Sourdough Onion Rings

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Anonymous on 19 Jun 2009 at 07:25

I saw these luscious looking onion rings on YeastSpotting several weeks ago and just could not get them out of my head. After eating them only once, I'm more obsessed with them than ever!

sourdough onion rings

What a terrific way to use up your sourdough discard! Heck, these were so good that I'd make sourdough starter for the express purpose of turning out these tasty little rings.

Why were these onion rings so good? They weren't at all greasy (I recovered almost all the oil after cooking), they stayed crisp even when cool (not that many had the chance to get to that state but I had to save a few for the picture), and they had a wonderful flavor.

This was the best batter I have ever used. It would work great on fish (fish & chips) as well as vegetables (tempura). It is a total winner and many of us at TFL have an ample supply of SD starter in our kitchens at all times.

I made a few little changes to the original recipe.

The Batter:

130 g ripe sourdough starter (that was all I had; the original recipe called for 150 g)--my starter was firm, 67% hydration

Heaping 1/3 cup AP flour (original recipe called for 1/2 cup)

Heaping 1/3 cup water (original recipe called for 1/2 cup)

Mix together well and let sit on counter, covered, for about 3 hours then refrigerate until very cold (about another 3 hours).

(The original recipe just fed the starter and immediately refrigerated it, but I felt a little funny about that so I let it sit out for a while and start to grow.)

When you are ready to make the onion rings:

Heat 48 ounces of canola oil in a heavy bottomed pot to 375º. I used a pot that was about 3 1/2 inches x 9 inches; my oil was about 2 1/2 inches deep and that worked out just fine.

Cut one very large yellow onion in slices about 1/4 inch wide and separate them into rings (you can leave them in either two or one ring slices--I did both types).

Place one cup of AP flour into a pie plate and season it with 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon granulated garlic (I don't like the taste of garlic powder so if you can't or don't want to obtain a superior product, I'd just skip it--I use Morton & Bassett granulated garlic with parsley).

Take your starter out of the refrigerator and whisk it with 1/4 cup cold seltzer (or soda) water. It will require some work to get the starter and water mixed up. The batter will be very thick.

Dip the onion rings in the flour, coat with the batter, and then drop them in the hot oil. Don't crowd the pan (one onion required two batches for me). Turn them over several times while they were cooking (about 6 minutes, I think, but you will know when they are done).

Remove to a lined platter and reserve in a 250º oven while you are getting the next batch done.

Sprinkle with kosher salt when they come out of the oil. A dap of your favorite hot sauce makes a nice accompaniment.

Serves 2.

sourdough onion rings

sourdough onion rings

--Pamela

 

 

 

 

 

and they will go great with tonight's dinner: lean hamburgers, stuffed with sundried tomato-basil pesto, my wife's to-die-for potato salad, and now sourdough onion rings! Thanks!

David G.

it makes a great batter; we devoured one onion, between the two of us. Skipped dessert, and I too am going to try it with fish. The only thing I did different was substitute chipotle powder for the cayenne.

David G.

Very Nicely Done, Pamela!  Yours look so nice and not greasy at all!  We are really big on 'Fish n Chips' .   So I'am very partial to batter and not breaded for fish and onion rings...this is a real winner!

Sylvia

Hi Sylvia. I can't wait to try the batter on fish. I loved the way it stayed so crisp on the onions and expect I would have the same results with fish. Maybe tonight!

--Pamela

This is a must try for me. It sure looks it would be a great fish batter as you say. Nice job. Dave

Pamela, your onion rings look delicious!  My 7-year-old doesn't like onions but I bet he won't be able to resist these!  Please let us know how the fish turn out.  I always make too much starter and here are some good ways to make the best of it.

The fish turned out great. The only thing I would do differently next time is to salt the fish before putting it in the flour.

fish & chips

--Pamela

First, I have to say that these look fantastic.  Both the rings and the fish.  My question is why do you think they stay non-greasy?  Something that the sourdough brings to the batter I assume.  Like maybe the acid content – but how does it work?  (Not that I have to know but sometimes inquiring minds just want to know.)  I have to try this!!!!

 

Dave

I think they stay non-greasy because the sourdough batter doesn't absorb very much oil. As to why it doesn't, I don't know. Perhaps it has something to do with its lactic acid content or perhaps it is just that it makes a very thick barrier that quickly hardens and thus doesn't soak up oil.

