Crunchy Baked Onion Rings

It all started with an idea, a bookmarked recipe that had languished, untried, in my internet bookmarks folder for months.  A recipe which, a few months ago, I finally got around to making--with pretty successful results, mind you.  The rings baked up crisp and crunchy and oh-so-onion-y.  Not the same as beer-battered onion rings, something I will only eat when I know they're going to be good....OK, well, any time I want them to be good, or see them on the menu, or just want to eat mediocre ones.

What can I say, I love onion rings. The battered ones, to be specific.  Usually breadcrumb coating doesn't float this boat, but if you take the bath in hot oil out of the onion ring equation, you're not going to get get anywhere starting with raw batter.  No, when replicating fried foods in the oven, you have to start with something crunchy if you hope to get anywhere worth eating.

The problem I had with the original recipe--another Martha Stewart gripe--is the amount of work involved on the front end.  Granted, anytime you crumb or batter something, there are going to be a number of steps--dip, shake, dredge, shake, dip, shake, etc.  Not to mention all the dirty plates that stack up--which becomes an issue in a city apartment with the world's worst dishwasher. I had a big issue getting the batter to coat the rings, which then became a bigger issue getting the crumbs to stick to the batter (although they stuck to my fingers just fine...).   There had to be an easier way.

Would it be wrong to eat them like this?

So, internet, I just went for it.  I started off with a trick I read about from Pioneer Woman--soaking the onions in buttermilk to mellow their flavor and start the whole thing off on the right foot.  Thirty minutes later when I removed the onions, I knew we were on the right track--the thick buttermilk was already clinging to the rings. I stacked the rings on a plate, leaving most of the buttermilk in the bowl, and dumped in some flour, hot sauce, and seasoned salt.  I made a thicker batter this time around, hoping to amplify the stick factor (yeah, ew, that just sounds nasty).  All the rings went back in and got stirred around until evenly coated (a step I forgot to take a picture of).  A quick dip in a panko pool--no issues with sticking this time--then onto the hot, oiled sheet, and 25 minutes later we had this:

I love you, rings. 

Which, friends, is pretty much heaven.  Recipe after the jump.

Panko Baked Onion Rings
1 sweet onion, thickly sliced and separated into rings
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/3 Tbsp vegetable oil1/2 cup flour
2 tsp hot sauce
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

1.  Put onion rings in a deep, narrow bowl and pour in buttermilk.  Let soak for 30 minutes.

2.  Turn oven to 425 degrees.  Pour oil onto a rimmed sheet pan and allow to preheat in oven until oil is fragrant and shimmering.

3.  After 30 minutes, remove onions from bowl with a fork and set on a plate.  Add flour, hot sauce and seasoned salt to remaining buttermilk in bowl; stir until a thick batter forms (you want a relatively lump-free and fairly thick batter.  Thicker than pancake batter, but not so thick as cookie dough.  Add more flour if needed).

4.  Return onions to batter and stir to coat.  Dump panko into a shallow, wide bowl.  Working one at a time, remove an onion ring from the batter with a fork and dredge through the panko until evenly coated, then put it back on the plate (which you've wiped clean from the post-buttermilk resting period, right?  cause I didn't, but I doubt it matters).

5.  When all rings are coated, remove the pan from the oven and arrange the onion rings in a single layer, enjoying the sizzle as the hit the small amount of hot oil.  Bake for 10 minutes, then flip.  Continue baking another 15 minutes or until golden brown and crunchy.