Oven Rings

First of all, I have no idea why the picture is showing up sideways. Sometimes I really hate Blogger. Sorry about that, guys.

Anyway. I've made lots of onion rings in my day, but they've all been of the deep-fried variety. So when I saw an oven-baked version of onion rings in a recent issue of Everyday Food, I was intrigued. Could they possibly be as crispy as their fried counterpart? The answer is a very definitive YES.

These onion rings were delightfully crispy with a perfectly seasoned breading. They came together very simply (and without too much mess, surprisingly). The trick to the crispiness is a hot sheet pan, hot oil (the original recipe calls for olive oil, but I used canola because it has a higher cooking temperature), and…cornflakes. (Psst: They don't even have to be name brand cornflakes. The store brand works just fine.) We had these with our burgers on Friday, and they were the perfect accompaniment. We dipped them in Sweet Baby Ray's horseradish-based signature sauce, which was delicious. Joe liked them so much that he's insisting we have these onion rings every Friday. I'm not sure if we'll have them that often, but this will definitely be my go-to onion ring recipe from now on!

Oven Rings
source: Everyday Food, June 2009

1 1/2 cups corn flakes
1/2 cup plain dried bread crumbs
1 large egg
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia, sliced and broken into rings (discard small center rings)
2 tablespoons olive oil (I used canola oil)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, pulse corn flakes and bread crumbs until fine crumbs form, then transfer to a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper.

2. Dip onion rings in egg mixture (letting excess drip off) and dredge in cornflake mixture; place on a large plate. Pour oil onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven and heat 2 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly with oil. Arrange onion rings on sheet.

3. Bake, turning once, until onion rings are golden brown, about 16 minutes. Season with salt.