--Pamela

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Nomadcruiser53 on 20 Jun 2009 at 11:02

There you go. My all time favorite; fish, chips and homemade coleslaw. Coming to my house for supper very soon. Thanks Pamela. Dave

I was a little worried about my selection of fish, Petrale Sole, but that was all I could get yesterday. The fish guy tried to sell me Rock Cod, but that isn't like real cod in my opinion. I rationalized that cod is like flounder and flounder is like sole, and it worked out great. I forgot to make the tarter sauce but it was so delicious I didn't hardly miss it.

The trick about the batter is to just thin it out to the thickness you require with cold soda water.

--Pamela

I have never made batter-fried fish myself, but when I get fish and chips in restaurants on the west coast, it seems cod and halibut are the two kinds of fish used. Halibut is pretty darn good this way. I'd be afraid any kind of flounder (and all the fish we get as "sole" in California are really kinds of flounder (unless it is flown in from Europe) would be too delicate. But, I gather it worked for you.

David

I picked out a rather large piece of Petrale (Whole Foods) that was very fresh and sturdy. Halibut would also be an excellent choice.

I don't often make fried food, but it is fun to do occasionally. This method worked out great for me since I only had to use 48 ounces of canola oil. I hate having to buy mega containers of oil for something I do maybe twice a year.

--Pamela

   Like David we were doing hamburgers and I like sliced battered and fried jalapenos on it with pepper jack cheese and fresh tomato slices. Made the onion rings and peppers with your batter YUM! I hate having to throw away the starter when I don't have anything going on. Thanks for adding to the list of ( not just bread) uses!

                                                                Audra

Thanks for the batter. I tried the OR's today. My batter ended up thicker than yours, but still crispy and great tasting. Dave

They turned out very good but greasier (when cooled) than I thought.  My SD starter was made of whole wheat flour.  Wonder if that was what made the difference. 

with SD starter batter. That's what sided tonight's dinner. Scrumptious. Thanks, again, for the idea Pamela.

David G

My tomato bushes, in Florida's heat, are now history, but not before the choked up a final batch of green tomatos. I made them again last night, but with a twist on the batter.

3/4 cup 100% sourdough starter discard

1/2 cup sparkling water (more or less to thin batter to buttermilk consistency)

1 and 1/2 tsp. Arrowroot flour

Seasoned (S&P) AP flour for dredging

Dredge 1/4 inch thick slices of green tomato in flour. Shake off excess. Drop in batter, let excess drip off. Fry in 1/2 inch hot conola oil or peanut oil.

The arrowroot lends a delicate crunchiness much like tempura batter. We liked this thinner batter and the light crispmess better than the first time we made them with only thinned (crepe batter consistency) sourdough starter.

This recipe really is a winner.  We've had the onion rings twice so far and I tried it with fish tonight (Red Snapper).  Wonderful. 

I have to admit that I initially tried dipping frozen fish in the batter and then popping it in the oven on a no-stick pan, thinking I'd make it a bit healthier.  But after 15 minutes, it was beginning to look and smell alarmingly like fish in bread.  (Ewww...) 

So I rescued the fish and fried it as intended.  It was really great -- I'll never buy tempura frozen fish again.  I think I've had enough fried foods for awhile, but in a week or two I'm going to try tempura veggies. 

In the meantime, is it possible, I wonder, to adapt this recipe somehow to bake the fish in this batter?  The only way I can think of is to partly fry the fish and then bake them, but of course that only adds a step and the oil would tend to negate the benefit of baking anyway.  Is there another way -- any ideas?

Karen

Last time I made WW sourdough onion rings but they turned out a bit too greasy.  Of course, I don't give up easily so I tried it again today, with fish.  I thawed and dried the fish, prepared some AP flour with dried herbs and spices.  Before coating the fish with flour I "marinated" the fish with salt, pepper, sage, basil, and parsley.  Dipped it in the batter and shook as much batter off as possible before frying.  That helped to prevent it from soaking up too much oil.  My husband loved the special dinner I made for his birthday.  We all enjoyed it.  Next time I will try frying vegetables such as eggplants, broccoli and yam, like the Japanese Tampura.  Thanks Pam!

Yes indeed, toss-off onion rings are so good that I ALMOST (but not quite yet) feel compelled to capture yeast again, just so I'll have toss off....

Our onion rings and banana (try the banana; it's fantastic!!) from last summer:

Onion Rings - June 2008banana - June 2008

-Elizabeth

last year's blog entry here: onion rings are too good (bookmarked recipe)

Do try it. The banana is almost better than the onion, Pamela.

The banana becomes a little caramelized - I bet it would be great with a little creme fraiche or vanilla icecream.

-Elizabeth

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Nomadcruiser53 on 22 Jul 2009 at 14:35

I've been having left over waffles toasted with ice cream. Now, deep fried bananas and ice cream? I'm going to have to start walking the dog 12 hours a day. Dave