Grab a Stack for National Onion Ring Day

Do you know what today is? Before you start panicking, you haven’t missed out on any major holidays! Today is National Onion Ring Day. No, it’s not a joke. It really is. June 22 has been declared National Onion Ring Day. The thought of a sweet, savory, crunchy, beer-battered onion ring dipped in a side of spicy ranch dressing is enough to make anyone drool all over themselves. It’s high-time we give this tasty little side dish a day of its own. So, to celebrate, here is a couple of fun facts you may not have known about onion rings and a recipe that will have you slinging these battered babies into the Fry Daddy!

Did you know that the first battered onion ring recipe was published by Crisco in 1933? That’s right! In fact, the onion ring is an all-American food. Americans loved the onion rings so much, A&W was the first of all the fast food restaurants to start serving them. The original Crisco recipe had you dipping onion rings in milk, then flour, then the fryer. This recipe is nothing like it. It is spicier and uses a beer batter. Yum!

Spicy Beer-Battered Onion Rings

INGREDIENTS:

4 large onions

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp seasoned salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 – 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup ice-cold Lonestar beer (or your beer of choice, can substitute with ice water)

1 egg, beaten

Oil, for deep frying

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat your oil to 375° in the deep fryer or in a deep frying pan. You will need at least 1-inch of oil. Meanwhile, peel and slice your onions into thin slices. If you like thicker onion rings, then slice them a little thicker.

In a large bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together. Whisk the beer (or water) and the egg into the dry ingredients until smooth.  Working in batches, dip the onion slices in the batter and place the battered onions into the hot oil. Fry for a minute or two, or until the onion rings are a nice golden brown. Place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Continue this process until you have used up all your onion slices. Serve with some ranch dressing or honey mustard sauce. Eat and enjoy!