This Simple Step Will Seriously Transform Your Homemade Onion Rings

Onion rings are a refreshing change from the standard french fry side we typically serve with our burgers and dogs. If you want to make onion rings at home, Bob Bennett, head chef at Zingerman's Roadhouse, has a simple step that will seriously transform them into the best possible versions of themselves.

While there are plenty of ingredients to elevate the onion ring batter, chef Bennett shares a pre-batter step that'll optimize the flavor of the onions. "I think marinating the onion rings [in buttermilk] can help," he says. You've probably heard of buttermilk soaked chicken, wherein the acidity in the buttermilk ensures juicy and tender baked or fried chicken. In the case of onions, says chef Bennett, "it often can help mellow some of the harsh onion bite but is tricky to make sure it doesn't marinate too long." Indeed, you don't want onions to lose their crispness. Recipes recommend a 30 minute to 2 hour soak.

Apart from mellowing the sharp bite of the onion, buttermilk brings a subtle yet delightfully sour twang to the mix for even more depth of flavor. Buttermilk also acts as a binding agent for the dry dredging you will add them to when they're done soaking. Furthermore, you can develop even more depth of flavor with a buttermilk marinade by adding additional seasonings. Chef Bennett recommends salt, pepper, and cayenne. After initially dredging the marinated rings through flour, run them through a second dredging of buttermilk and flour for shatteringly crispy results.

After you've soaked your onions in buttermilk, they're ready to be dipped in batter. And chef Bennett opts for beer batter because, he says, "beer batter really makes a nice onion ring and builds a little more flavor into a simple offering." Beer has a maltiness and bitterness that really brings depth to those sweet and aromatic onions, but it also brings bubbles to aerate the batter for an especially light and crispy coating. You can try our recipe for beer battered onion rings that incorporates one cup of beer into a blend of self-rising flour, cornstarch, and garlic powder. If you really want to kick your onion rings up a notch, add a dash of onion powder into the batter as well. The best type of beer for a beer battered onion ring is a lager because it's light, crispy, and most importantly, highly carbonated.

Of course, beer isn't the only booze you can add to the batter. Prosecco is the foamy, bubbly beverage that will elevate the flavor of onion rings while also giving them a golden, crispy coating. While onion rings are traditionally a deep fried snack, you can get perfectly crispy onion rings using the oven, too. The great thing about the oven is that it'll save you the mess of oil splatter while also providing plenty of room to crisp up a large batch of onion rings all at once.