Crispy Baked Onion Rings

I love onion rings.....good onion rings.  Not those greasy, stringy nearly onion-less rings at fast food restarurants.  And although some good sit-down restaurants might have some pretty good hand-breaded rings, they are generally so exorbitantly expensive I just can't justify the cost.  And when it gets right down to it, not exactly the healthiest item on the menu.

Here is the solution to all of the problems listed above.  These came out exactly as I like my rings: crispy, thick (very thick....I want to taste the onion) slices of sweet onions, seasoned to your liking.  Two things I insist on when making my own:  I MUST use sweet onions (Vidalias, Texas 10/20s, Walla Wallas, etc) and I use two layers of rings, instead of separating the individual layers.

I'm listing the recipe as I found it, but one thing I will change......step 3 of the dipping says to dredge each battered ring into the breadcrumbs.  Problem with this is after dipping several, you'll start to get clumps of breadcrumbs which will cling to the rings.  Instead, I'm going to try sprinkling each ring with the breadcrumbs so each ring has a smooth coating of crumbs.

CRISPY BAKED ONION RINGS (Serves 4)

2 large onions, sliced thickly
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup buttermilk, milk, or beer
1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute), lightly beaten
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs (no substitutes)
1 tsp creole seasoning, or to taste, or another type of seasoning if you like
S&P to taste

Place half of the flour in a wide shallow bowl, mix the remaining flour with the buttermilk (or milk or beer) and egg and place it in a wide, shallow bowl and mix the Panko breadcrumbs and any seasonings and place them in a third wide, shallow bowl.

Dredge the onion slices in the flour, dip them in the batter mixture and dredge them in the breadcrumbs.

Place the onion slices on a wire rack on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 425F oven until golden brown, about 12-18 minutes (18 minutes if you double-up the layers of rings like I do). 

Recipe Source:  www.closetcookings.com