These sourdough onion rings, with just three ingredients, will satisfy your craving for one of the best diner or coffee shop sides ever invented.
If you love onion rings as much as I do, this three-ingredient onion ring recipe will satisfy your craving when you can't get to your favorite diner, deli, or coffee shop.
In fact, these onion rings, made with just sourdough starter, onions, and oil, have that sourdough tang that you'll never taste in a restaurant onion ring.
I grew up in the era of malt shops, diners, and drive-ins. One of my favorite things to do after school was to go to a malt shop and get a basket of onion rings to share with my friends. They were magical.
Deep frying has always intimidated me, so my first attempt at onion rings involved oven frying. The results were amazing, and I highly recommend the recipe. However, the recipe is pretty involved.
Because I already maintain a sourdough starter for my bread baking hobby, I was intrigued with the idea of using the discard for onion rings. I'm completely thrilled with the results.
Ingredients:
Onions: You can use brown, yellow, white, or sweet onions. I use a sweet onion.
Sourdough Sourdough Discard: I use a 100 percent hydration sourdough starter. What that means is that the starter is fed with equal parts flour and water, by weight (not volume).
Oil for Frying: Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point, meaning it can be heated to a high temperature without burning. Oils with a high smoke point include avocado oil (the highest), peanut oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, canola oil, or corn oil.
Once the onion rings are cooked, sprinkle them with salt and serve them with your favorite ketchup and/or dipping sauce.
How to Make Sourdough Onion Rings:
First, slice onions into 1/2 inch or slightly smaller slices and separate the rings.
Next, heat about two to three inches of neutral oil to 375 degrees F.
After that, dip the sliced onions into a bowl of sourdough starter and fry them in batches until they are browned and puffy.
Finally, drain the cooked onion rings on paper towel lined sheet pans in a 200 degree F oven to keep them warm.
Equipment You May Need:
I used a mini deep fryer that I have for frying these onions to fry them in batches. I love it because you don't have to worry too much about controlling the burner on your stove. You can also use a Dutch oven or wok for frying and a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature of the oil.
You'll also need a half sheet pan for "holding" the onion rings in the oven.
My favorite tool for flipping and straining these onion rings is a spider strainer.
Suggested Dipping Sauces:
Ketchup (my favorite)
Ranch Dressing
Sourdough Onion Ring Recipe Variations:
While I just salted these onion rings after frying, you can include additional salt into the batter. You can also add additional spices such as black pepper, paprika, ground mustard, Creole seasoning, or garlic powder to the batter before dipping in the onions.
I tried dipping the onions into flour before the starter, but I found that it wasn't necessary. Just dip and fry! Of course, you could add breading too, but I love these as they are.
Evidently, the secret sauce to the success of using just the batter is the fact that the batter has had a chance to really develop the gluten in the wheat. This helps it stay together in the hot oil. No egg is necessary.
Tips for Success:
This recipe is designed for using leftover sourdough starter. My starter hadn't been fed in about two weeks. You can experiment with the amount of time it takes before the starter is no longer good for these onion rings, but I suspect the time is much longer.
If you're really concerned, stir in a small amount of baking soda to the sourdough discard before dipping the onion rings.
For Leftovers:
Do not try reheating leftovers in the microwave.
Drain any leftover onion rings on a paper towel lined plate and refrigerate. Reheat them in an air fryer or convection oven. You'll love the results.
More Fun Snack Recipes:
Olive Garden Breadsticks (copycat)
El Pollo Loco Chicken Tortilla Soup
Sourdough Onion Rings
Ingredients
- 1 large brown, yellow, or sweet onion
- Vegetable or other neutral oil
- 1 to 2 cups of 100 percent hydration sourdough starter in a bowl
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Peel the onion and slice it into 1/2 inch slices. Separate the rings.
- Heat about 2 to 3 inches of oil in a deep fryer, wok, or tall-sided Dutch oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place a half sheet pan in your oven and heat the oven to 200 degrees F.
- Line a plate with a few layers of paper towels.
- Dip each onion ring into the sourdough starter and drop them into the hot oil in batches. Fry for about a minute, and then flip them over. Cook until golden. Lift them out of the oil with a spider strainer and drain them on the paper towel lined plate. Slide them into the oven on the half sheet pan while frying the rest of the onions.
- Sprinkle with salt to taste and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
- Refrigerate leftovers and reheat in an air fryer or on a rack in a convection oven at 350 degrees F .
Nutrition Facts
Calories
143Fat (grams)
7 gSat. Fat (grams)
1 gCarbs (grams)
18 gFiber (grams)
1 gNet carbs
17 gSugar (grams)
4 gProtein (grams)
2 gCholesterol (grams)
0 mg
What a great way to use extra starter! They look fabulous.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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