Beer Battered Onion Rings with Southern BBQ Sauce

Up your game with these crispy, flavorful, hot out of the deep fry, amazing Beer Battered Onion Rings. They are great paired with our Southern BBQ Sauce for dunking. This onion ring recipe is pure comfort food!

Are you looking for a great game day treat? Something special for the Super Bowl game? Well, I have the perfect appetizer for the big day, Beer Battered Onion Rings with Southern BBQ Sauce.

Your guests and family will be drooling over these and fighting to get the last one. They are not hard to make and the onion rings and sauce freeze great! Just defrost the sauce ahead of time and then simply bake the onion rings in the oven.

You will be the one with fans this year!!

Helpful Items For This Recipe

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Stainless Steel Deep Fryer With Basket

Carbon Steel Wok with 2 Spatulas & Wooden Lid

Steel Spider Strainer

What Kind of Beer Do You Use For Beer-Battered Onion Rings?

I like to use a nice amber ale for the batter. It adds a wonderful malt flavor to the batter, but actually, you can use just about any type of beer you like. The only rule I would say is that if you like to drink the beer then it’s ok to use it in your batter!

The onion rings are crispy and I think even better after having a run through the freezer. The batter is so flavorful with the added beer, plus the Southern BBQ sauce is a real winner with Southern Comfort in it. The whole experience will have you crying out for more!!

The onion we used for this was a large sweet onion. We do prefer these for onion rings to the yellow onion, not only are they sweeter and more delicious but they make large onion rings too!

What Ingredients Do You Need to Make Beer Battered Onion Rings?

The BBQ sauce is sweet and spicy with a great kick from Southern Comfort. We upped the game by making the BBQ sauce for dipping instead of just plain old ketchup.

This sauce is very versatile and will be something that you will want to make again and again.

Ingredients

Southern BBQ Sauce
Ketchup
Brown sugar
Fancy black molasses
Apple cider vinegar
Worcestershire sauce
Dijon mustard
Liquid smoke
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Black pepper
Salt
Onion Rings
Large white sweet onions
All-purpose flour
Cornstarch
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Cayenne pepper
Sugar
Kosher salt
Amber ale
Sparkling water
Large egg
Canola oil

How Do You Make Beer Batter For Onion Rings From Scratch?

For the onion rings:

If making to serve immediately, preheat oven to 250F. Place two cooling racks over two rimmed baking sheets. You can first drain on paper towels if you like.

Slice onion into 1/2″ thick slices and separate into rings. Add the onion rings to 1 1/2 cups flour, toss to coat and let sit for 30 min.

When ready to fry them up, in a bowl add the remaining flour (1 1/2 cups) with the cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, sugar, and salt, in a large bowl.

In a bowl whisk together the beer, sparkling water, and egg in another large bowl. Gradually whisk in the dry ingredients, add in the extra 1/2 cup of flour if needed.

In a large wok or deep fryer heat oil to 350F or medium-high heat. Work in batches and don’t crowd the onions.

Take the onion rings and coat them in the batter and then drop them into the hot oil. Cook the onion rings until golden brown, turning once as needed.

Take the onion rings out and place them on the prepared cookie sheets.

Do Onion Rings Freeze Well?

If making this delicious appetizer or side dish ahead of time and you want to freeze them let them cool at this point. Alternatively, place them in the oven to keep warm while you finish making the rest.

Freeze on the cookie sheets, once frozen place in bags, and then back into the freezer. Reheat at 350F. for 10-15 min. or until heated through and crisp.

How To Make The Southern BBQ Sauce

The BBQ sauce is luscious and has a depth like no other. You will want to be double-dipping for sure!! Keep this recipe on hand for all your BBQ sauce needs, you will be slathering it on chicken, ribs, beef, and more!

For the BBQ Sauce:

Whisk all the ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Bring temperature down to simmer and let the sauce reduce to 2 cups, stirring frequently.

The sauce will keep up to 2 weeks in the fridge but also freezes well.

Look at that big “O” of an onion ring. One after another turns out to be perfect. One onion is all you need for loads of onion rings!! Give this recipe a try, you will get rave reviews!!

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Beer-Battered Onion Rings with Southern BBQ Sauce

Tara Noland

A perfectly crisp beer-battered onion ring with a tangy, sweet and spicy BBQ sauce, perfect for any game day and wonderful for Super Bowl.

4.96 from 22 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 minutes mins

Total Time 24 minutes mins

Course Appetizers

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Calories 1181 kcal

Ingredients

 

Southern BBQ Sauce

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup Southern Comfort
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp. fancy black molasses
• 3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. liquid smoke
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. dried crushed red chili flakes or to taste
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Onion Rings

• 2 large white sweet onions
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups cornstarch
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups amber ale
• 2 cups sparkling water
• 1 large egg
• 3 cups canola oil

Instructions

 

For the BBQ Sauce:

• Whisk all the ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Bring temperature down to simmer and let the sauce reduce to 2 cups, stirring frequently.
• The sauce will keep up to 2 weeks in the fridge but also freezes well.

For the onion rings:

• If making to serve immediately, preheat oven to 250F. Place two cooling racks over two rimmed baking sheets.
• Slice onion into 1/2" thick slices and separate into rings. Add the onion rings to 1 1/2 cups flour, toss to coat and let sit for 30 min.
• When ready to fry them up, mix the remaining flour (1 1/2 cups) with the cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, sugar, and salt, in a large bowl.
• Whisk together the beer, sparkling water, and egg in another large bowl. Gradually whisk in the dry ingredients, add in the extra 1/2 cup of flour if needed.
• In a large wok or deep fryer heat oil to 350F. Work in batches and don’t crowd the onions. Take the onion rings and coat them in the batter and then drop them into the oil.
• Cook the onion rings until golden brown, turning once as needed. Take the onion rings out and place them on the prepared cookie sheets.
• If making ahead to freeze let cool at this point or place in the oven to keep warm while you finish making the rest.
• *Freeze on the cookie sheets, once frozen place in bags, and then back into the freezer. Reheat at 350F. for 10-15 min. or until heated through and crisp.

Equipment

Hiware Solid Stainless Steel Spider Strainer Skimmer Ladle for Cooking and Frying, 5.4 Inch

Homeries Carbon Steel Wok with 2 Spatulas & Wooden Lid for Electric, Induction & Gas Stoves – Heavy Duty Stir Fry Pan – Pre-Seasoned Chinese Wok with Flat Bottom (12″ Diameter)

Atralife Stainless Steel Deep Fryer with Basket, Easy to Clean Deep Fryer,Oil Filtration,for Professional Grade Commercial Restaurant Fast Food Restaurant Home Kitchen (13″ Wx19 Lx13 H)

Video

Notes

Recipes adapted from Epicurious.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 1181kcalCarbohydrates: 93gProtein: 8gFat: 83gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 75gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 1410mgFiber: 3gSugar: 22g

Nutrition calculation is an estimation only. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!