Cooking with Beer – Union Jack IPA Battered Onion Rings
Cooking with Beer – Union Jack IPA Battered Onion Rings
Festive foods take on new meaning when made with serious beer. And who doesn’t enjoy a steaming dish of freshly fried battered onion rings? Especially when they’re made with the right IPA.
And although this recipe will work with a wide variety of India Pale Ales, we went with a classic.
The recipient of numerous awards including back to back wins at the Great American Beer Festival, Firestone Union Jack is a 7% ABV West Coast Style IPA with pronounced pineapple, citrus, and pine aromas, intense flavors of grapefruit and tangerine, all balanced by a hint of malt sweetness.
Union Jack is the IPA that helped blaze the trail for the revolutionary West Coast style. Named for the British Lion (David Walker) who co-founded the brewery along with his brother-in-law Adam Firestone, Union Jack is hopped to high hell yet eminently balanced from start to finish.
So let’s do this!
Union Jack IPA Battered Onion Rings:
Ingredients:
2 large yellow or Vidalia onions, cut into ½-inch rings
1 cup all-purpose flour (plus ½ cup for dredging)
½ cup cornstarch
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon smoked paprika (optional, for depth)
12 oz Firestone Union Jack IPA
Vegetable oil, for frying
(Courtesy Firestone Walker Brewing)
Instructions:
Prep the onion – Slice onions into thick rings. Soak in ice water for 10 minutes (helps with crunch), then pat dry.
Heat oil in a deep pot or fryer, heat oil to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter – In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Slowly whisk in the Union Jack IPA until smooth. Batter should be slightly thick but still flow easily (like pancake batter).
Lightly coat onion rings in reserved flour to help the batter stick. Dip rings into the batter, letting excess drip off.
Fry onion rings in small batches until deep golden brown, 2–3 minutes. Drain on a wire rack or paper towels.
Serve along with another Union Jack IPA.
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