Onion Rings
Inspired by The Hooters Cookbook (Arnica) I know they like things spicy at Hooters, and the recipe in the book called for a whopping 1 tablespoon of ground black pepper and 2 tablespoons of “your favorite hot sauce.” I ended up using the mix below, although it you want to give them a try, you can come up with your own spices and seasonings. Ideally you should use a sweet onion, such as Vidalia.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (140g) flour plus more for dusting the onions
- or 3/4 cup (110g) flour plus 1/4 (35g) cornmeal
- 1 cup (250ml) beer
- 1 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper powder (I used ancho chile powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 onion peeled and cut in 1/3-inch (1 cm) thick rings, medium
- peanut oil for frying the onion rings
Instructions
- Mix the flour (or flour and cornmeal) in a bowl and stir in the beer, black and red pepper, and salt. Cover, and let sit one hour at room temperature.
- In a wide saucepan or skillet, heat about 2 inches (5 cm) peanut oil until it reaches 370ºF (180ºC.)
- Spread some flour on a plate and working in batches, toss 5 or 6 of the onion rings in the flour, then dip each one in the batter, shaking off any excess, then dropping them one at a time into the hot oil.
- Cook the onion rings for a few minutes, turning them with a slotted spon or other utensil with holes, until browned on both sides. Remove and set on paper towels, or on a wire cooling rack above paper towels, to drain. While warm, salt the onion rings with additional salt. Continue to fry the rest of the onions the same way. Eat immediately.