Sourdough onion rings are an easy and delicious way to use your sourdough starter discard! Crispy, crunchy, and oh so tasty, serve these treats as a snack, appetizer or side dish!
Cooking oil for frying like peanutavocado, or rice bran
To serve
Extra salt for finish
Condiment of your choice like ketchupBBQ sauce, blue cheese or ranch dressing
Instructions
Peel and slice the yellow onions into 3/4-inch thick slices. If you prefer your onion ring thinner or thicker, feel free to slice it the size of your preference. Keep in mind that thinner rings will cook faster and thicker rings will take longer to cook. Separate the slices into rings, saving the smaller inner rings for a different use.
Place the flour, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika in a large shallow bowl or baking dish. Use a whisk and stir the dry ingredients together until well blended.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter and cold sparkling water.
Pour enough oil into a deep Dutch oven or a cast iron skillet so it is about 1 1/2 inches deep. Keep in mind the oil will bubble up a lot, so if you aren’t familiar with deep frying, a Dutch oven is your best option. Place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet.
Heat the oil until it reaches 375°F. If you don’t have a candy/deep frying thermometer or a quick read thermometer, place a 1-inch cube of bread in the oil. The cube should turn golden brown in 60 seconds.
Once the oil has reached temperature, dip an onion ring in the sourdough starter mixture until it is coated.
Move the ring with a fork to the flour mixture and toss to coat. Do this with three or four onion rings. As the flour mixture starts to clump up because of starter liquid drippings, just rub the clumps between your fingers to break them up into smaller bits.
Fry the rings in the oil by placing a ring partially in the oil, then letting go. The onion ring will slide into the oil without splashing. Do not drop the ring into the oil from the air! This will cause the oil to splash up and splatter, potentially burning you. Don’t over crowd the pan, just fry in small batches. This will make sure the oil doesn’t drop in temperature too fast.
Fry the rings for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, then flip the rings over with tongs and continue to fry until the rings are golden brown, an additional 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
Move the fried onion rings to the wire rack, and repeat with the remaining onion rings, coating first with the sourdough starter, then the flour, then frying.
Once all the onion rings are fried, sprinkle with extra salt and serve warm with your favorite condiment.
Notes
Note: Place wire rack on a baking sheet and keep in a 200 F oven to keep freshly fried onion rings warm while you continue to fry the batches.