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Several people have asked about the beer-battered onion rings that were shown in our post about the I Would Do Anything For Loaf meatloaf sandwich, so here it is.

The secret ingredient is Meat Church Holy Voodoo seasoning, which as the name implies, is a Cajun seasoning.  You could probably substitute Slap Ya Mama's (my other favorite Cajun seasoning) but Holy Voodoo has sugar in it.  I suspect that little bit of sugar contributes to the extra golden color.

Cajun Beer Battered Onion Rings

By www.nibblemethis.com
Published 04/15/2020

Ingredients

• 12-ounce lager style beer
• 2 cups self-rising flour (divided)
• 1 tablespoon Meat Church Holy Voodoo seasoning or other Cajun Seasoning
• 1 large white onion, peeled and cut into 1/2" rings
• fine salt

Instructions

1. Preheat your deep-fryer to 375°f.  Alternatively, carefully heat 2-3 inches of oil to 375°f in a Dutch oven.
2. Make the batter.  Place 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the seasoning in a medium-sized bowl.  Whisk in the beer until the mixture is a smooth batter.
3. Cook the rings.  Work in small batches to avoid crowding in the deep-fryer.  Dip some of the rings in the batter, shake off the excess, and carefully lower into the oil.  Cook until the bottom starts browning and then flip, cooking until the rings are golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. 
4. Finish the rings.  Season the rings with fine salt immediately after each batch comes out of the deep-fryer.  
5. Serve with chipotle honey BBQ sauce.

Yield: 20 onion rings
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 20 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 10 mins.
Total time: 30 mins.
Tags: deep-fry, side-dish

The biggest tip I can give for deep-frying is watching your oil temperatures the entire time.  Deep frying is about maintaining the perfect balance of the oil trying to get into the food and pressure of the moisture trying to escape the food.  If the oil is too hot, your crust will burn.  If the oil is too low, your food will be greasy.  

Working in small batches accomplishes several things:

• It keeps the rings from sticking together,
• It gives you room to flip the onion rings, and
• It avoids adding large amounts of food which causes temp drops.

Cuisinart Deep-Fryer

I've gone through a few home deep-fryers over the years but this Cuisinart model has been the best, hands down.  We bought it 7 years ago and it has endured much use and some abuse.  Here's what we like about it.  

• Heating element position.  The heating element rests inside of the oil (immersion style).  This heats the oil directly.  That means it responds to temperature changes more quickly.  Many home units have a heating element attached to the bottom of the fryer and it has to heat the pan to indirectly heat the oil.
• Easy to clean.  Deep fryers are often a PITA to clean.  But with this unit, the components come apart so you can easily clean everything except the control unit/heat element in the sink with warm soapy water.  
• Durable.  My previous deep-fryers never lasted more than a couple of years and that was before I started cooking at the levels I do now.  The fact that this one is still rocking after 7 years is a testament to the design and construction.

I checked Amazon and this exact model doesn't seem to be available anymore but this 4-quart model (Amazon Affiliate link) seems to be the updated version.

Two visual cues that your deep-fried food is done are

• The food floats to the surface AND
• The food has turned golden.

It is important to season EACH batch as it comes out of the deep-fryer.  The fine salt sticks better to the momentarily damp surface.  If you wait to season them all until the last batch is done, most of the salt won't stick.

This onion ring looks like a real ring with a jewel, doesn't it?  Use a tray and rack like this to keep your fried foods from getting soggy.  Putting them on a paper towel to "drain" will make the bottoms soggy as the food sits on the oily paper.

Enjoy!