Beer-Battered Onion Rings

1. 1Separate the onion rings, keeping the larger ones and saving the small centres for something else. Toss them in the 2 tbsp of dusting flour and shake off the excess — batter slides straight off a bare wet onion.
2. 2Whisk the flour, cornflour, baking powder, salt and paprika together in a bowl.
3. 3Heat the oil to 180°C before you mix the batter, not after. The batter starts losing its lift the moment the beer goes in.
4. 4Pour in the cold beer and stir just until it comes together. Leave it lumpy — a few dry patches of flour are fine and actively good. Whisking it smooth develops gluten and gives you a heavy, bready coating.
5. 5Dip a few rings at a time, let the excess run off for a second, and lower them into the oil. Fry four or five at most: crowd the pan and the temperature falls, and batter fried below 170°C absorbs oil instead of sealing.
6. 6Fry for 2–3 minutes, turning once, until pale gold and crisp. They should sound hollow when tapped with tongs.
7. 7Drain on a rack — never on kitchen paper, which traps steam and softens the underside — and salt immediately while the surface is still hot enough to hold it.
8. 8Bring the oil back up to 180°C between batches, and serve as you go rather than keeping them warm.

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