Fry

Beer-Battered Mesquite Onion Rings

by:
July 24, 2012
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Beer-Battered Mesquite Onion Rings
  • Makes about 30
Author Notes

When I first encountered mesquite flour, its smoky nutty scent gave me the idea for these onion rings. My husband and I are working on starting a pub, so I'd been looking for a way to make a unique deep-fried menu item. Mesquite flour is made from the ground pods of the Mesquite tree and has a strong nutty flavor and beautiful deep orange color. It's also naturally gluten-free.

When choosing your gluten-free beer, go for either Estrella Damm Daura or Lakefront Brewery's New Grist Sorghum Beer. Daura will lend the most beer flavor, while the sorghum in New Grist highlights the sweetness in the mesquite flour. I like sweet Walla Walla onions best in this recipe, but regular yellow onions work quite well. Make sure you choose a round and uniformly-shaped onion for the most aesthetically pleasing results. If they're around long enough to be admired, that is. —beyondcelery

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 yellow onion, preferably Walla Walla
  • 60 grams (1/2 cup) sweet rice flour
  • 60 grams (1/2 cup) mesquite flour
  • 30 grams (1/4 cup) tapioca starch
  • 30 grams (1/4 cup) amaranth or sorghum flour, plus more as needed
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for dusting
  • 1 dash dash black pepper (about 4-5 turns of a grinder)
  • 10-12 ounces gluten-free beer
  • Canola oil for frying
Directions
  1. Peel onion and chop off both ends. Slice it crosswise into 4-5 sections, depending on how thick you want the rings. Separate rings and set aside, discarding the onion center. Heat canola oil in a deep pot to medium-high heat. You'll need about 3 inches of oil.
  2. (Note that you're heating the oil while you prepare the batter. This keeps the batter from sitting around, losing its beery oomph. You can hold the batter in the fridge for 1 hour if needed, but the rings won't be quite as good.)
  3. In a medium bowl, combine all flours with sugar and salt. Gradually whisk in beer a little at a time until the batter is the consistency of pancake batter. The last inch or so of the beer is for the cook; you probably won’t quite use it all. Add more amaranth flour if your batter gets too thin.
  4. When oil is fully heated, dip onion rings in batter to coat and fry about 2 at a time, depending on the size of your pot. You don't want them to touch and stick together. Turn over once halfway through frying. Fry about 3 minutes total, or until rings are a deep golden brown.
  5. Lift rings out of the oil, shake off excess, and arrange on a plate covered in 1-2 paper towels. Dust with sea salt. Serve hot and crispy.
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3 Reviews

beyondcelery
beyondcelery August 1, 2012
It seems the internet ate my comment; forgive me if this shows up twice.

I'm allergic to gluten, which is why I'm always looking for and using odd flours. I first found mesquite flour here, about 2 years ago: http://www.tienda.com/food/products/l-sc-07.html. I've since seen it popping up all over gluten-free corners of the internet, including Amazon. I even see it sometimes at our local natural food market chain (PCC, for you Northwesterners).

The thing I love most about gluten-free flours is the variety of flavors I can coax out of them. In this recipe, the mesquite flour's sweet smoky nuttiness compliments the onions really well. The amaranth's nuttiness brightens up the mesquite flour and really makes it pop with flavor. The sweet rice flour and tapioca starch are there to hold everything together in the fryer.
 
beyondcelery
beyondcelery August 1, 2012
I'm allergic to gluten, which is why I'm always looking for and using odd flours. I found Mesquite flour here: http://www.tienda.com/food/products/l-sc-07.html. It's been about 2 years since I first saw and bought it; now I've noticed it popping up all over certain gluten-free corners of the internet (including Amazon) and even occasionally at one of our local natural food grocery chains.

One of the things I love about gluten-free flours is the variety of flavors I can coax out of different combinations. In this case, the mesquite flour's smoky nuttiness compliments the onions, while the amaranth's nuttiness compliments the mesquite flour and encourages its flavor to really bloom. Sweet rice flour and tapioca starch are there to hold it all together in the deep fryer.
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. July 29, 2012
Whenever i find a recipe w/ unusual ingredients, i always hope the reasoning will be explained and vendors noted. would you educate us plse w/ regards to your unusual choice of flours (or are you gluten intolerant?) and where you found mesquite flour? thx much.