Red Onion Rings
Thursday, July 11, 2013 at 4:00AM 
By Andrew Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families
Families cannot live on spinach alone, so on special occasions when the boys are really good, onion rings are in order. Deep-frying in the house is kind of a messy proposition, so I thought I was a genius when I set up the electric fryer on the patio table ... you might want to try the same.
I used to slice yellow or white onions for my onion rings until I met Patsy, my beloved mother-in-law. Patsy likes three things in abundance: ice, iced tea and red onions. Sometimes at lunch, I wonder why she bothers with the lettuce, but it’s just a foil for her thinly sliced red onions.
I decided I liked the pungent, less-sweet reds for crispy fried onion rings. The trick is to highly season buttermilk, then marinate fresh-cut onions for at least 24 hours in the buttermilk before dredging in flour and cornmeal, and frying.
Caution: in addition to tasting delicious, crispy fried onions will cause everyone to be silly with joy!
Red Onion Rings
2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 medium red, onions, peeled and thinly sliced
4 cups vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal, preferably coarse grind
Combine the buttermilk, sugar, salt, and black and cayenne peppers in a large bowl and mix well. Add the onions and press down to submerge. Place a plate on top to keep the onions submerged. Marinate onions in the refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours.
In a large cast iron skillet or an electric fryer, add the oil and heat until it begins to ripple or reads 360°F on a candy thermometer.
Combine the flour and cornmeal in a medium bowl and mix well. Dredge the soaked onions in the flour mixture to completely coat.
Fry the onions in small batches until they’re golden and crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes. Give the oil a minute to reheat between batches. Otherwise, the rings will absorb oil and become soggy.
Drain the fried onions on paper towels. Keep each batch warm in a 200°F oven until all of the onions are fried.
Makes 4 servings
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Reader Comments (2)
Thanks for the recipe. The photo of the onion rings is making my mouth water.
Red onion rings? Isn't it spicy? Or just same with the white onions? I think it is a delicious recipe. Thanks for sharing.