The Onion Ring

This is not your Aunt Jemima talking. Is it? No. It is a fan of the Green Bay Packers though, and just in time for the NFC Championship comes another fried goodie.
I was never a true fan of the onion ring, for whatever reasons. Maybe they were not salty enough, tender enough, or sweet enough. I really do not know. Until about three years ago, I was on the hunt to make a good ring. Why? Because my wife enjoys the onion ring, that’s why.

So be ready, and yes, it does include deep frying (yum), and as most of these recipes go, it is super easy. Depending on how many you are serving, these ingredients can vary.
Ingredients:

• Yellow Onion(s), sliced 1/4 inch thick
• Pancake batter (homemade, Aunt Jemima, Generic batter, what have you)
• Oil
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Onion salt to taste

In a medium bowl, add nearly one cup of dry pancake mix. To this, add your salt, pepper, and onion salt, to taste. You might be asking, what the heck should it taste like? Feel it out in your mind, the salt, the pepper, and the onion salt.

The pancake batter itself sweetens it up a bit, so think of an onion wrapped in a thin pancake, and how would you season that. That is the goal. You can always, and you should always season when anything comes out of the fryer, whether it be salt, pepper, or other yummies.

So you have your pancake mix ready right? Good. Now, take your onion(s) and slice them about a 1/4 inch thick, keeping in mind you want rings. Maybe you do not want rings, and that is ok, then you have fried onions; no big deal.

So the onions are sliced. Carefully separate them to retain the ring. Once separated, place them in the pancake batter, and toss and coat, with your hands. 🙂

Now, lets consider the oil is heated. It should be by now. Depending on your frying device, add your rings, carefully not to overlap, or touch one another. I used a medium sized fry pan, as I am patient, and add 3-5 rings in at a time. Do not be afraid to gently shake the pan to get that oil dancing. Dance with it as well. It’s fun. You might laugh. The oil sound is therapeutic, so go with it.

These do not take long. Depending on the thickness of your cut, these can take a few minutes, or up to six minutes to cook. Look at the golden brown tone. I typically use a fork and flip them half way through.

Drain within a paper towel-lined strainer, salt, and get ready to rumble.

Eat as a side, place on your burger, top on your mac-n-cheese, whatever. Get the onion ring going, and remember, Aunt Jemima, or whatever batter you have is not just for the flap jack, it is also for the onion ring. Enjoy.