Beer Battered Onion Rings

Beer Battered Onion Rings can be enjoyed any time of year, but there is something about the warm weather seasons that calls for a perfectly fried onion ring made with beer and that is best served with a nice, cold one. I have fond memories of summer barbeques at our family cabin where we would make onion rings like these. Our neighbors would gather together for a potluck style meal and I remember not being able to keep up with the demand for fresh onion rings from the fryer.

What You’ll Need

• Onions – a yellow or white onion works best. White onions are slightly sweeter with another separate category of sweet onions such as Vidalia. Yellow onions are the most versatile and will also work for these onion rings
• Beer – a light beer such as a lager is my go-to choice for beer batter. The carbonation of the beer helps make the batter light and fluffy. My husband usually has a par level of Busch Light, or as he refers to them “Busch Lattes”, in our garage fridge and it works just fine. Is anyone else’s husband fancy like this? The beer gives the batter just a hint of beer flavor without being overpowering. If you prefer a darker beer and are okay with a stronger beer flavor in the batter, it will also work.
• Paprika & kosher salt – for seasoning
• Egg whites – whipped to stiff peaks and folded into the beer batter right before frying time. Along with the beer, the egg whites help make the beer batter light and fluffy.
• Oil for frying – vegetable or canola oil work best as they don’t have a lot of flavor on their own and have a high smoke point.

How to Make Beer Battered Onion Rings

1.Prep the onions – peel and slice 2 onions into 1/2 inch slices. Separate the rings and place them in a large bowl with 1/2 cup of flour. Toss to coat the rings well. This will help the batter stick to the onions better.

2. Make the batter – whisk together 2 cups of flour, salt and paprika in a large bowl. Pour in a can of beer and mix together (a few lumps are okay). In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until they reach stiff peaks. Gently fold egg whites into the beer batter. You want to prepare the beer batter right before you are ready to fry. This is not something that can be made ahead of time. You don’t want to lose the air from the egg whites and beer by letting the batter sit too long or by stirring it too hard.

3. Fry the rings – heat the oil to 375 degrees. You want the oil to be at least 2 inches deep. Dip each onion ring in beer batter and place in the hot oil, being sure not to overcrowd the pan. Fry 5-6 minutes, flipping halfway through, until onion rings are golden brown. Place the onion rings on a paper towel to drain. Sprinkle with extra kosher salt, if desired. Repeat until all the onion rings are fried.

Quick Tip: When frying onion rings in batches, I set my oven to the warm setting (about 200 degrees) with a paper towel lined sheet pan inside to place fried onion rings on to keep warm until all are finished.

How to Serve Beer Battered Onion Rings

Beer Battered Onion Rings are a great substitute for French fries. They are the perfect side dish alongside a big, juicy burger or as a burger topping! They also make a great appetizer or party food. Serve the onion rings alongside your favorite dipping sauce such as ketchup or ranch.

What Else to Make with Beer Batter

This basic Beer Batter recipe works on many other things besides onions! I mean what could be bad fried in Beer Batter? Okay that may be extreme, but some other things to fry up in this batter include:

• Cheese curds – I know this is a Midwest thing, but trust me here. There is truly nothing better.
• Green beans
• Fish filets
• Cauliflower
• Dill pickles
• Mushrooms

Other popular side dishes:

Easy Oven Roasted Potatoes

Noodle Rice Pilaf

Cheesy Potatoes