You can serve these classic onion rings in their time-honored role: alongside a juicy cheeseburger or riding atop a grilled steak. But they are also a winning appetizer, especially when accompanied with a pint of cold, frothy beer. Sweet Vidalia onions, which are mellower than yellow onions, are a particularly tasty choice.
Recipe courtesy of Williams-Sonoma
Ingredients
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 large egg
- Fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3/4 cup lager beer
- 2 large Vidalia or yellow onions (about 1 pound total weight)
- Canola oil for deep-frying
- Ketchup for serving
Preparation
- 1 In a bowl, whisk together the flour, egg, 1/2 tsp. salt and the cayenne pepper until blended. Add the beer and whisk just until combined. Do not worry if the batter has a scattering of lumps. Let stand for 30 minutes.
- 2 Meanwhile, cut the onions into thick rounds, and separate the rounds into rings. Pour oil to a depth of at least 3 inches into a large, heavy saucepan and heat over high heat to 350°F on a deep-frying thermometer. Preheat an oven to 200°F. Set a large wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet and place near the stove.
- 3 In batches to avoid crowding, dip the onion rings into the batter to coat, letting the excess batter drip back into the bowl, and carefully add to the hot oil. Deep-fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a wire skimmer, transfer to the rack and keep warm in the oven while you fry the remaining onion rings.
- 4 Transfer the onion rings to a serving platter and sprinkle with salt. Serve at once with ketchup.
