Beer-Battered Zucchini Rings

It happens every year around this time, without fail. Someone pawns off on gifts me with a gigantic zucchini from their garden. It happened again this year, of course; Joe's grandma sent him home from a visit with a really big zuc that I'm almost positive was longer than both of the boys when they were born. 

As it does every year, the zucchini sat on my counter for nearly a week, mocking me, daring me to tackle it. Finally I just said to myself, you know what? I'mma fry this sucker. And that's exactly what I did. I dunked it in some beer and hot sauce, then gave it a bath in some hot oil. Sometimes you just have to go for it, you know?

The thing with these big zucchini is that they're full of seeds...seeds that aren't really digestible when they reach that size. So I sliced the zucchini into rings, then used a small knife to hollow out the seed area in the middle. Easy peasy! And holy cow, were these delicious. Zucchini has such a great flavor all on its own, but when paired with yeasty beer, spicy hot sauce, a perfectly crunchy exterior and some ranch for dipping? Ugh, they're perfect. Just perfect. If I could use an emoji in a blog post, I'd use the smiley face guy that has hearts where his eyes should be.

If you, too, have a gigantic zucchini languishing in your garden or on your counter, use it to make these rings. You'll be really glad you did, I promise.

Beer-Battered Zucchini Rings
adapted from Homegrown & Healthy

1 big zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rings and seeds removed
1 cup flour 
3/4 cup beer
1 teaspoon hot sauce (more to taste)
Coarse salt
Vegetable oil for frying
Ranch dressing for dipping, if desired

1. Heat vegetable oil in a high-sided skillet or Dutch oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the flour, beer, and hot sauce in a large bowl. 

3. Completely submerge the zucchini rings in the batter, coating them generously, then immediately place in hot oil. Cook until the first side is crispy, then flip and let the other side crisp up. Remove to paper towels to drain and sprinkle with coarse salt while still hot. Serve immediately with ranch dressing for dipping.