Beer Battered Onion Rings For Super Bowl Sunday

Hey there, El Senor Kosher Gastronome aqui, with an excellent way to clog your arteries on super bowl day. The super bowl has really become synonymous with 1) commercials 2) over-eating, and possibly in 3rd place – football, which is fine, because yet once again my beloved Jets have eluded to heed my advice to hire me as their quarterback, and lo they missed the playoffs. So I now I have to hang my head whilst surrounded by a whole bunch of Ravens fans?? Uh-uh, not happening…So the alternative option -food induced coma! Let’s get cooking!

When I was looking for what to make for a superbowl party, someone suggested onion rings, and I’m not gonna lie, I love me some onion rings. So out came my trusty dutch oven, and I put many a glug of oil into the pot (about 2-3 cups…enough to cover the onions, and have enough volume to maintain its heat…we’re deep frying, not pan frying), and put the spurs to it, cooking over high heat (We’re looking for 350 degrees on a thermometer, which If you don’t have one, you can test that with a popcorn kernel…whenever it pops, you’re ready to fry).

One of the biggest problems with frying onions is that onions are chock full of moisture, which in order to fry them to the state of super deliciousness you need to first drive out all of the moisture. This will ensure the eventual crust will stick better to the onion, and the onion won’t be undercooked and too mushy. One way to do this is by soaking the onion first to soften them, and you can use buttermilk, or salt water, but to infuse more beer flavor we soaked it in beer.

While the onions were soaking, and the oil was heating, I made the batter. The batter, is an important part, because you don’t want it too “cakey” nor too thin. So we needed some lift, but we also needed crunch. For the lift part, the recipe calls for baking powder to supply the airyness, and to counteract that for crispness, it calls for flour and cornstarch (cornstarch being pure starch will gelatinize faster, and absorb more water). So I combined all of the dry ingredients, and slowly started whisking in the beer, until it was the consistency of a thick paste that left a trail as it’s dragged over the batter; know what I’m saying?

When the oil was ready, one at a time (I know, it is a little annoying, but seriously we’re talking the best onion rings you’ve had in a long time…can you put a price on that??) dip them in the batter to fully coat, and using tongs, transfer to the hot oil. Fry until browned, about 6-7 minutes, flipping over once.

Transfer to wire rack, and sprinkle a little kosher salt over still hot onion rings, and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.

If you’re planning on making ahead of time, pre-heat the oven 200, and place the wire rack in the oven. The onions will crisp up some more, and keep warm.

And don’t forget to head on over and check out my blog, I’m even funnier over there.

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