When we did a show on Onion Rings in September, Mark and I agreed that most onion rings have too much batter, and that the best onion rings have only a light coating that adds crispy fried goodness, without overshadowing the onion. During this conversation I firmly stated, "An onion ring should not be a donut."
After a recent trip to South Carolina, I wish to revise this position. At Melvin's in James Island, SC, I had an onion ring that truly was a donut (see above photos). It had more batter than I've ever seen on an onion ring, and the batter was sweetened, which brought out the natural sweetness of the onion. In truth, it wasn't really an onion ring. It was an onion donut. And it was delicious. So my new position is this: An onion ring shouldn't have too much batter, unless it has a TON of batter. If you're going to make your onion ring donutesque, then go all the way. /dan
