Onion Confit

[A Patric]

Dear all,

I'm trying out the standard recipe that everyone has been using, but instead of sherry, I added about 1 T of nice armagnac. I started one hour ago in a crock pot on high. I'll post photos when it is done.

Sicnerely,

Alan

[A Patric]

Alright, so far that makes 2 hours on high and 8 hours on low. Although some water has been released, I'm not finding nearly as much as some people, and the onions are darkening and reducing quite a bit. I have left the lid on the crock pot too. I am starting to think it is just a matter of different crock pot brands.

Mine is a cheap Rival (newer model) but actually has never done me wrong. It has 3 or 4 small vents for the release of steam around the lid, so this could have been helpful. I am thinking that this will be done by dinner time.

Photo to come.

Alan

[Chufi]

I made confit yesterday, using 8 large onions, and 2 whole bulbs of garlic. Flavored with some leftover gravy from butter braised beef, thyme and marsala.

I used it to make butternut squash ravioli. My intention was to have a little bit of the confit in the stuffing (roast butternut squash, ricotta, parmesan and fresh oregano) but I ended up putting so much confit in, that I think they should be called onion confit ravioli instead! (what would be the italian name for that... ) The flavor of the stuffing was quite intoxicating as I was working with it. They are going to be served with sage butter and parmesan (2 weeks from now, they are resting in the freezer now..)

[andiesenji]

I mentioned several pages back that I added a preserved lemon (washed and separated into its four sections) to a batch of onion confit and it turned out wonderful.

I make very large batches in an old electric roaster with the lid on for all but the last two to three hours, stirring only rarely, early in the process and again near the end.

I get one of the bags of jumbo onions at Costco or Sam's Club and use the entire bag. (This is where the big old Bron mandoline comes in handy.)

For smaller batches I use an electric 8-quart Dutch oven made by Presto that is no longer available, or one of the Crockpots but the largest I have of these is a 6-quart.

I like the larger bottom surface area of the Presto appliance.

Electric Dutch oven

I have been considering getting one of these large electric skillets, in case the Dutch oven dies, however these digital skillets by Rival have been out of stock for some time.

[A Patric]

Dear all,

Alright, the final word is about 21.5 hours at a mixture of low and high in my crock pot with the lid always on, but with a little crack to let out steam for the last few hours, and a final reduction on the stove for about 10 minutes (I was hungry and didn't want to wait anymore).

Here are two photos. The first is the onion confit with the armagnac, and the second is a pizza with fresh garlic, fresh goat cheese, fresh tomatoes, and only onion confit for the sauce. Sorry for the lack of clarity on the pizza shot, the steam from the pizza was getting in the way.

and

Sincerely,

Alan

[Beanie]

Dear all,

Alright, the final word is about 21.5 hours at a mixture of low and high in my crock pot with the lid always on, but with a little crack to let out steam for the last few hours, and a final reduction on the stove for about 10 minutes (I was hungry and didn't want to wait anymore).

Here are two photos.  The first is the onion confit with the armagnac, and the second is a pizza with fresh garlic, fresh goat cheese, fresh tomatoes, and only onion confit for the sauce.  Sorry for the lack of clarity on the pizza shot, the steam from the pizza was getting in the way.

and

Sincerely,

Alan

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Alan,

Lack of clarity? That looks awesome. Just think, pizza for dinner and one of your chocolate bars for dessert. Will you marry me?

[chappie]

I finally made this Saturday night in my le Creuset. Since we were out of butter, I used just olive oil, about five pounds of onions, a touch of salt, fresh thyme and white pepper near the end and a splash of balsamic. Started on the stovetop on low then placed in a 200 degree oven overnight with the lid on.

It is amazing stuff. We too made a pizza with simply the onion confit, a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes, more thyme, a drizzle of balsamic and fresh mozzerella.

I will say, however, that despite the lengthy cooking, you are still ingesting quite a concentrated amount of onion. Let's just say the house experienced some noxious breezes late last night...

