Some of you who know me, may know that I am obsessed with onion rings. Whenever I go out to eat, I often judge a place by two things; if they have onion rings, and if they are any good. Often times when you go out to eat they will toss you a plate of those dreadful Kineret freezer bag onion rings. Or, in the case of a place like Dougie’s, they will throw some onions in whatever batter everything else is getting tossed in. That’s just not how it’s supposed to be done! I wish there was a good kosher restaurant that would step up to the plate and do it right. If you know of some place, please, pretty please – fill me in on the details.

I have eaten onion rings at both kosher and non kosher places. I have sampled onion blossoms, strings, wedges, and whatever shape they come in. I just want them to give me that greasy, but not too greasy and crunchy feel that I need. I am a fan of both the breaded style and the battered style – again it just has to come out right. Both can achieve greatness. 

The recipe I will share with you today is for a battered recipe. This onion ring came out perfectly crunchy with the right balance of coating to onion. It was especially good with the great horseradish dipping sauce I made. Highly recommend this recipe when you are in the mood for some greasy goodness!

Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tablespoons horseradish sauce
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon oregano
dash of salt
2 grinds of black pepper
splash of some sriracha or cayenne (optional)

Mix up the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set to the side while you make the onion rings. It’s that easy!

Onion Rings – slightly adapted this Martha Stewart Recipe
Ingredients:

1 large Vidalia onion, sliced in to thin rings
Vegetable oil for frying
3/4 cup flour
1/8 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoons baking powder
1.5 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
1 cup ice cold water

Soak the sliced onions in cold water for about 5 minutes and then dry them well on a towel.  Let them dry while you make the batter.

Start to eat up your oil. You will want at least an inch of oil to cover the onions.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. Slowly whisk in the ice water. Whisk until you get a nice, smooth consistency.  Sit the bowl over a bowl of ice. Keep the batter cold.

Dip the onions in to the batter. It needs a thin even coating. The batter will puff up, so it doesn’t need to be too heavy. Place the onions in a single layer in to the hot oil. Fry onions in batches for a few minutes each. The onion rings should be light brown.

Drain onion rings on a paper towel.

Serve hot with the dipping sauce on the side. Enjoy!