While the holidays are thought of a time to get together with loved ones, let’s face it: there’s more to holiday parties than just talking to friends and family. There’s also the opportunity to eat delicious foods that you don’t get to enjoy most other times of the year. If you’re hosting a New Year’s Eve party, consider whipping up something fun for any gluten-free guests you may have, like Gluten-Free Beer Battered Onion Rings.
Once you have these onion rings made, there’s so much you can do with them. You can serve them in a basket, top gluten-free sliders with them, chop them up and use them as a tasty salad topping…there are so many possibilities. And since gluten-free people don’t get safe-to-eat onion rings very often (in most restaurants, they’re made with wheat flour and/or fried in a shared fryer among gluteny items), this is one treat that will surprise and delight your guests!
The below Gluten-Free Beer Battered Onion Rings recipe was developed by Chef Lena Kwak, the co-founder of Cup4Cup gluten-free flour blends and baking mixes. Cup4Cup is a fantastic gluten-free flour blend to use because, like its name implies, one cup of gluten-free Cup4Cup is the perfect substitute for one cup of whatever gluteny flour the recipe originally called for. You don’t have to spend time stewing over substitutions because Cup4Cup makes it so easy–and so delicious, too. (I’ve made quite a few recipes with Cup4Cup’s products and the taste and texture have always been spot-on.)
INGREDIENTS
For Onion Rings:
- 2 large sweet yellow onions
- 1 cup (140 g) Cup4Cup flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 12-ounce gluten free beer, cold
- 1 cup Cup4Cup, for dredging
- Neutral-flavored vegetable oil for frying, such as canola
For Buttermilk Dipping Sauce:
- 1 cup cold buttermilk
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed sauce pan, heat about 3 inches of oil over medium-high heat. Preheat the oil to 350°F; this is the ideal temperature for frying. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set aside.
2. Peel the onions, cut them into half-inch rounds and separate them into rings.
3. In a medium, shallow bowl, mix together 1 cup Cup4Cup flour with the salt. Slowly pour in the beer and whisk until it forms a smooth batter. The consistency should be like thick pancake batter. The batter may thicken up over time, and that’s OK–it will still be good to use.
4. Place the other cup of Cup4Cup flour into a small bowl. This is the flour for dredging.
5. Set up your frying station, set bowl of plain flour and the bowl of beer batter next to one another. Place a paper towel-lined sheet tray near the pot of hot oil.
6. Once the oil is at 350 °F, you can begin to fry. Place a few onion rings in the bowl of plain flour and toss to coat. Next, place them in the beer batter and coat evenly. Immediately drop them into the hot oil. Be careful not to overcrowd the pot or they will stick together. Fry until they are golden brown, flipping about halfway through.
7. Remove the onion rings with a slotted spoon or a spider strainer onto the baking tray lined with paper towels. Season with a pinch of kosher salt.
8. An oil temperature between 300 – 350°F is ideal. Allow the oil to come back up to temperature before frying the next batch. Repeat the above steps until all onion rings are fried.
9. You may reheat the onion rings before serving in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes. Serve with the buttermilk dipping sauce.
10. To make the buttermilk dipping sauce, combine all ingredients together in a bowl and whisk to combine. Refrigerate until needed.
