National Onion Rings Day | Pancake Batter Onion Rings

Back when I ate fast food, Burger King was one of my favorites. I would get the same thing every time (because I’m a total creature of habit): Salad with ranch dressing and a side of onion rings, double onion ring sauce. I’m not saying that I used to have great taste in food, but man, I just remember this combination being some of the best fast food one could get.

While I’ll probably never get my onion rings as perfectly breaded and fried as Burger King’s (and really, who wants that? We know they all come from a frozen bag), I have made a copycat sauce recipe and my own homemade onion rings that turned out worlds better than good ol’ BK could come up with.

Onion rings may seem simple, and they can be, but I didn’t find that to be completely the case. And apparently, because my husband knows how much I love onion rings and onion straws, he’s tried to make these things for me in secret a number of times and has been unable to do it. Thankfully he has a friend, Patricia, who shared this recipe that she followed for some bomb onion rings. Our lives will never be the same.

Thank goodness for the share because we may very well have continued to flail around in the kitchen attempting onion rings. I’ll never even attempt a different onion ring recipe. I am pretty much satisfied with everything this one had to offer. And they were easy! Which is always my favorite part.

(I’m looking forward to the day when I can actually take more time in the kitchen without feeling all this pressure, but for now, anything that makes my kitchen time the most efficient is my best friend.)

Enjoy National Onion Rings Day!

Print Recipe ^[4]

Pancake Batter Onion Rings

Ingredients:

Onion Rings

• 2 colossal sweet onions, sliced into rings
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 box cornbread mix (same size to make 8 x 8 pan)
• 2 cups dry pancake mix (mixed with 2 cups water)
• frying oil

Copycat Burger King Sauce

• 1/4 C. mayonnaise
• 1/4 tsp. granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. ketchup
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp. horseradish
• 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

Directions:

Onion Rings

1. As you slice your onion rings toss them into a large bowl with buttermilk and let them soak.
2. Using a shaker (like one you would normally use for Parmesan cheese) sprinkle the cornbread mix onto each onion ring and then dip into the wet pancake batter. (If for whatever reason your pancake batter is to runny or too thick, you can always add more mix or more water to thicken or thin.)
3. Place the onion rings on a tray, side by side until all rings have been battered.
4. Preheat 2-inches of frying oil to 350 degrees F. Drop several onion rings in at a time, making sure they are not touching. Fry on one side until brown and then flip over with tongs. They take about a minute to cook.
5. Place onion rings on a paper-towel lined tray until all onion rings have been fried.

Copycat Burger King Sauce

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before using.