TODAY Food Club

The origins of the onion ring are unknown. In the early 1930's, a recipe for deep-fried onion rings appeared in a Crisco ad in the New York Times Magazine. It's A&W that's credited with popularizing onion rings in fast-food restaurants. As it turned out, Americans couldn't get enough of these crunchy indulgences. The popularity of onion rings continues to the day.

Onion Rings Are Vegetable Donuts

• Yield: 6 Servings
• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cooking Time: 3 min

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbs. sea salt and freshly ground black pepper for batter
• 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup lager beer
• 2 large egg whites
• vegetable oil for frying
• 1 pound white onions, peeled and cut into thick rings

Preparation

1. In a bowl, sift together flour, salt, and pepper.
2. Gradually fold olive oil and the beer with flour mixture until smooth. Please do not over-mix
3. Let stand for one hour, no more.
4. Then, beat the egg whites until peaks form and gently fold into batter.
5. In a cast-iron pot, preheat cooking oil to 365 degrees. Oil should be no more than halfway up the pot.
6. Working in very small batches, dip onion rings into batter, letting excess drip off, before carefully placing into the pot.
7. Deep-fry until golden
8. Remove, salt lightly to your preferred taste, and place on baking rack to drip.
9. Serve immediately once the last batch is cooked.

Recipe Tags

• Comfort Food
• American
• Side dish