Fried Onion Rings..

This is probably the one and only recipe on eating for Ireland that involves deep-frying.  I’m not a fan of deep-frying; neither do I have a deep-fat Fryer, so why did I break the habits of a lifetime to make onion rings in my wok this evening?

I’ll tell you – both me and Mr Saturday Night absolutely love Onion Rings, but have been generally dissatisfied with what was on offer several times recently –

A: Why are onion rings so stodgy?  We’ve had onion rings with the equivalent of a duvet wrapped around them..

B: Why do they only give you 1 or 2 onion rings with your dinner? Even an extra portion is only about 4-5 onion rings.. 

I mean, it’s not as if the ingredients cost anything – onions are one of the cheapest vegetables around, and all you need is flour and water, and oil to fry them in.. I honestly don’t know..

So this evening, we were going to give them a go ourselves, to see if there was indeed some mystical magical spell that needed to be completed before we could get our hands on a decent Onion Ring..

And here are the results of our intensive investigation: They’re as easy as pie!!

And whilst I say that – and it’s true – it’s also true that they are fairly labour-intensive, and – you know – deep-fat-frying… But they are seriously delicious, so as a rare treat, I’ll definitely be making these again – but not every week..

EQUIPMENT:                                                                          

• A deep-fat-fryer, or a flat-bottomed wok
• A pair of food tongs
• A medium-sized bowl
• A hand-whisk
• Plenty of Kitchen roll
• A shallow-sided baking tray with a sheet of baking parchment on it

INGREDIENTS: To feed 2-4 lucky people

• 2 Medium-sized onions, peeled and cut into 1cm slices, then the individual rings separated
• 150g Self-raising Flour
• 150ml Sparkling or Soda Water
• Salt and Pepper
• A small sprinkle of Cayenne Pepper – optional
• About 750mls  flavourless oil – I used Sunflower Oil

METHOD:

• Put the flour, salt, pepper and cayenne into the bowl and mix together.
• Using a hand whisk, gently add the water until you get a smooth batter – The water will fizz up, but keep stirring – it will settle down very quickly.
• The Batter should be about the thickness of whipping cream. If you prefer a thicker batter, just use less water.
• Toss in the separated Onion rungs and mix well. The batter won’t really stick to the onions, but give each onion ring a last mix before you add it to the oil.

• Heat the oil on a high heat until a little crumb of bread fizzes up and browns quickly when you toss it into the oil.
• Add up to 6 or 7 of the Onion rings to the oil individually – don’t overload the pan, or they’ll all just stick together. Obviously, if you prefer a thicker batter, it will take longer to cook.
• By the time you have the last onion ring in the oil, the first ones will be almost cooked – they’ll drift to the surface, so using your tongs, turn them over to make sure they’re cooked on both sides. Then remove them to the kitchen paper to drain.

• As you go on, you’ll need to change the kitchen paper – this is your chance to transfer the cooked and drained onion rings to the baking parchment on the baking tray, and shove it into the oven to keep warm while you cook the rest of the onions.
• The Onion rings will keep quite happily for about 15-20 minutes in the oven before serving.
• Once you’ve finished cooking, remove the pot containing the oil from the heat, cover it,  and put it safely out of the way to cool down.

NOTES:

• Once the oil is completely cold, you can strain it and using a funnel, pour it back into the bottle.
• We had our onion rings – they were absolutely delicious!! – with steak tonight, but of course they’ll go with most things to be honest!