Perfect Onion Rings?

Sqwertz said:

I'm soliciting methods from people who have successfully cooked
onion rings, personally, 10+ times.

My biggest problem is that the batter or crumbing slides off the
rings as soon as I put it into the oil, partially - I suspect -
because the raw sliced rings have a very thin Teflon-coated
membrane between the circles that usually can't be removed unless
the onion rings are allowed to slightly dehydrate. And even then
it's hit or miss.

I like battered rings, like a medium tempura or beer battered
fish-n-chip. But I'm willing to try a bound breading as it might
help the taste/texture.

I've tried the flour-egg-seasoned flour toss, with the
buttermilk/milk bath beforehand, with and without baking soda in
the batter or flour. I've tried red onions, yellow onions, and
white onions(*). I've tried the tempura batter I usually use for
fish which turns out great on fish and clams, but not on rings.
I've even tried fercockatah Shake 'n Bake, both baking and
frying. Nothing seems to work consistently.

The times that I do get picture-perfect fried O-rings, they're
not tasty at all - no onion flavor at all, bad texture, and often
greasy (due to the splitting/sliding of the coating).

Somebody must have a method that has eluded my 30+ efforts.

(*) Whole green onions (half white, half green parts) turn out
great when I fry them Japanese tempura style with fish, but green
onions I find too bitter and pungent when served whole like that.

-sw (Skeptical and Wondering)

Steve, Allan makes excellent onion rings and all he does is get a sweet
onion, like a Vidalia, make the rings, shake them in a bag with a coating
called Don's Chuck Wagon Onion Ring Mix (I know it sounds weird). He lets
them sit in the baggie in the fridge, occasionally shaking the bag and the
coating sticks! It's light, not tempura-ey; I'd say more of a cornmeal or a
breadcrumb mix. It's the only thing we've been able to find that works
successfully.

I've tried the beer batter thing, the batter runs off. I've tried the egg
and flour, that runs off. This stuff works. Good luck!

kili

In article <[email hidden]>, kilikini1
@NOSPAMhotmail.com says...

Quoted message said:

I've tried the beer batter thing, the batter runs off. I've tried the egg
and flour, that runs off. This stuff works. Good luck!

kili

Slice your onions and separate into rings. Using Vidalias is a waste,
the harshness of regular onions goes away with cooking.

Dredge in salted flour, dip in beaten egg, and coat with panko. Let sit
on a rack for 30 min or so - this helps the coating adhere. Deep fry at
360 degrees.

--
Peter Aitken

Quoted message said:

I'm soliciting methods from people who have successfully cooked
onion rings, personally, 10+ times.

I have. I just shake them up with flour, then beer batter them. The
coating never comes off.

Mmmmm...onion rings.

One time on Usenet said:

I'm soliciting methods from people who have successfully cooked
onion rings, personally, 10+ times.

Does it count if you've helped someone else make them, 10+ times?

Quoted message said:

My biggest problem is that the batter or crumbing slides off the
rings as soon as I put it into the oil, partially - I suspect -
because the raw sliced rings have a very thin Teflon-coated
membrane between the circles that usually can't be removed unless
the onion rings are allowed to slightly dehydrate. And even then
it's hit or miss.

I like battered rings, like a medium tempura or beer battered
fish-n-chip. But I'm willing to try a bound breading as it might
help the taste/texture.

I've tried the flour-egg-seasoned flour toss, with the
buttermilk/milk bath beforehand, with and without baking soda in
the batter or flour. I've tried red onions, yellow onions, and
white onions(*). I've tried the tempura batter I usually use for
fish which turns out great on fish and clams, but not on rings.
I've even tried fercockatah Shake 'n Bake, both baking and
frying. Nothing seems to work consistently.

<snip>

I used to help my Gramma makes onion/pepper rings and I've
done it myself, but it's been a while. But here is her method
and they're really good, IMO. Start with onions and green peppers,
sliced into rings. Dip each in water, then flour, then beaten egg,
then crackermeal. Let sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes, then
fry. Season with salt. I love these, but DH isn't a fan of onion
rings, so we rarely make them...

--
Jani in WA

(Little Malice) said:

One time on Usenet said:

I'm soliciting methods from people who have successfully cooked
onion rings, personally, 10+ times.

Does it count if you've helped someone else make them, 10+ times?

