Fried Vidalia Onion Rings
Serves 6-8
Vidalia is a small town in Georgia where I grew up and home of the Vidalia onion. If you’ve never had this onion, you are in for a treat! They are sweet and can be enjoyed raw, grilled, baked, or fried. Basically, they are good anyway you cook them. During the springtime, there is an annual Vidalia Onion Festival that is packed with lots of fun activities. One of my favorite food memories was during the Street Dance where I had my first fried onion rings. I hope you get your hands on some Vidalia onions to make this delicious recipe with your friends and family and create memories!
Stop on by to visit Vidalia for their annual onion festival or if you just want to experience some Southern hospitality. For local activities and events, please check out this website: visitvidaliaga.com.
Ingredients
- 2 large Vidalia onions, sliced in ½ inch-thick rings
- 1½ cup of sweet rice flour (or substitute with cornstarch)
- 2¼ cup of all-purpose flour (I used White Lily)
- 3 cup of panko crumbs
- 1 Tablespoon of salt, plus more to use after frying
- 1½ teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon of garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon of paprika
- 1½ cup cold beer (any light lager or if you don’t want to use beer, substitute with seltzer water)
- 3 cup of buttermilk
Ingredients for Dipping Sauce (yields 1 cup)
- ¼ cup of ketchup
- ⅔ cup of mayonnaise
- 2 medium pickle, minced with 2 tablespoon of pickle juice
- 4 teaspoons of horseradish
- Worcestershire 2 teaspoons
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
- 1. Set up your breading station (3 trays): 1st tray: ¾ cup of rice flour or cornstarch, ½ Tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, garlic powder and paprika. 2nd tray: ¾ cup rice flour mixed with all-purpose flour, beer and buttermilk. Whisk together until it resembles a thick pancake batter. 3rd tray: panko crumbs with ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper.
- 2. Add any neutral oil (canola, vegetable, or grapeseed oil) to a large, heavy-bottom pot (Dutch oven) to a depth of 3 inches and heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 375 F.
- 3. Place onion rings in the rice flour mixture making sure they are evenly coated.
- 4. Take the flour coated onion rings and put into the beer batter. Turn to coat and shake off any excess batter.
- 5. Put in panko crumbs, coating evenly. Place on a wire rack with a sheet tray underneath.
- 6. Working in batches, place onion rings in the hot oil. Cook for about 3 minutes, flipping them once to ensure an even golden brown color. Make sure to bring the temperature back up to 375 F between batches.
- 7. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon or spider strainer. Place them on a cooling rack and immediately season with salt. Serve with the dipping sauce.
Directions for Dipping Sauce
- 1. In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning.