Beer Battered Onion Rings

This post is dedicated to two good friends of mine. One is close by and and one is across the world from me. One of my closest friends, Travis, works for Molson and has supplied beer for more occasions than I can count. My favourite is the simple refreshing "Canadian" lager. This was the perfect beer for battering because it is light enough that the food doesn't weigh you down but still provides the flavour you are looking for.
My other friend, Ben, met Jess and I on our adventures through New Zealand and Australia. His hobby of metal working produced the amazing bottle opener shown above. "Canadian's" are convenient twist offs but I couldn't help but team the beer and the opener up to make beer battered onion rings for a BBQ.
At the BBQ I went crazy deep frying anything I could get my hands on. I started with some french fries followed by the onion ring then followed them up with fried jalapeno's and banana peppers. The rings and peppers disappeared pretty quickly right out of the frier, but we did have enough to snap some pictures and some of them even made their way on to the burgers.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• ~ 2 bottles of beer
• 2 large white onions
• canola oil, for frying

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together 3 cups of flour with the spices. Separate one cup.
2. Whisk in the beer until the mixture is well combined. Let the batter rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
3. Slice the onions into 1/2-inch-thick rings and toss them with the remaining dry cup of flour.
4. Add the oil to a large, heavy-bottomed pot (or fryer) heat until a thermometer reaches 375°F.
5. Working in batches, dip the onion rings into the prepared batter then immediately drop them into the hot oil. 
6. Cook the onions in the oil, for about 3 minutes.
7. Immediately season them with salt.