Quoted message said:

My biggest problem is that the batter or crumbing slides off the
rings as soon as I put it into the oil, partially - I suspect -
because the raw sliced rings have a very thin Teflon-coated
membrane between the circles that usually can't be removed unless
the onion rings are allowed to slightly dehydrate. And even then
it's hit or miss.

Quoted message said:

I like battered rings, like a medium tempura or beer battered
fish-n-chip. But I'm willing to try a bound breading as it might
help the taste/texture.

Quoted message said:

I've tried the flour-egg-seasoned flour toss, with the
buttermilk/milk bath beforehand, with and without baking soda in
the batter or flour. I've tried red onions, yellow onions, and
white onions(*). I've tried the tempura batter I usually use for
fish which turns out great on fish and clams, but not on rings.
I've even tried fercockatah Shake 'n Bake, both baking and
frying. Nothing seems to work consistently.

<snip>

I used to help my Gramma makes onion/pepper rings and I've
done it myself, but it's been a while. But here is her method
and they're really good, IMO. Start with onions and green peppers,
sliced into rings. Dip each in water, then flour, then beaten egg,
then crackermeal. Let sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes, then
fry. Season with salt. I love these, but DH isn't a fan of onion
rings, so we rarely make them...

--
Jani in WA

Wow! This is the way we do it up North....Biff

"Sqwertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm soliciting methods from people who have successfully cooked
onion rings, personally, 10+ times.

My biggest problem is that the batter or crumbing slides off the
rings as soon as I put it into the oil, partially - I suspect -
because the raw sliced rings have a very thin Teflon-coated
membrane between the circles that usually can't be removed unless
the onion rings are allowed to slightly dehydrate. And even then
it's hit or miss.

I like battered rings, like a medium tempura or beer battered
fish-n-chip. But I'm willing to try a bound breading as it might
help the taste/texture.

I've tried the flour-egg-seasoned flour toss, with the
buttermilk/milk bath beforehand, with and without baking soda in
the batter or flour. I've tried red onions, yellow onions, and
white onions(*). I've tried the tempura batter I usually use for
fish which turns out great on fish and clams, but not on rings.
I've even tried fercockatah Shake 'n Bake, both baking and
frying. Nothing seems to work consistently.

The times that I do get picture-perfect fried O-rings, they're
not tasty at all - no onion flavor at all, bad texture, and often
greasy (due to the splitting/sliding of the coating).

Somebody must have a method that has eluded my 30+ efforts.

(*) Whole green onions (half white, half green parts) turn out
great when I fry them Japanese tempura style with fish, but green
onions I find too bitter and pungent when served whole like that.

-sw (Skeptical and Wondering)

What kind of oil are you using, and at what temp. No matter what you use,
this is the crucial component.

Kent

Kent said:

What kind of oil are you using, and at what temp. No matter what you use,
this is the crucial component.

Thanks anyway.

-sw

Sqwertz said:

I'm soliciting methods from people who have successfully cooked
onion rings, personally, 10+ times.

Wesley at Dirty Martin's Place in Austin showed me how to make the rings
that he made at Dirty's some years ago. Now they make big thick ones that
IMO are not that good.

Slice yellow onions in rings between 1/8 and 3/16 inch depending on size of
the onion. You want a somewhat square profile. Separate them into rings and
soak for a bit in cold milk. Remove from or just pour off the milk. Cover
them with plenty of white flour and some paprika and gently toss.
Refrigerate long enough so that all ingredients are chilled. Toss again
and deep fry. If they seem a bit gummy and some stick together you are
doing this correctly. A nice lump of fried rings are exceptionally nice.
Remove them as they begin to float. Salt upon removal from the fryer.

These Orings will be sweet and flaky. Some of the coating will come off
but most remains. The size of the slice is important. Thick slices of
course have 2 wide somewhat non porous surfaces and those seem to lose the
coating very easily. With thinner slices the profile is somewhat square
and the porous sides sort of support the coating on the non porous sides.
I have made these at least 50 times.

jay

Sqwertz said:

I'm soliciting methods from people who have successfully cooked
onion rings, personally, 10+ times.

My biggest problem is that the batter or crumbing slides off the
rings as soon as I put it into the oil, partially - I suspect -
because the raw sliced rings have a very thin Teflon-coated
membrane between the circles that usually can't be removed unless
the onion rings are allowed to slightly dehydrate. And even then
it's hit or miss.

I like battered rings, like a medium tempura or beer battered
fish-n-chip. But I'm willing to try a bound breading as it might
help the taste/texture.

