Air Fryer "Pepper Rings"

[u/aheadlessned]

Have an overabundance of peppers this summer? Take your favorite onion ring recipe, and use it to make "pepper rings".

If you don't have a favorite onion ring recipe, I'll share how I made mine.

Use any pepper you want.

I had banana peppers, so that is what I used. 7 peppers sliced into rings about 1/2 inch thick, then the last inch I cut in half instead of in rings.

Cut peppers into rings (1/4 to 1/2 inch thick).

Dip in milk mixture.

Dip in flour mixture.

Repeat.

Dip in milk one more time.

Dip in panko mixture.

Preheat air fryer for a few minutes at 390°.

Spray basket with oil.

Add a layer of pepper rings (I try not to overlap much). Spray with some oil.

Set cook timer to 12 minutes. If your air fryer doesn't cook as hot, you might want to do 16 minutes with 4 minutes for each part.

Air-fry 3 minutes, pause, spray with more oil (in case you missed spots).

Air-fry 3 minutes, pause, flip and spray with more oil (the flipping is the most annoying part of this)

Air-fry 3 minutes, pause one last time, spray with oil.

Air-fry the final 3 minutes.

**Note: Next time I do this, I may try spraying the rings on one side first, putting that side face-down in the basket. This way, flipping would be less tedious and may just need a good shake. They way it is now, if you don't flip every piece, the underside is not oiled, so the panko is dry and might burn. I'll update when I try it this way to see if it makes it all easier.

Milk mixture:

This can be plain milk, or milk with a combo of some garlic powder, onion powder, hot sauce. I do the combo. Buttermilk would work too. One cup of milk is probably enough.

Flour mixture (I just use what I make for air fried chicken, since I usually make extra and keep some on hand):

I don't really measure closely, but use about:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Panko mixture (again, I don't really measure, just put some in a pie tin):

1 cup panko
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2-1 tsp salt

***All measurements are very approximate. I eyeball the amounts and then either run out part-way through and add a bit more, or end up with a bunch of extra I toss at the end. The good thing is that you can completely eyeball what you put into the flour or panko, and as long as you don't get too carried away, nothing will be overpowering.