Beer Battered Onion Rings with Spicy Dip

One of my favorite guilty pleasures is onion rings. To utilize the beer of the month, India Beer, in a recipe, I wanted to share one of my favorites for deep fried, beer battered onion rings. These onion rings serve up crisp and lite, with a savory batter covering the tender sweet onions. I serve them up with a spicy chipotle chili-lime mayo.

My inspiration for these bad boys came from one of my favorite places to get "pub grub" in St. John's, Newfoundland...Greensleeves on George Street. In my opinion, Greensleeves serves up the best onion rings around, and I love their spice tossed chicken wings too. The onion rings there have a batter that is almost orange in color, a result of adding what I believe is their chicken wing seasoning to the batter. The flavor is unique, and to me, tastes like a combination of seasoned salt with a dash of curry powder. Here's my version.


Beer Battered Onion Rings

For deep frying, you will need either a deep fryer, or a deep, heavy bottomed pot with a thermometer. If using the latter, extra caution needs to be taken as the oil can overheat and ignite. Cook over a med to medium heat, and keep a watchful eye on your temperature. Never try this after getting home with a buzz on from the bar!

The Onions

Peel and remove the ends from two large Vidalia onions (or other sweet onion).
Slice onions into rings about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick, and separate the rings (save the tiny inner pieces for a later use)
Add the rings to a large bowl add soak in water or milk

Make the batter

The Batter

In a bowl, combine with a whisk:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp seasoned salt (such as Lawry's)
Dash of cayenne pepper
Whisk dry ingredients to incorporate well, and slowly add
about 1 cup of cold India Beer (or other lager beer)

My trick for proper thickness of the batter is to dip my fingers in, watch the batter drip off until I see my fingers through the batter. A two second count is ideal (3 seconds for battering fish).

The Onion Rings

Preheat the oil (vegetable or canola oil works great) to 375 degrees (you'll need at least 4 inches of oil)
Pour some extra flour into a third bowl and set up an assemble line, as you'll need to fry the rings in small batches.

Pick a few rings out of the milk at a time, dredge in the flour and shake off the excess, and add to the batter. Let the excess batter drip away and slowly add to the hot oil one at a time. Using chop sticks (or similar device), keep the rings separated, and use the sticks to flip once brown on one side. Try not to over crowd the pot/fryer. When onion rings are golden brown all over, remove from the oil and let drain on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Season immediately with kosher salt or seasoned salt, and keep in a warm oven. Continue cooking the rest of the rings. Rings should cook in 3-4 minutes.

Chipotle Chili-Lime Mayo

In a small food processor or using a hand immersion blender, combine until smooth;
1 cup of mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
juice and zest of one lime
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder

Great for dipping the onion rings in. Refrigerate unused mayo and use on your favorite sandwich, wrap or burger!

Enjoy.