The secret to the ultra-crunch of these fiercely delicious cornmeal onion rings is polenta! Cornmeal’s coarser, heartier cousin.
Personally, I almost always find cornmeal onion rings preferential to beer battered ones, although, let’s be honest– I really can’t pass up any variety of tasty fried foods. In general, it’s because cornmeal sticks better and tends to absorb less oil when fried than batter does! But I really owe the cornmeal’s sticking power to flour. Have you ever noticed how flour turns to cement when exposed to moisture and then dried? Say, in a mixing bowl that’s been left in your sink for an hour or so after mixing dry ingredients and then halfway rinsed out? It was after observing this that I came up with my method for pre-battering these onion rings. Wet the onion rings with water, then coat with flour and let dry. Same idea, and it works amazingly well (if I do say so myself!)
Enjoy these crunchy beauties atop a steak or alongside a burger with my Creamy Horseradish-Chive Dip (recipe below!)
The Crunchiest Cornmeal and Polenta Onion Rings Recipe
Crunchy Cornmeal + Polenta Onion Rings
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion sliced and separated into ½” thick rings
- 2/3 cup cornmeal
- 1/3 cup polenta not instant
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 + 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp paprika or other spices
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- high smoke point oil (such as canola, vegetable, or peanut oil)
- instant read or frying thermometer
Instructions
- Place the sliced onions in a colander and wet all over with cold water. Shake off excess water and transfer to a large bowl. Pour the flour over the top and toss to coat. Transfer the flour-coated rings to a wire rack and leave to dry out at room temperature 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, assemble your dredging station. In a large bowl or dish, stir together the cornmeal, polenta, salt, and paprika until well combined, and pour the buttermilk into a medium bowl or dish. When dried, dip the onion rings in the buttermilk and coat in the cornmeal mixture, then return to the wire rack.
- Heat 3 inches of oil in a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot to 365F. Fry the onion rings in batches until golden and crispy, about 4-6 minutes, and transfer to the wire rack to cool. Be sure to allow the oil to come back up to temperature between batches and don’t crowd the pot– this can cause the oil temperature to cool too drastically, and make your onion rings greasy!
- Enjoy hot!
Creamy Horseradish-Chive Dip Recipe
Horseradish-Chive Dip
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp sour cream
- 4 tbsp buttermilk
- 2 tsp prepared horseradish excess liquid squeezed out
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 garlic clove grated on a microplane, very finely minced and crushed with a knife, or pressed
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp finely sliced chives
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Stir together all ingredients in a small bowl. Enjoy with onion rings, veggies, anything!
Tell me what you think in the comments below!
