There are a few simple things in the kitchen that can skyrocket the flavor of a dish. Caramelized onions are one of these things. Deeply browned onion slices, cooked for a long time in a little butter, have a rich sweetness and smoky flavor that make any dish taste better.
Try adding a few caramelized onions to hamburgers, mashed potatoes, or a warm root vegetable salad. We like soup made with homemade broth and caramelized onions, and we love them on pizza too. See steps and tips for caramelized onions after the jump...
1. Peel 3-4 onions and cut into slices. It doesn't really matter how thick they are. Heat about 2 tablespoons of butter over medium high heat in a heavy frying pan, and when it foams, add the onions. Turn the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently.
2. As the onions cook they will gradually begin to turn golden, then a deep brown. As they do, keep an eye on them - you don't want them to actually burn. Let them cook for about 20 minutes, stirring often and turning the heat down if they're beginning to burn. They will shrink as their moisture evaporates. When they are a deep brown, take them off the heat.
Sauce Tip: Take the onions out of the pan. You will see lots of little bits still sticking. Turn the heat to high and add about half a cup of wine or stock. Let this boil, stirring and scraping the pan as it reduces. When it has reduced to a syrupy consistency pour over the onions or over your dinner - this is terrific over meat or roasted vegetables.
Storage Tip: You can make big batches of caramelized onions and freeze them in individual-sized portions. Take them out and thaw to put on sandwiches and salads, or to add to a last-minute pasta dish.
Check out RealSimple's ideas for more ways to use caramelized onions.
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You can carmelize onions in a Crockpot, too. You might as well do a big batch, because it takes between 12-15 HOURS on low (and no, you don't want to use the high setting). The "recipe" I have: about 3 lbs onions, or as many as fit (sliced) into your Crockpot, and a whole stick of butter. Stir very occasionally--you don't want to let the heat out. Excellent results.
I like to add just a bit of Aceto Balsamico. Leave it to evaporate. And then take it off the heath. It adds delicate aroma!
This works okay with olive oil, right? I hope?
mm I remember back in my days as a freshman, my mom once packed me off to school with caramelized onions frozen into ice cube trays so that I could use them in small servings with pierogies - a pretty good and cute way to freeze those individualized portions in my opinion :)
ah! i was just wondering about this the other night...
as for the olive oil question, i dont think it works! olive oil, i believe, has a lower burn temperature than butter, and i think you need that heat to have them carmelize properly. otherwise youll end up with burnt onion shards.
I've done this with olive oil with fine results, but you might also try peanut oil as it has a higher smoking point
You can totally do it with olive oil! A tip to speed up the carmalization (with oil or butter or a combo of both) is to add a couple of pinches of sugar right at the beginning. I sort of disagree that the slices can be any size, thinner is better and everything should be as uniform as possible.
What mgn said, to the letter.
Interesting... I always add a pinch or two of salt - maybe 1/8 or 1/4 tsp - about ten minutes into the sautee process. It seems to speed up the caramelizing and adds the necessary bite to the natural sweetness of cooked onions.
If you have children, baby food jars can be cleaned and reused for small portions in the freezer. Sounds like I might be corckpotting some onions soon and adding some more baby food jars to my stash :)
How do you defrost carmelized onions so they don't get too soggy?
I absolutely love the flavor of carmelized onions but do not have the patience to make them all the time.
I use brown sugar in mine.
I also add a bit of balsamic vinegar and it gives it a nice taste however when we have our BBQ's my husband always adds beer (no balsamic vinegar) and it is delicious...