buy a couple with this recipe in mind. We made it a little different than what I found online. By adding the panko to the beer batter, we found it to be crispier ~ and we made our own sriracha dipping sauce.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 C All purpose flour
- 1 T garlic powder
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1-1/2 C beer (we used a pale ale)
- 2 large onions (or one of the monster onions we used)
- 1 C panko bread crumbs
- Vegetable oil
- Horseradish Ketchup (dressing below)
In a large bowl, mix 1-1/2 cups of the flour with garlic powder, salt, pepper. Whisk to incorporate. Pour in beer and mix well. Let sit for about 15 minutes while you prep your onion rings. Slice onion in 1/4″ slices (or a little thick if so desired), pull apart so you make the rings. They will be different sized as you get to the center of the slice, but this is just fine. You can fry smaller rings in the bigger rings. This makes for a pretty delicious bite! Add vegetable oil to a thick bottom pan so it’s about 2″ deep. Warm to 375 degrees.
Set up battering station. Sprinkle panko on a sheet pan or large plate. Have another sheet pan with remaining 1/2 cup flour. Working in batches, toss onion rings in remaining 1/2 cup flour. Dip into the beer batter and then dip into panko crumbs. Gently lay rings in the hot oil, 3-4 at a time depending on size of pan and size of rings. Basically, you want them to have their own space for frying. You can place smaller rings in the center of larger rings. Fry about 2 minutes per side. Remove and lay on paper towels, sprinkle with salt. Repeat.
Sriracha Citrus Dipping Sauce
- 1 C organic ketchup
- 1/2 C Mayonnaise
- 1/4 C Sriracha
- 1 T minced garlic
- 1/4 C fresh lime juice
- 1 T lime zest
- 2 T organic cilantro, chopped
Mix all ingredients. Place in bowl with extra sriracha on the side.