There is nothing better than some crispy fried onion rings! Well, only one thing. Crispy fried onion rings bursting with flavor that are not bad for you and are super simple to make!
If you look at the ingredients for most ready-to-cook boxed or bagged onion rings, you’ll likely be horrified. Just take a quick peek at the list for one of the more popular frozen brands:
ONIONS, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, VEGETABLE OILS (SOYBEAN, SUNFLOWER, COTTONSEED, AND/OR CANOLA), YELLOW CORN FLOUR, POTATO STARCH, WATER, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: SALT, SUGAR, YEAST, CARAMEL COLOR, ONION POWDER, GARLIC POWDER, NATURAL FLAVORS, SPICE EXTRACTIVE, OLEORESIN OF PAPRIKA (COLOR).
Without going into any great detail here, this list includes multiple bad ingredients that just aren’t necessary to make onion rings. This includes at least one known carcinogen, and several terms that can include MSG and a multitude of other extractives or formulas to control color, flavor and appearance. In other words, they can include lots of potentially bad ingredients that they don’t even have to tell you about.
In addition, none of the oils you see listed here are oils I would recommend ingesting. Particularly soybean and cottonseed oil. Those two are deal breakers for me.
So, how about the good news?
The recipe I’m about to lay out for you has none of the junk listed above. Well, it has onions. But that may be where the similarities end!
Another bit of good news is it’s quick and easy to make. Why’s that important? Let’s face it, if it takes too much time or is too much trouble, the majority of us won’t even mess with it.
In this recipe, the flours normally used have been swapped out for grain-free options and you’ll cook your onion rings in grass-fed beef tallow, like this one from Fatworks instead of unhealthy vegetable oils.
For those of you that have a problem finding tapioca flour, you can get it here.
After you’ve tried it out… make sure to let me know what you think!
- 14 oz Beef Tallow
- 2 Large, Organic Sweet Onions
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1/4 cup Filtered Water
- 1/4 tsp Ground Mustard
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne (optional)
- Pinch of Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 cup Almond Flour
- 5-1/2 tbsp. Tapioca Flour, divided
- Himalayan Salt to Taste
- 1. Add the beef tallow to the skillet and heat over medium heat until it's about 350 degrees. Have a cooling rack set over paper towels ready for frying.
- 2. Cut onions into 1/4" slices. Separate the rings and place into a ziplock bag with 1-1/2 tablespoons of the tapioca starch and toss to coat the onion rings well. Set aside for later.
- 3. In a blender, mix the eggs, water, spices, baking powder, almond flour and remaining 4 tablespoons of tapioca starch. Blend on high until very smooth. Pour the batter out into a wide bowl.
- 4. Once the oil is hot, fry the onion rings by dipping the dusted rings into the batter briefly to coat. Shake off the excess batter so that only a very thin coating remains. Place the ring into the hot oil and cook until lightly browned on each side. Don't crowd the pan or the oil temp will drop too low. Move the fried rings to the cooling rack and sprinkle with Himalayan salt as desired.
- Always buy organic ingredients whenever possible.
