Caramelized Onions

While I enjoy sharing everyday recipes and Sunday Dinner menus, I figured that I should also begin sharing the building blocks to my cooking. Strong kitchen fundamentals provide the foundation for more advanced kitchen applications needed down some of the more winding recipe roads.

If you are a regular reader, you know that we love our onions. Shallots, yellow, red, sweet, and green– we enjoy them all raw, roasted, creamed, and pickled. Caramelized onions, however, take the front seat in our house. I use them in baked breads, sandwiches, soups, and appetizers. Oh, and as a side to roasted meats, with a sprinkling of freshly grated cheese —yum! The process of cooking the onions low and slow is long, but crucial for achieving that soft, tender, sweet, caramelized taste. This method also provides the desired texture and appearance. The upside is that they can be made days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or even frozen. Mine never seem to make it to the freezer.

The caramelized onions in this post were made with red onions. I do the same with yellow onions. There is one difference in the cooking process between red and yellow onions. When caramelizing red onions, I use water to deglaze the pan and stir in a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar at the end. When cooking with the yellow onions, I like to use white wine instead of water when deglazing the pan. Sometimes I add minced garlic or herbs. I will include these variations in the recipe below.

Caramelized Onions

By Nicole Prep: 15 minsCook: 1 hr 45 minsTotal: 2 hrs Servings: 2 cups Building block- a kitchen staple that has so many uses!

Ingredients 

• 2 ½ pounds of onions, red or yellow
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil, I use Safflower
• 2-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced (for yellow onions)
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped (for yellow onions)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
• ¼ cup water for red onions or ¼ cup white wine for yellow onions
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, for red onions
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions 

1. Trim the tops and root ends of the onions and cut in half from top to bottom. Lay one half on the surface of a cutting board and cut the onion lengthwise following the grain of the onion. This will help the onion soften. Repeat with remaining onions.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the oil and butter. Add the onions and stir to coat the onions in the oil and butter. Sauté for 10 minutes. If using yellow onions, add the garlic and thyme. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of sugar and cook for 1 hour stirring occasionally. Do not be tempted to increase the heat. The long and slow cooking softens the onions before they can be caramelized. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until browned and caramelized, about 25-30 minutes. Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup water or wine, scraping up any browned bits. Continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated. Add the balsamic vinegar to the red onions. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 403kcal, Carbohydrates: 56g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 0.5g, Cholesterol: 30mg, Sodium: 1188mg, Potassium: 868mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 25g, Vitamin A: 528IU, Vitamin C: 48mg, Calcium: 155mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.