Just last night I was grilling steaks for my wife and I (my daughter doesn't enjoy steak --- consequently, she got mac and cheese). While I was grilling, I came up with an idea for an addition to our meal. I often do this on the fly which more times than not makes a good dinner great. I remembered that I had bought a Vidalia onion and that it would be good to incorporate that into the steaks somehow. Usually, I would french fry some onions and top the steaks with them but I was unfortunately out of flour. It was then that I decided to caramelize the onion and top the steaks with it. I will say, it was absolutely fantastic!
That brought about a good point. For years, I was scared of caramelizing onions. As awesome as they taste, they can be tricky to do and easy to under/over cook. Or so I thought...
I tried a few times and ended up burning the onion or I would end up making onion mush. Neither of which are very appetizing. It was then that I decided to read up a little more on how to perfect this great technique that add so much flavors to many dishes. I found out, that this process that I previously thought was so hard was actually quite easy. It just requires a little patience (which has never been my strong point).
To that end, I present to you detailed instructions on how to caramelize an onion. I hope that you find it helpful as it is a good way to add to so many dishes.
Caramelized Onions
1 Whole Onion (white or Vidalia) sliced julienne style
1/4 of a stick of butter
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Heat a small skillet on low heat (2-3 out of 10). Melt the butter and place the sliced onions in the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Allow the onions to cook for about 1 hour tossing with tongs occasionally. Remove from skillet and you're done!
You will notice after about 45 minutes that the onions are beginning to brown and smell sweeter. At this point in the process, you can add a number of things to your onions to bring out even more flavor:
1) A cup of red wine (I did this last night and it really went well with the steaks). You will need to increase the heat after you add the wine so that the wine reduces.
2) Balsamic vinegar. This is good if you want a tangier flavor.
3) Brown sugar. This will sweeten the onions even more. Be careful though, adding sugar increases the likelihood of burning the onions.
4) Beer. Follow the same steps as for red wine above. This is good if you are serving with hot dogs or brats.
As you can see, caramelizing onions is not only easy, but it adds so much flavor to many other dishes as well. Learning how to do this technique will pay off. You just need to be patient.
Which brings up another really good point. With all of our talk on here about cooking and flavors, it is important to try and master some techniques that will prove helpful in your cooking journey. This is one of them but there are dozens of others. Cooking isn't just about recipes and foods, it's a skill that you can continually sharpen. It's a skill that you should be proud of!
That brought about a good point. For years, I was scared of caramelizing onions. As awesome as they taste, they can be tricky to do and easy to under/over cook. Or so I thought...
I tried a few times and ended up burning the onion or I would end up making onion mush. Neither of which are very appetizing. It was then that I decided to read up a little more on how to perfect this great technique that add so much flavors to many dishes. I found out, that this process that I previously thought was so hard was actually quite easy. It just requires a little patience (which has never been my strong point).
To that end, I present to you detailed instructions on how to caramelize an onion. I hope that you find it helpful as it is a good way to add to so many dishes.
1 Whole Onion (white or Vidalia) sliced julienne style
1/4 of a stick of butter
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Heat a small skillet on low heat (2-3 out of 10). Melt the butter and place the sliced onions in the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Allow the onions to cook for about 1 hour tossing with tongs occasionally. Remove from skillet and you're done!
You will notice after about 45 minutes that the onions are beginning to brown and smell sweeter. At this point in the process, you can add a number of things to your onions to bring out even more flavor:
1) A cup of red wine (I did this last night and it really went well with the steaks). You will need to increase the heat after you add the wine so that the wine reduces.
2) Balsamic vinegar. This is good if you want a tangier flavor.
3) Brown sugar. This will sweeten the onions even more. Be careful though, adding sugar increases the likelihood of burning the onions.
4) Beer. Follow the same steps as for red wine above. This is good if you are serving with hot dogs or brats.
As you can see, caramelizing onions is not only easy, but it adds so much flavor to many other dishes as well. Learning how to do this technique will pay off. You just need to be patient.
Which brings up another really good point. With all of our talk on here about cooking and flavors, it is important to try and master some techniques that will prove helpful in your cooking journey. This is one of them but there are dozens of others. Cooking isn't just about recipes and foods, it's a skill that you can continually sharpen. It's a skill that you should be proud of!
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