Beer Battered Onion Rings

Get ready for the greatest onion ring experience of your life.

There’s no snack I love more than a puffy, crispy, smooth, golden-brown onion ring. And I think it’s only fitting to “ring” in 2021 with this crispy Americana classic. The secret to making the perfect onion ring lies in two things: beer and crunch-factor. And since Better Than Bouillon just released their new (and genius) Sautéed Onion flavor, we’re gonna take them to the next level.

Not only are they a cinch to make, but all you need are a few simple ingredients to make it happen!

This post was sponsored by Better Than Bouillon/Summit Hill Foods.

Beer Battered Onion Rings
Two onions
Take two Vidalia (sweet) onions…
Slicing off onion ends
…slice off the ends…
Slicing off onion skin.
…as well as the outer layer of skin…
Slicing into rings
…and slice into rings about 1/4-1/2-inch thick.
Separating onion rings
Separate the rings like they’re Russian nesting dolls.
Showing onion rings laid out.
When done you should have enough rings of all sizes that you could wear them as bangles if you wish.
Rings in a bowl with buttermilk
Place the rings in a large bowl and pour in some buttermilk.
Lid on bowl
Then cover the lid and pop in the fridge to chill for a bit.
Flour in a bowl
Just before you’re ready to fry, create the dusting mixture with some flour…
seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder
…seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder…
…and whisk until well-combined.
Flour in a bowl
In another bowl, let’s create our beer battered mixture by adding flour…
beer being added to bowl
…beer (I use a lager or amber ale)…
Onion Better Than Bouillon
…and our secret ingredient: Sautéed Onion Better Than Bouillon!
Whisking
Whisk it all together until combined.
Heating deep fryer
Now add some oil to a deep fryer or deep Dutch oven and bring it to 375°.
dredging onion ring
One-by-one, take a buttermilk-soaked onion ring and dip it in the dusting bowl…
dipping in beer batter
…and then dip it in the beer bater bowl.
onion frying in oil
Carefully drop the coated and battered onion ring into the hot oil to fry…
Onion rings frying.
…and repeat the process until the surface is filled with onion ring a-fryin’!
Flipping the rings
Flip them with tongs after a few minutes of frying….
Frying onion rings and showing golden-brown color.
…and fry until a beautiful golden-brown in color.
Remove the fried onion rings to a paper towel-lined plate.
Remove the fried onion rings to a paper towel-lined plate to cool for a moment.
adding ketchup, mayo, relish and horseradish to a bowl
Meanwhile, make the sauce by adding ketchup, mayo, relish and horseradish…
Mixing.
…and mix it up.
Then add a little more Sautéed Onion Better Than Bouillon
Then add a little more Sautéed Onion Better Than Bouillon
Mixing in bowl.
…and mix until combined.
Onion rings plated
Now you’re ready to serve! Plate it up!
Man showing Onion Rings
Show it off…
Man admiring onion ring
…marvel at its size…
Dipping onion ring in sauce
…dip it in the sauce…
Man eating onion ring
…crunch into it…
Man in deep thought
…compose yourself…
Man showing off onion ring
…and RING IN THE JOY OF ONION RINGS!

Goes GREAT with my Best-Ever Pot Roast!

The Best Beer Battered Onion Rings
Yield: 6

Beer Battered Onion Rings

Beer Battered Onion Rings

There's no snack I love more than a puffy, crispy, smooth, golden-brown onion ring. And I think it's only fitting to "ring" in 2021 with this crispy Americana classic. The secret to making the perfect onion ring lies in two things: beer and crunch-factor.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

The Onions

  • 2 Vidalia/sweet onions, sliced into 1/4 - 1/2-inch rings (They REALLY should be sweet onions for onion rings)
  • 1 quart buttermilk (the light one is fine to use)

The Dusting Bowl

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper

The Beer Batter Bowl

The Dipping Sauce

  • 1/3 cup ketchup
  • 1/3 cup mayo
  • 1 tablespoon sweet relish
  • 1/2 - 1 tablespoon horseradish

Instructions

  1. Place the onion rings in a large, shallow bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Secure a lid and refrigerate for 1-4 hours (NOTE: Do NOT skip this step - it ensures to tenderize and enhance the onions once we fry).
  2. When ready to fry, take a deep fryer or deep dutch oven, fill halfway with canola or vegetable oil and heat to 375° (this should take about 20 minutes).
  3. As the oil's heating, take two bowls, one for The Dusting and one for The Beer Batter. Add the ingredients to each bowl and whisk each until combined.
  4. Once ready to fry, take the buttermilk-coated onion rings out of the fridge. Using your left hand, one by-one place an onion ring into The Dusting Bowl to fully coat it. Then, transfer the ring to your right hand and dip in The Beer Batter Bowl, allowing any excess to drip into the bowl. From there, immediately and carefully drop the battered onion ring into the hot oil. Repeat the coating process quickly. You should be able to fit about 6-8 rings in the pot at once.
  5. Fry for about 3 minutes before flipping with tongs to fry for another 2 or so minutes. Once golden brown, use tongs to remove and rest on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat the process for the remaining rings.
  6. Just before serving, make the Dipping Sauce by mixing those ingredients in a bowl and enjoy! Onion rings are best served about 3 minutes after being fried.

Jeffrey's Tips

“Can these be air fried?” Not when you have a wet batter like this - it must be deep fried in hot oil to properly cook.

The hand-battering process can get a little messy so wearing an apron is a wise decision.

You can also wear food-service gloves while battering the rings to create less mess on the hands 😉

The more batter you have on your ring prior to dropping in the fryer, the puffier it'll be!

How crispy you want your rings is totally your call. If you want them more well done, allow then to fry from a golden-brown to a darker shade.

If you find you want to take a break and eat some rings before frying the rest, have at it! You can also fry the rest the following day - just cover and store the buttermilk-coated raw onions in the fridge along with the beer batter bowl.


When the oil is fully cooled after cooking (about 8 hours to be safe), you can pour it back into the container it came from, store in a room temperature place and reuse in the future!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. DavidF

    Thanks for sharing this recipe on Youtube. We have been looking for a good onion-ring recipe. Because we are cooking at home more now, and we are not risking eating-out. The Virus is rampant in Houston, Texas. Since we take care of an older person (my mom), we do not dare risk getting it, so thanks for this.

  2. Wendy McBride

    I’ll have to try that. The best, easiest onion rings I have made are by defrosting a bowl of vanilla ice cream and using that to dip onions into and then into flour. Fry! We also love mushrooms sliced and fried same.
    yum

  3. Yolanda

    Loved the batter and I even fried the cod and flounder using the same batter. It was amazing. Thank you Jeffery for another excellent meal!

  4. Karen

    Love this recipe. Absolutely perfect. Crispy and delicious. A huge fan of all Better Than Bouillon flavors…my new find. Thanks for all your great recipes!

  5. James

    I made your Asian noodles a few days ago. I used Angel hair pasta instead of spaghetti noodles. I needed to add more broth when I opened the pot. Just a future note if someone else uses them too. I’d add about another 1 and a quarter cups of broth. They were delicious…

  6. Mary

    Hi Jeffrey!
    I made the onion rings tonight.
    I only used one onion.
    I had so much batter left over.
    So I grabbed everything in sight to fry. 😁
    I fried the fish I was going to eat tonight.
    I still had batter left. 😂
    Soooo I grabbed a few mozzarella string cheese sticks and used the rest of the batter! 😎

  7. woorifree

    I haven’t checked in here for a while as I thought it was getting boring, but the last several posts are good quality so I guess I will add you back to my everyday blog list. You deserve it my friend
    vvic

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