I've tried the flour-egg-seasoned flour toss, with the
buttermilk/milk bath beforehand, with and without baking soda in
the batter or flour. I've tried red onions, yellow onions, and
white onions(*). I've tried the tempura batter I usually use for
fish which turns out great on fish and clams, but not on rings.
I've even tried fercockatah Shake 'n Bake, both baking and
frying. Nothing seems to work consistently.

The times that I do get picture-perfect fried O-rings, they're
not tasty at all - no onion flavor at all, bad texture, and often
greasy (due to the splitting/sliding of the coating).

Somebody must have a method that has eluded my 30+ efforts.

-sw (Skeptical and Wondering)

If you are dredging the rings in flour first, I don't know what to
tell you. I buy mild big, round yellow onions or the ordinary white
onions, whichever has the best big, round shape for rings. If you're
not getting enough onion taste, try making the rings a little bit
thicker. The ice water chilling helps to keep them from being limp
and stringy inside the batter.

This recipe works great - I've used it a couple dozen times. I lay
the fried, cooled rings out on cookie sheets and freeze them and when
they're frozen, I put them in Ziplocs, from which I can take a few at
a time and heat them up in the toaster oven (a few minutes is all it
takes). Yum.

Onion Rings Nancy Dooley

2 1/4 C. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
20-24 oz. room temperature beer

Cut the rings and put them in ice water for at least 3 hours (use ice
cubes and water, and put the container in the fridge).

Oil temp should be at least 375 deg. F. - in my big electric frypan,
400 worked better because I cut the rings fairly thin.

Drain the rings and shake them in a bag of flour until they're well-
coated. Submerse in the beer batter* and drop in the oil. Fry until
light brown, turning once. Keep warm on a rack on a cookie sheet in
the oven - salt just before serving. *It may take more or less beer -
it depends on your flour and the humidity. It should end up as a semi-
thick pancake batter consistency. More beer makes the batter thinner,
of course, which may be the way you prefer it.

For freezing, lay out on a rack until fully cool. Place carefully in
plastic freezer bags. To reheat, put in a pan in a single layer in
the toaster oven at about 350-400 deg. F. - they take only a few
minutes to brown.

N.

One time on Usenet said:

(Little Malice) said:

One time on Usenet said:

I'm soliciting methods from people who have successfully cooked
onion rings, personally, 10+ times.

Does it count if you've helped someone else make them, 10+ times?

Quoted message said:

My biggest problem is that the batter or crumbing slides off the
rings as soon as I put it into the oil, partially - I suspect -
because the raw sliced rings have a very thin Teflon-coated
membrane between the circles that usually can't be removed unless
the onion rings are allowed to slightly dehydrate. And even then
it's hit or miss.

Quoted message said:

I like battered rings, like a medium tempura or beer battered
fish-n-chip. But I'm willing to try a bound breading as it might
help the taste/texture.

Quoted message said:

I've tried the flour-egg-seasoned flour toss, with the
buttermilk/milk bath beforehand, with and without baking soda in
the batter or flour. I've tried red onions, yellow onions, and
white onions(*). I've tried the tempura batter I usually use for
fish which turns out great on fish and clams, but not on rings.
I've even tried fercockatah Shake 'n Bake, both baking and
frying. Nothing seems to work consistently.

<snip>

I used to help my Gramma makes onion/pepper rings and I've
done it myself, but it's been a while. But here is her method
and they're really good, IMO. Start with onions and green peppers,
sliced into rings. Dip each in water, then flour, then beaten egg,
then crackermeal. Let sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes, then
fry. Season with salt. I love these, but DH isn't a fan of onion
rings, so we rarely make them...

--
Jani in WA

Wow! This is the way we do it up North....Biff

Cool! I'm not sure where my Gramma got the method; IIRC, it was
something she started making when I was a tween. I love them and
since Steve brought up the idea, I think I'll make some for DS &
I if DH doesn't want 'em...

--
Jani in WA

"Sqwertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Kent said:

What kind of oil are you using, and at what temp. No matter what you use,
this is the crucial component.

Thanks anyway.

-sw

temp???
oil???
Tell us, please??

jay said:

Wesley at Dirty Martin's Place in Austin showed me how to make the rings
that he made at Dirty's some years ago. Now they make big thick ones that
IMO are not that good.

That's the kind I'm after. They still served the same old rings
as of 6-8 month ago.

