Beer Battered Onion Rings

I read that the reason the onion will slide out of the breading as you eat it is due to the thin inner membrane that separates the rings of the onion. Remove this before breading.

3 large sliced (½ inch thick) onions, separated into rings
Vegetable oil for frying

The batter:
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dry mustard and/or paprika
1 egg
1/2 cup beer

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt, mustard and seasoning. In another bowl lightly beat the egg; whisk in the beer. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until there are no lumps.

Heat the oil to 375 degrees. Stir the batter and using tongs dip the onion rings in the batter, shake off any excess and fry them in the oil. Do not overcrowd. Turning occasionally they should be done in 3-4 minutes. Drain on brown paper bags if possible (they will be crisper),

Some recipes say to soak the onion rings in milk mixed with water for 3 hours, to draw off the water so that the batter clings to the rings better.

Another recipe, called Fabulous Fried Onion Rings, combines 1 1/2 cup flour with 1 1/2 cup beer and lets this batter stand at room temperature for at least 3 hours. No other ingredients are added. The batter is enough for 3 large onions cut into rings.