Amazing onion rings

I really try to keep myself from eating fried foods.  High cholesterol runs in our family, so I try to eat healthy to keep mine down.  I almost always bake and sautee my foods instead of frying them.

But, every now and then I crave something fried. 

 Today, I craved some good ole fried... 

OnIoN RiNgS!

Like I always do...I looked at about 10 recipes, then I settled on my ingredients.

Slice the onion into rings about 1/2" thick.

For the batter, in a medium bowl, whisk together:

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup self rising flour

1 t salt

1 t black pepper

1 t garlic powder

1/2 t Greek seasoning

1/2 t red pepper flakes

(I added a dash of beer at the end.  If your batter seems to thick, add a dash of beer or milk)

Add about 1/2 cup of flour to a plate just to dip the onions in before dipping them into the batter, this seems to make the batter stick better.

I used a cast iron skillet and about 1/2" of canola oil.   I think the most important detail here is to heat your oil to 350 degrees.  Too low of a temperature and the rings will get oil soaked.  Too high, and the rings will cook on the outside and not enough on the inside.  I have an infrared thermometer that I sell at the auto parts store.  You just point it at the oil, and it tells you the temperature. Works great in the kitchen.  

Once the oil is 350 degrees, dip 

one of the rings into the flour and coat it well.   Then dip it into the batter and carefully place it in the oil.

Repeat until you have the skillet full of rings.  Watch them closely and when they seem to be getting golden brown on the underside, flip them one at a time.   They will cook quickly, so you need to be on your toes.   Once you flip them, the second side seems to cook even faster.   When they appear golden on the underside, remove them and place them on paper towels to absorb some of the grease.  Repeat in batches until all rings are done. 

Some of my rings were small, so I actually left 2 rings attached and cooked them together. 

Here is my onion ring tower...

   If you like onion rings, you will LOVE these.

Here is the volcano of onion rings with ketchup lava....

Love what you eat and eat what you love!   :)