Make The Best Onion Rings Of Your Life With One Extra Step

Onion rings are a crunchy, savory, and downright delicious side dish or appetizer that pair nicely with anything from down-home fried chicken and mashed potatoes to a buttery filet mignon and roast veggies served at an upscale steakhouse. Onion rings are made simply, by dredging raw onion rounds through batter before dunking them in seasoned panko bread crumbs and frying them until golden brown and crispy. Although the prototypical recipe for onion rings is a tried-and-true classic that needs no fixing, there are no rules against giving them the occasional facelift to reinvent how you enjoy the classic fried delicacy. Next time you want to shake up your onion ring routine, pickle the onions before you fry them.

Pickled onions are raw onions soaked in a vinegar-based brine until they mellow into something brighter, tangier, and more complex. Unlike the sharp, pungent, and intense bite of raw onions, pickled onions flaunt a jazzy acidity that counters the richness of onion ring batter. Pickled onions are punchy without being severe and vibrant without being fussy — simply soak them in brine for as little as 15 minutes and you have a fresh new way to enjoy onion rings. Plus, they're just as crunchy as their raw counterparts, which means you're upgrading the flavor of onion rings without compromising on mouthfeel. Consider this upgrade a hybrid between crispy fried pickles and classic onion rings.

Making pickled onion rings is no more complicated than making regular onion rings. That being said, it's still helpful to keep a few simple tips in mind to ensure a tastefully made batch. For starters, consider which kind of onions you want to pickle. Sweet onions or mild-mannered yellow onions are typically the go-to for onion rings, but red onions bring a sharper, more assertive zing that translates into a funkier fried bite. Whichever variety you choose, slice your onions into ½-inch rings to ensure they hold their shape and don't slip out when you take a bite.

Once sliced, let those rings take a dip in your pickling brine. The longer they soak, the tangier they'll taste. A quick pickling method gets the job done on the fly, but an overnight soak gives you maximum flavor payoff. Don't be shy about dressing up your brine — toss in some garlic for extra allium goodness, jalapeños for a touch of heat, and a few sprigs of thyme for an herbaceous backbone.

Before you fry them, pat the rings dry to keep your batter from slipping off or soaking up too much vinegar, which can disrupt the flavor balance. For an extra-crispy shell, go for a double dip in the batter. It's that simple — a little extra prep, a lot of extra payoff.