Fried Vidalia Onion Rings

Serves 6-8

video coming soon!

Vidalia is a small town in Georgia where I grew up. It is 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!

Ingredients

2 large Vidalia onions, sliced in ½ inch-thick rings
1 cup of sweet rice flour (or substitute with cornstarch)
1½ cups of all-purpose flour (I used White Lily)
2 cups of panko crumbs
2 teaspoons of salt, plus more to use after frying
1 teaspoon of black pepper
2 teaspoons of garlic powder
½ teaspoon of paprika
1 cup cold beer (any light lager or if you don’t want to use beer, substitute with seltzer water)
2 cups of buttermilk

Ingredients for Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup of ketchup
2/3 cup of mayonnaise
2 medium pickles, minced with 2 tablespoons of pickle juice
4 teaspoons of horseradish
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

Directions

1. Set up your breading station (3 trays): 1st tray: ¼ cup of rice flour or cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. 2nd tray: ¼ cup rice flour mixed with ¾ all-purpose flour, ½ cup beer and 1 cup buttermilk. Whisk together until it resembles a thick pancake batter. 3rd tray: 1 cup panko crumbs season with salt and 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.