Slow, steady cooking brings out the natural sugars that lurk in the hearts of even the most pungent onions. Serve these caramelized onions alongside roasted meats, with soft cheese on crackers as an appetizer, or as a delicious garnish dolloped onto creamy salty soups.
Caramelized onions freeze beautifully, so feel free to double the recipe and freeze any extras.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. onions
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- Salt to taste
Preparation:
- Peel and either thinly slice or chop the onions.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan or large saucepan over medium heat. When the butter stops foaming, add the onions. Stir to coat all the onion pieces with the butter. Cook, adjusting the heat so the onions are cooking steadily but not browning at all. The key to caramelizing, rather than browning, onions is to cook them slowly and gently so their natural sugars can caramelize without any external browning or charring. Think of it as browning them from the inside out, if that helps. Be patient, this process takes at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
- Once caramelized, take the onions off the heat. Season them to taste with salt.
Makes about 1 cup Caramelized Onions.
