Beer Battered Onion Rings

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword beer-battered-onion -rings, best-beer-battered-onion-rings-recipe

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 20

Marinate Time 1

Total Time 1 45

Servings servings

Calories 540kcal

Author Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

2 jumbo sweet onions sliced into 1/2 inch rings
2 cups buttermilk
1 Tbsp hot sauce adjust to your taste
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp seafood seasoning [i.e. Seafood Magic, Old Bay or similar]
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 12 oz beer
6 cups peanut or vegetable oil for frying [approximately]
Creole Dipping Sauce: (Optional)
1 cup mayonnaise
⅓ cup chili sauce
2 medium green onion whites only
1 4 oz jar roasted red pepper well drained and pat dry
2 cloves garlic peeled
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1½ tsp Creole or Cajun seasoning
½ tsp prepared horseradish adjust to your taste

Instructions

Marinate the Onions: Peel and slice the onions into 1/2-inch thick rings. Separate the rings. Mix together the buttermilk and hot sauce and pour over the onions. Marinate the onions for 1 hour.
Heat Oil: To prepare, heat approximately 6 cup oil in a heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven to 350°F.
In large bowl, use a whisk to sift together the flour, seasoned salt, seafood seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and cumin.
Separate the seasoned flour using 1 1/4 cup for dredging. Mix the remaining 1 cup flour mixture with 12 oz beer stirring until the flour completely dissolves.
Remove the onions from the marinade allowing the excess to drip off. Immediately dredge lightly in the seasoned flour.
Dip into the beer batter letting the excess drip off. Carefully lower into the hot oil. (Don't crowd the oil, or the onion rings will stick together.)
Cook in batches until golden brown around 2 minutes, turning as needed for even browning. (Maintain the oil temperature around 350°-360°F.)
Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon. Arrange in a single layer on a sheet pan lined with paper towels to drain. While hot, sprinkle lightly with additional seasoned salt or seafood seasoning immediately after removing them from the oil.
Serve hot with Creole dipping sauce, if desired.
Creole Dipping Sauce: Place all of the ingredients into a blender and pulse until combined. Chill thoroughly for at least 2 hours prior to serving.(Yield: approximately 1 1/2 cups)
Air Fryer Onion Rings:
Working in batches, place battered onion rings in the basket of an air fryer sprayed with cooking spray. (Spray onion rings, also.)
Cook for 8 minutes at 365°F then check, shake basket and flip.
Continue to cook for an additional 4-6 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. (Adjust times depending on how your appliance performs.)

Notes

Onions: I used jumbo sweet onions for this recipe. You can make onion rings out of white onions or yellow onions.

Beer: When choosing the best beer to make this onion ring batter, I recommend using a beer that you like and enjoy drinking. When in doubt, a stout or lager beer both work well.

Does Beer Batter Have a High Alcohol Content? The batter is cooked so the majority of the alcohol content will cook out in the process.

Baked Onion Rings: If you're counting calories, but still have a craving for crispy onion rings, I have a lighter oven fried breaded Firecracker Onion Ring recipe that are baked not fried.

Nutrition