Forget soggy onions rings! Lightly pickling the onion before frying gives Tom Kerridge's beer-battered onion rings the edge
Ingredients
- 2 large onions
- 175ml distilled malt vinegar
- 75g golden caster sugar
- 100g plain flour
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- oil, for deep-frying
- smoked paprika, to serve
For the batter
- 100g cornflour
- 100g plain flour
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 300ml lager
Method
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Slice the onions into 1cm-thick rings and set aside. Tip the vinegar, sugar, 50ml water and 1 tsp salt into a pan, bring to the boil, then remove from the heat. Add the onions to the pan, cover with cling film and leave to cool. You can do this up to a day ahead.
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Fill a large saucepan half full with oil and heat until the temperature reaches 180C on a frying thermometer. Mix the flour, cayenne pepper, coriander and 1 tsp salt in a bowl, and set aside.
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To make the batter, combine the flours and bicarb in a bowl, then slowly whisk in the beer. Drain the onion rings and coat them in the spiced flour. One at a time, dip them in the batter and fry in the hot oil for 2-3 mins until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and season with smoked paprika and flaky sea salt.