[Mar Calpena]

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Well? Did they burn?

Don't worry about stock cubes, it concentrates down along with the onions. Or wait, did you mean a dry boullion cube or a homemade stock ice cube?

←

Edited February 15, 2006 by Mar Calpena (log)

[snowangel]

I'm confiting onions for the first time in my trusty Rival Crock pot. I used the basic recipe in RecipeGullet, and a full five-pound bag of onions that I'd forgotten I have in the basement.

On at about 2:00 yesterday, turned down to low at 10:00 pm, and it's back up to high now.

But, what was strange was when I stirred them this morning, the stuff on top was quite dark, and the stuff underneath a straw color. But, I just looked at it again (and gave it another quick stir) and it is now uniformly darker, but not dark enough. This stuff smells wonderful!

[A Patric]

But, what was strange was when I stirred them this morning, the stuff on top was quite dark, and the stuff underneath a straw color.  But, I just looked at it again (and gave it another quick stir) and it is now uniformly darker, but not dark enough. 

←

The same thing happened in my Rival. I think it is because the hot air above the onions causes the top to brown and carmelize better. Then, when you stir it up, the carmelized element dissolves in the rest, and the color is then homogeneous for a while longer. That's my theory at least.

Or maybe it is just the magic of the Rival

Alan

[Marlene]

Yes, this is pretty common when using the crockpot. I do stir mine several times throughout the process. My current batch should be done in another hour or so!

[Chufi]

I always make mine in the oven and it happens with that method as well. I just stir it up a couple of times.

[aznsailorboi]

Hi guys, it took me just about over 4 and a half hours of work time to read through 18 pages of this.....and I must admit, i gotta try this for my next party which is coming up pretty soon on the 4th of March. gave me lots of ideas to match this baby with. I have to get me a crock pot first, since that seems like the most reasonable way of cooking it. I can play videogames while it cooks down to a nice gooey mess...as pictures have suggested.

Edited February 15, 2006 by aznsailorboi (log)

[Abra]

I started my first batch of onion confit this morning. I'm using about half yellow onions, with the other half being an equal amount of shallots and red onions. An equal amount of duck fat and olive oil, and nothing else, so far. When I get to the low, slow stage I'll add bay leaf, maybe some thyme if mine didn't get frostbite last night, and some wine. I don't have a red I want to open just for this - how about a dry white? Would a Roussanne do?

Edited February 16, 2006 by Abra (log)

[Chufi]

I started my first batch of onion confit this morning.  I'm using about half yellow onions, with the other half being an equal amount of shallots and red onions.  An equal amount of duck fat and olive oil, and nothing else, so far.  When I get to the low, slow stage I'll add bay leaf, maybe some thyme if mine's didn't get frostbite last night, and some wine.  I don't have a red I want to open just for this - how about a dry white?  Would a Roussanne do?

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I've added all kinds of alcohol: red wine, white wine, marsala, port, a splash of very expensive cognac (don't tell my husband ), and I've also done a version without any alcohol, and it was great too. i do think that the alcohol adds an extra layer of flavor though.

edited to add: not all those liquers at once. One for each batch ofcourse....

Edited February 15, 2006 by Chufi (log)

[UnConundrum]

Klary,

What is the ratio of alcohol laden liquid to weight of onions? A tablespoon per pound? Do you have a favorite?

[Abra]

Jeepers, mine is still not quite done, 26 hours later. I wish I'd done a different cut as it's still pretty chunky. I'll post what I did with pictures when it's done, since I did it 100% in the crockpot and have one of the newer "hot" ones.

[A Patric]

Jeepers, mine is still not quite done, 26 hours later.  I wish I'd done a different cut as it's still pretty chunky.  I'll post what I did with pictures when it's done, since I did it 100% in the crockpot and have one of the newer "hot" ones.

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Cracking the lid a bit helps. That is what I did, or mine probably would have taken that long too.

