Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

deep fried onion rings with dipping sauce

(1 rating)
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
Susan Bartley
Beaverton, OR

I know there are quite a few steps to these yummy golden brown rings, but they are oh so worth the time and effort. You will get rave reviews from onion ring lovers both young and old. I just like making everything from scratch. It's nice to sit back and see the labor of love enjoyed by family and friends. Make sure you use Panko breadcrumbs and not regular. It is the only way to get that crispy outer coating.

Blue Ribbon Recipe

These homemade onion rings are better than anything you'd find in the frozen food aisle. Fried until golden brown, they are delicious. The onions are warm and sweet with a fantastic crunch from the Panko. Creamy, tangy and spicy, the dipping sauce is the perfect complement.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(1 rating)
yield 4 to 6 or more
prep time 1 Hr 20 Min
cook time 10 Min
method Deep Fry

Ingredients For deep fried onion rings with dipping sauce

  • 3 or 4 lg
    yellow onons
  • 1 qt
    buttermilk
  • 2 1/2 c
    all-purpose flour, divided
  • 2/3 c
    cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 tsp
    baking powder
  • 1 tsp
    paprika
  • 1 tsp
    cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp
    garlic powder with or without parsley
  • dash
    plus 1/4 tsp salt, divided
  • pepper, to taste
  • 24 oz
    beer
  • 1 Tbsp
    olive oil
  • 8 oz
    Panko bread crumbs (not regular bread crumbs)
  • 1 tsp
    garlic powder
  • DIPPING SAUCE
  • 1 c
    mayonnaise
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp
    ketchup
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp
    prepared horseradish
  • 1/2 tsp
    paprika
  • 1/2 tsp
    cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 tsp
    dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp
    salt
  • dash
    pepper
  • peanut or vegetable oil, for frying

How To Make deep fried onion rings with dipping sauce

  • Onions sliced into rings and soaking in buttermilk.
    1
    Cut onions into slices half an inch thick. Remove all outer brown layers, then carefully separate the rings. (You can save the tiny center rings for other dishes.) Place the rings in a bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Cover and let sit in the fridge for 1 hour.
  • Prepared dipping sauce chilling in a bowl.
    2
    Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce. Combine all ingredients in a bowl until nice and creamy. Cover and put in the fridge until it's time to serve.
  • Preparing the beer batter for onion rings.
    3
    In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the flour with the cornstarch, baking powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder with or without parsley, pinch of salt, and pepper to taste. While continuing to whisk, add the beer to the mixture until it is the consistency of heavy cream. It will not take the entire amount of beer. (It's okay to have some lumps.) Add the olive oil and set aside.
  • Flour and Panko for dredging.
    4
    Add the remaining flour to a pie pan or large soup bowl. In a separate pie pan or large soup bowl, combine the Panko, plain garlic powder, and remaining 1/4 tsp salt. Combine with a fork.
  • Dredging station setup.
    5
    Set a wire cooling rack over a cookie sheet. Line up the dishes of flour, beer batter, and breadcrumbs in that order next to the rack. Heat 4 inches of oil in a deep fryer, electric fry pan with a temperature gauge, or in a pan on the stove accompanied by a deep fry thermometer. Oil should reach 375 degrees F before you start frying.
  • Dipping onion ring in beer batter.
    6
    Remove the bowl of buttermilk-soaked onions from the fridge. Drop 2 or 3 onion rings into the flour and dust them evenly. Shake off the excess. Drop them in the beer batter and coat them evenly; once again, shake off the excess. Drop the battered rings into the Panko mixture and evenly coat a third time. Place on the rack to rest. Repeat with remaining onions.
  • Frying the onion rings.
    7
    Drop a few of your coated onions into the hot oil, being very careful not to splash. DO NOT fry too many at a time or they will stick together. Turn them over every couple minutes until they are a nice golden brown. When they reach the desired doneness, lift them from the oil and lay on a paper towel-lined plate. While you fry the rest of the onion rings, you can keep the finished rings warm in the oven on the 'keep warm' setting, or in an oven preheated to 175 degrees F then turned off. You don't want it too hot.
  • 8
    Serve with the dipping sauce and enjoy! You know you have a perfect onion ring if when you bite into it the onion does not pull out of the coating.
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