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caramelized onions

(1 rating)
Kitchen Crew
By Kitchen Crew

Patience is the name of the game when caramelizing onions. The process is slow... but the results are fantastic. As the sliced onions cook, their natural sugars are released. Those caramelize to a beautiful golden brown. These sweet onions can be used in dips, on burgers, in a quesadilla, scrambled with eggs, and more. If there are leftovers, they'll keep in the fridge (stored in an air-tight container) for three to four days. They freeze well too. Just place in a freezer bag and they'll stay for a few months (if they get freezer burn, though, they'll have to be tossed).

(1 rating)
prep time 5 Min
cook time 40 Min
method Stove Top

Ingredients For caramelized onions

  • 2
    yellow onions
  • 2 Tbsp
    butter (roughly)
  • 2 Tbsp
    olive oil (roughly)
  • Water, broth, beer, or wine for deglazing

How To Make caramelized onions

  • Cutting the roots off an onion.
    1
    Prep the onion. Cut the roots off the onion.
  • Onion cut into slices.
    2
    Cut the onion in half. Slice the onions. Slice the onions to approximately 1/8 of an inch. Too thick will take a long time to caramelize, too thin and they'll burn.
  • Oil and butter added to the pan.
    3
    Add oil and butter. Add enough oil and butter to cover the bottom of the pan. Butter adds to the flavor, but can also burn so keep an eye on the heat.
  • Onions added to the pan.
    4
    Add onions to the pan. Place sliced onions into heated pan and coat with oil. Cook the onions low and slow. The heat should never be above medium. If they start to burn, turn to low.
  • Stirring the sliced onions.
    5
    Stir for approximately 10 minutes.
  • Deglazing the pan.
    6
    Deglaze pan. Deglazing the pan gets the browned residue from the bottom of the pan. Depending on the flavor you want, you can deglaze with water, broth, beer, wine, etc.
  • Continuing to cook the onions.
    7
    Keep cooking the onions for another 10 minutes. Caramelizing onions can't be rushed. Keep stirring for a bit.
  • Deglazing the pan to get browned bits up.
    8
    Deglaze pan again. Use a bit of the same liquid you used before and deglaze the pan making sure to get all the good browned bits.
  • Continuing to cook the onions.
    9
    Continue cooking and deglazing. Caramelizing onions takes time and requires a lot of babysitting the pan. It can take as long as 40 minutes and can't be rushed. Continue to cook and deglaze until the desired color.
  • A plate of properly caramelized onions.
    10
    Enjoy! The finished product is a nicely deep brown color without being burnt, full of flavor and magnificent.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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