Alan

[Shalmanese]

I'm still convinced that the initial stages of confit do little if anything to develop the confit and should be passed through as quick as possible. While there is significant amounts of liquid in the pan, the temperature can't get much above 100C so there is limited amounts of caremalisation going on. It's only until most of the liquid is evaporated that the cooking should slow down to allow for good flavour development.

From now on, I always run my pan hot until the confit is relatively dry, about 2 hours with frequent stirring to stop burning, then drop it down as low as possible for another hour and, as far as I can tell, the resulting confit is as flavourful as my older 24 hour methods.

[Abra]

So after 4 hours in the crockpot on high, I had

which looks pretty much like everyone else has been getting. I added 3 T of white wine, 2 bay leaves, and a couple of sprigs of thyme, set it on low for another 25 hours (!) and got

I do think a finer cut would have been good, but I had read so much about mushy results that I probably overdid it, or underdid it, on the cut. My onions and shallots gave off very little liquid, for some reason. I used no sugar, and the confit is not at all sweet. It's intensely onion-y, and I'm looking forward to tasting it after it rests for a couple of days in the fridge. I don't taste the duck fat per se, but it does have that smooth roundness that duck fat brings to foods. So far it seems like a natural pair to a liver pate and a glass of Condrieu.

In looking back over previous pictures, I see that I took mine quite a bit darker than many previous folks did. Mine is actually almost black, it's not a trick of the light, but it's not burnt-tasting at all.

Edited February 16, 2006 by Abra (log)

[Musable]

Bringing this around again.

Since I have a couple of filets I'm going to prepare for some people (with lump crab and a bearnaise), and since I have been experimenting with bread, I had a sudden thought that caramelized onions with some gorgonzola on a nicely toasted slice of french bread might be just the thing to feed them before the main course. Of course I popped over here, and what do I find but this thread.

I started with four gigantic white onions quartered and sliced fairly thickly, 3/4 stick of butter and about 1/4 cup of olive oil (maybe a little less, the bottle was almost empty and I'm out now). About 30 minutes in, I added a tablespoon of dark brown sugar. This is what it looked like after a bit of cooking:

Eighteen and a half hours later:

The obligatory closeup:

My taste testers were very pleased. The full crock reduced to two pints, which are not going to last long, so for the next confit-fest, I'm going to refill the crock as things reduce, at least for the first hour or two, in order to get more at the end. Since I have a pressure cooker which I can use for canning, I'll be able to put some away if it doesn't get eaten very quickly (although based on the fact I had to shoo someone away from the crock at the 14 hour mark, I'm not certain there will be a need for the canning process).

Smelled great once the rawness started to go away. I had to turn on some fans and open the windows off the kitchen to be able to stand it since I was a little under the weather.

Edited April 13, 2006 by Musable (log)

[Shalmanese]

PS: I've made the discovery that a large spoonful of onion confit is the perfect foil to balance the acidity in a tomato sauce.

[Abra]

It's also yummy layered into a chicken liver mousse/pate. The confit is outstanding with the buttery liver. Mine still looks fine, after 2 months in the fridge.

[Marlene]

Confit lasts a long time in the fridge, although I tend to use quite a bit of mine for French Onion Soup!

[Lynnette]

Okay, I have spent hours & hours reading through all the posts on onion confit/marmalade/conserve... and now have a question.

After noticing mention of using duck fat, which I keep from making duck confit, I mused to myself.... what about using a bit of the jewel-like "duck jelly" from the duck confit in lieu of the Demi-glace? Yes, I know it is quite salty, but salt would help the onions release their moisture easier, and using only a tablespoon of the jelly might be just the right amount of seasoning. That, and it seems it would augment the taste of the duck fat.

Opinions? Anyone?

I must say, EGullet has been an inspiration to me from day one. I am now cooking things I had not known of, before... And onion confit/conserve sure sounds tasty!!! Now to the store for the onions...