Sean wanted hamburgers tonight, so I decided I would make them for dinner. I also made oven fries again, which were delicious. They were nice and crunchy on the outside and creamy in the center, like fries should be made. I also made some oven-fried onion rings. I hadn’t made these before, but I have to say they came out nicely. I have posted the recipes I use for hamburgers and oven fries before, but if you would like to check them out, you can simply click here and go to that day’s blog. I will post the onion ring recipe I used.

Oven-Fried Onion Rings

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

30 saltines

4 cups kettle-cooked potato chips

2 large yellow onions cut into 24 large rings

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees. Place 1/4 cup of flour in a shallow baking dish. Beat egg and buttermilk together in a medium bowl. Whisk the remaining 1/4 cup of flour, cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper into the buttermilk mixture. Pulse the saltines and the chips together in a food processor until they are finely ground and place in a separate shallow baking dish.

Pull apart the rings of onion in each round, discarding any that are less than 2 inches in diameter. Working one at a time, dredge each onion ring in flour, shaking off the excess. Dip the onion ring in the buttermilk mixture, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl, then drop the ring into the crumb coating, turning the ring to coat evenly. Transfer the ring to a large plate and repeat the process with the remaining onion rings.

Pour 3 tablespoons of oil onto each of the two rimmed baking sheets. Place in the oven and heat until just smoking, about 8 minutes. Carefully tilt the heated baking sheets to coat them evenly with oil, then arrange the onion rings on the sheets. Bake, flipping the onion rings over and switching and rotating the positions of the baking sheets halfway through baking, until they are golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes. Transfer the onion rings to plates lined with paper towels to drain briefly. Serve immediately.

You can bread the onion rings ahead of time refrigerate them for up to an hour. Let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking; if you bake them straight from the fridge, the onions will not soften properly and will remain crunchy.

These onion rings turn out very crisp and crunchy, almost like they were fried. Using the kettle chips helps produce a golden crust that makes the crust seem deep-fried. Adding the saltines add some saltiness to the mix and helps to absorb the excess grease from the potato chips. Definitely give them a try if you get the chance; we loved having them with the burgers tonight.

Tomorrow night is a meat-free meal night; well, not completely meat-free but pretty close. I am making Fettuccine Alfredo for Michelle and Sean for dinner, but since I am not too keen on pasta or cheese, I am having a crab stuffed rainbow trout for myself. I’ll be posting both recipes  so you can check them out tomorrow night. Until then, enjoy your meal and enjoy your evening!