Last Updated on February 19, 2017
My favorite beer batter is the perfect coating for these crispy, deep-fried, sweet onion rings. You’ll find the recipe in my cookbook, Sara’s Secrets for Weeknight Meals (Broadway Books, October 2005). Make sure you don’t skip the step where you dust the onions with flour because the batter will slither right off without that.
Ingredients:
1 to 1 1/2 cups beer, any kind will do; the darker the color the more beer flavor will come through
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
2 large sweet onions, cut crosswise into 1/2- to 3/4-inch slices
- Whisk together 1 cup beer, 1 cup flour, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until almost smooth. Strain through a strainer and let rest, covered, at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour. Check the consistency, it should be as thick as a slightly thick pancake batter; if it is not, add more beer. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup flour with 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a soup plate or plastic bag.
- Heat 3 inches of oil to a temperature of 365° to 375°F in a deep fryer or heavy saucepan. Separate the onions into rings; there will be about 4 cups. Dip the onion rings, one at a time, in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Then dip them in the batter. Fry them, several at a time, until golden. Remove to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with salt and keep warm until all onion rings have been fried.
