Onion Confit

[lovebenton0]

I finally played catchup on this thread while making - what else - onion confit!

My most favorite use is in pissaladiere, but I often throw some in various soups, stews, etc. as an enrichment.

I don't use any meat additions (demiglace, stock, etc) as I like to keep mine basic and neutral. Besides, I have a vegetarian DIL. But what I do add, that I haven't noticed any mention of: vinegar. At the end, I will often use it to balance the flavors a bit. Mostly I will use sherry vinegar, but that varies.

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Vinegar was mentioned as a balancer for the sweetness. I include some wine in

mine and have not needed it. But it would be the thing if I were out of wine.

Nullomodo, fifi said it -- inspired! We want a report on that! Yours too, fifi.

I'll have to try this in our bullet when the season changes -- ooops! maybe not that soon -- that could be tomorrow.

Edited December 28, 2004 by lovebenton0 (log)

[Rachel Perlow]

I am doing something I hate when people do, but I just can't help it, this thread is too long... OK, I have a big bag of onions and I just realized that they are starting to molder, so I have to cook them. In the middle of cleaning and peeling I realized that I should check in on this thread for advice. I don't have a stockpot so I figured I'd just do this in my stockpot. Should I start it on high and brown the onions or just on low, lid on and let it go overnight?

What I'm planning on using:

10 onions, but I have a lot of trimming to do, so that will end up more equivalant to the 6 large ones most people seem to be using.

I see recs for equal amounts of OO and butter. I also have some nice thick bacon, should I render some of that fat for it?

I have fresh thyme, I like the idea of using some of that.

I'd like this to be sort of an instant onion soup base at the end. I do have some demi glace and concentrated chicken stock.

Instruct me please.

[Marlene]

There's no reason you can't use your stockpot I think. Fifi and I did not like the taste it gave when we used bacon, so I've at least stopped using it. I always use at least some of my confit for onion soup so you're going in the right direction I think.

Don't brown the onions first, you don't need to. put it on very low on the stove or in the oven even overnight. Lid on. A little beef demi glace a little butter and EVOO and you're all set, although I do add a little sherry or port to mine as well.

Othere people have used thyme lately when making this, but I'd think that if you want to use this for onion soup, you might not want to use the thyme.

In fact I said to Don today that I needed to make some confit for soup this week.

[woodburner]

yeah, I recall the bacon should be omitted.

I've had very good success just using a cast iron skillet in a 200 degree oven overnight.

This is one of those keep it simple, for the best flavor, procedure

Please post your results.

woodburner

[Rachel Perlow]

Checking back in. The cleaned onions over-filled my salad spinner bowl. Sliced, it came to about 8 quarts. I started the pot on high to get the fat (a couple Tbs of previously rendered bacon fat (oh well), a good splash of olive oil and half a stick of butter) going and added the onions to the pot as I sliced them, stirring it up every couple of onions. Way before I was done slicing, there was lots of liquid in the pot. I've put the lid on and turned the heat to low.

I'm already starving from smelling the onions cooking, so I better go make dinner.

[woodburner]

Looking back through the thread, at certain times from different posters, there seems to be some apprehension regarding excessive liquid, especially toward the end of the cooking cycle.

If it looks too soupy, just remove the stockpot lid, and let the moisture evaporate.

It should look just like this:

Thanks to fifi.

woodburner

Edited January 3, 2005 by woodburner (log)

[Marlene]

Rachel, I also add about a T of brown sugar to my confit, (which I have just started in my crockpot). There will be lots of liquid at first. It takes a long time for it to reduce down.

[lovebenton0]

Rachel, welcome to onion confit.

I don't add any sugar as the onions will be quite sweet enough and one of the concerns with some people by the time I jumped ino this last month was that the confit had a "cloying sweetness."

However, two or Tbsps of wine is good, or the port or sherry others have suggested. I've stuck with 3 Tbsp of red wine (not sweet), no sugar, a couple sprigs of thyme, bayleaf, and no sugar. Good results with no excessive sweetness, no over powering herb flavor at all, and very nice marmalade texture.

We want a post with pics of results, at the very least.

[Rachel Perlow]

OK, so they've been going for about two hours now on a low burner. There is just under 4 quarts in volume (my stockpot has quart measurements in 4 qt intervals), it is VERY liquidy and light blond in color, hasn't browned in the least. I've been cooking it primarily with the lid on, except for the occasional stir and the five minutes when I needed the lid on my skillet (dinner was saffron rice, broccoli sauteed with garlic and olive oil, and pork chops with a garlic and mushroom gravy).

If you all think it will be all done in another two hours or so with the lid off, I'll take it off. But if you think it should go overnight with the lid on, I can turn the heat down one level further (the simmer setting is like a large single candle flame). Basically, I don't want to have to stand over it, but I don't want to burn it either.

[woodburner]

let it go overnight, with the heat on it's lowest setting.

it will be fine like that.

best to make the next evaluation in the morning.

woodburner

[Marlene]

It shouldn't burn. Confit takes a long time to make. Mine takes 18 - 20 hours in my crockpot. At 2 hours, you're not going to notice a lot of difference.