Quoted message said:

Slice yellow onions in rings between 1/8 and 3/16 inch depending on size of
the onion. You want a somewhat square profile. Separate them into rings and
soak for a bit in cold milk. Remove from or just pour off the milk. Cover
them with plenty of white flour and some paprika and gently toss.
Refrigerate long enough so that all ingredients are chilled. Toss again
and deep fry. If they seem a bit gummy and some stick together you are
doing this correctly. A nice lump of fried rings are exceptionally nice.
Remove them as they begin to float. Salt upon removal from the fryer.

That's what I've tried, but probably using to thick of a ring.
and maybe I didn't let. I think they run their fryer really hot,
too, since their usual fries and rings are "burnt to a crisp"
unless ordered otherwise.

So where you been, Jay? Om and I missed you.

-sw

In article <[email hidden]>,

Sqwertz said:

So where you been, Jay? Om and I missed you.

-sw

No comment. ;-)
--
Peace, Om

Remove both _ (underscores) to validate gmail e-mails.

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Steve Rothstein

Sqwertz said:

I'm soliciting methods from people who have successfully cooked
onion rings, personally, 10+ times.

My biggest problem is that the batter or crumbing slides off the
rings as soon as I put it into the oil, partially - I suspect -
because the raw sliced rings have a very thin Teflon-coated
membrane between the circles that usually can't be removed unless
the onion rings are allowed to slightly dehydrate. And even then
it's hit or miss.

Squirtz, if you have to ask nationally on such a basic
culinary question, you may want to consider the more
likely scenario that you just ain't cut out to
produce food at home.

Keep up your restaurant reviews, though.

Sqwertz said:

I'm soliciting methods from people who have successfully cooked
onion rings, personally, 10+ times.

My biggest problem is that the batter or crumbing slides off the
rings as soon as I put it into the oil, partially - I suspect -
because the raw sliced rings have a very thin Teflon-coated
membrane between the circles that usually can't be removed unless
the onion rings are allowed to slightly dehydrate. And even then
it's hit or miss.

Squirtz, if you have to ask nationally on such a basic
culinary question, you may want to consider the more
likely scenario that you just ain't cut out to
produce food at home.

Keep up your restaurant reviews, though.

RWW said:

Squirtz, if you have to ask nationally on such a basic
culinary question, you may want to consider the more
likely scenario that you just ain't cut out to
produce food at home.

Aren't you the guy who got his ass kicked (not by me) and
generally made an ass of himself in ba.food? Ahh, yes - that's
you trying to cross-post there now.

Quoted message said:

Keep up your restaurant reviews, though.

I haven't reviewed a restaurant in your area for years.

-sw

RWW said:

Squirtz, if you have to ask nationally on such a basic
culinary question, you may want to consider the more
likely scenario that you just ain't cut out to
produce food at home.

Aren't you the guy who got his ass kicked (not by me) and
generally made an ass of himself in ba.food? Ahh, yes - that's
you trying to cross-post there now.

Quoted message said:

Keep up your restaurant reviews, though.

I haven't reviewed a restaurant in your area for years.

-sw

RWW said:

Sqwertz said:

I'm soliciting methods from people who have successfully cooked
onion rings, personally, 10+ times.

My biggest problem is that the batter or crumbing slides off the
rings as soon as I put it into the oil, partially - I suspect -
because the raw sliced rings have a very thin Teflon-coated
membrane between the circles that usually can't be removed unless
the onion rings are allowed to slightly dehydrate. And even then
it's hit or miss.

Squirtz, if you have to ask nationally on such a basic
culinary question, you may want to consider the more
likely scenario that you just ain't cut out to
produce food at home.

Keep up your restaurant reviews, though.

so you can't make good onion rings either, huh?

your pal,
blake

RWW said:

Sqwertz said:

I'm soliciting methods from people who have successfully cooked
onion rings, personally, 10+ times.

My biggest problem is that the batter or crumbing slides off the
rings as soon as I put it into the oil, partially - I suspect -
because the raw sliced rings have a very thin Teflon-coated
membrane between the circles that usually can't be removed unless
the onion rings are allowed to slightly dehydrate. And even then
it's hit or miss.

Squirtz, if you have to ask nationally on such a basic
culinary question, you may want to consider the more
likely scenario that you just ain't cut out to
produce food at home.

Keep up your restaurant reviews, though.

so you can't make good onion rings either, huh?

your pal,
blake