This past weekend had a wonderful time at the beach with family. Going to the beach is so relaxing to me. My son can play, yell and run around as much as he wants, and then we just shower him off and take him home. He had a wonderful time playing with his cousin in the sand, making a pool, playing with water guns, and building sand castles. Of course, I think the most fun is when they tear down the castle.
In the afternoon, we had some of the best fried onion rings at a local restaurant on the beach. They were crunchy and delicious, the only bad part is that there wasn’t enough of them. So this week I had to make a big batch of them for us. I used a simple beer batter made from Blue Moon Agave Pale Ale. It’s a beer that we recently tried, and although I love Blue Moon I really didn’t care for this particular brew, but it makes one terrific beer batter.
The sweet part of the beer pairs perfectly with the spices I added in the batter. It makes a delicious slightly sweet and spicy onion ring.
Yield: Serves 4
2 large Vidalia (or other sweet) onions, sliced thick and rings separated
1 cup self-rising flour + 1/2 cup more
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup beer (I used Blue Moon Agave Blonde Ale)
vegetable oil for frying
Preheat vegetable oil for frying to 375°. Combine onion rings with 1/2 cup self rising flour and toss to coat. In a seperate bowl, combine 1 cup self rising flour, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and black pepper. Whisk to combine. Stir in beer and mix well.
Batter each onion ring individually and drop in 375° oil. Fry for 1 - 2 minutes on each side, flipping once during the cooking process and cookin g until they are golden brown. When done, remove from oil and drain on paper towels or a cooling rack.
Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