I'd say leave the lid on overnight. Heat on lowest setting. If it's still liquidy in the morning, then take the lid off.

Yours is doing fine so far.

[andiesenji]

I have tried an experiment which has turned out to be pretty good, a bit different from "normal" onion confit, but good.

I got home from my visit to OC yesterday afternoon and found I had a big bag of onions (had intended to take them along) that needed action and I start back to work tomorrow. I dragged out the big crockpot and began slicing onions.

While slicing the onions on the mandoline I happened to notice the jar of preserved lemons setting on the counter and decided to put one in the pot with the onions. I just cut it into quarters and extracted the seeds and put it in the middle of the onions when I started them.

I had them cooking on high, covered overnight, stirred early this morning, looking good.

About 10 a.m. I removed the lid and stirred again, turned to low and continued cooking with the lid off.

Now they are nicely done and taste just wonderful. The preserved lemon has added a hint of lemony-salty flavor to the sweet of the onions and I like it very much.

I would have taken pictures but something is wrong with the battery on my camera, it won't charge. I put it in the charger and the light is red and blinks rapidly, meaning it is not charging.

I have a backup battery somewhere but can't find it.

I use the lemons whenever I make a Moroccan dish and for a few other applications. This is the first time I have tried it in a recipe such as this.

While visiting with my friends I bought a bag of onions at Costco and made a batch of onion confit, finished with a quart of it. Heated it and served it with a rib eye roast, then topping mashed potatoes (Yukon gold) and also on a sandwich made with the sliced roast beef leftovers. My friends had never tasted it before and are now hooked. I left the remainder with them.

Edited January 3, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[Marlene]

I like the idea of using some lemon slices in this. It sounds like it would work very well. Next batch!

[Rachel Perlow]

Lid on, burner on lowest setting, there's about 3 quarts of stuff in the pot. See you in the morning.

[Rachel Perlow]

Woke up once in the night, around 3:20 AM. That's 6 hours after my previous post. Still 3 quarts in the pot and it was not bubbling at all. I think that single flame is more of a keep warm setting than a simmer setting. I turned the heat back up to low and left the lid on. When I got up about 20 minutes ago it was bubbling and had changed to a light tan color, but is still most of 3 quarts in volume. Lid now off.

At what point do I have to start standing over the pot to avoid scortching?

[Marlene]

Woke up once in the night, around 3:20 AM. That's 6 hours after my previous post. Still 3 quarts in the pot and it was not bubbling at all. I think that single flame is more of a keep warm setting than a simmer setting. I turned the heat back up to low and left the lid on. When I got up about 20 minutes ago it was bubbling and had changed to a light tan color, but is still most of 3 quarts in volume. Lid now off.

At what point do I have to start standing over the pot to avoid scortching?

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With the lid off, and it's just bubbling, I'd start checking it every half hour or so now. Mine is still quite liquidy this morning. I turned the crockpot down to low overnight, and will turn it back up to high this morning. If you've still got three quarts of volume, you've got a while to go yet.

[Rachel Perlow]

From what you all said above, I should expect to yield around 1 quart finished product, right? The timer is set for 30 minutes.

My one comment right now is that it is greasier than when I make regular carmelized onions, where I only use a little butter to get them started. What is the benefit of using half a cup or more of fat at the beginning?

[Rachel Perlow]

It is now decidedly tan in color, lightly bubbling, about 2.5 quarts, but still quite soupy. Timer reset for 30 minutes.

[Rachel Perlow]

Slightly darker, the color of my wooden spoon, light wood. Just about down to 2 quarts. Still soupy. Timer set for another 30 minutes.

[Rachel Perlow]

Getting browner, bubbling more vigorously, even though I haven't raised the heat and the internal temp seems to be around 170 -- maybe there's something wrong with my thermometer, because I would think that as the sugar density increases, the temp would go up. Anyway, still soupy, 30 minutes. I figure once it starts sticking that's when you can turn it up and let it finish, right?

Oh, I added a glug of red wine that's been sitting open. I figure that takes care of the wine and vinegar component.

[Rachel Perlow]

It's starting to stick on the bottom, just a little bit. I've shortened the timer to 15 minutes. Oops, there it goes, got to go stir.

[Marlene]

Sounds like it's getting closer Rachel.

[artisanbaker]

christine ferber showed me a way to make confiture of shallots that you can sub onions for. it takes about an hour and i would challenge one to say that it is not as good as the 20 hour confit. it involves making a caramel and a combo of balsamic vinegar/riesling.

it is also preservable in jars.

[artisanbaker]

how far are you from la grange, il?

[Rachel Perlow]

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This picture was what mine looked like about an hour ago. I couldn't keep boring you all with updates at every stir. For a while I was stirring every 15 minutes. It's just starting to brown more on the edges when I go to stir, so I've reduced the timer to 10 mintues. It does that sizzle as you stir thing right now.

No one ever did answer me about the fat. Is that much really necessary?

I figure it's got about one hour left before I feel the need to turn up the heat to finally finish the thing.