Onion Confit

[fifi]

Thanks Dave. Now I think I remember it taking that long when I did it a few years ago. I don't have a problem with it taking all night. I will just switch the sucker back to low and go have sweet dreams.

Shouldn't I leave the lid off? How else would all of that liquid get cooked down and concentrated into goodness. I am hoping that the demi-glace will add that succulence as well and it is not diluted to a good onion soup like it is now.

The demi-glace is from a beef stock exercise that I did some months ago while following the eGCI course. I put it up in the little wide mouth 4 ounce jelly jars and put it in the freezer. Before I did that it set up to about the consistency of a hockey puck so I figure that it should add considerable gelatinous gooeyness to the final product. But, first, all of that onion water has to cook off.

[Dave the Cook]

I'm not sure. I'd be afraid that leaving the lid off overnight might let the stuff dry out too much, unless you're the type that can get up every couple of hours to check it. Maybe let them cook fully, then strain the liquid, reduce it, and add it back?

[fifi]

Um... I think I will get up and check it. I usually get up a couple of times anyway to refill my water glass. On high, my crockpot is barely eeking out a bubble now and then. I think I see a new crockpot in my future. BTW... Even though it hasn't even begun to brown yet, it tastes fantastic! The sweetness is beginning to develop. Another plug for strong and skanky white onions.

[Dave the Cook]

If you're going to be up anyway, I'd definitely keep everything together. It sounds great. I love the demi-glace idea.

I don't recall precisely, but I seem to remember that even on high, most crockpots hover around 210, with low being about 180.

[woodburner]

ohhh.. fifi

My dear darling, your taking me to task here. I wish that I was near a computer last evening to witness your prowness, in starting a batch of confit. Celebrations have already begun, to bring me to the half century mark, later this month. I digress.

I plan on starting my confit this afternoon, sans the crockpot, finish in a slow 200º oven. Did you add the sugar? If so, brown or white. Did you use red onions?

Inquiring minds and all, really need some details.

woodburner

[fifi]

Dear sweetest woodburner...

First let me update you on the process. I started this odyssey about 4:30 yesterday evening in my crockpot. Initially, I set it on high, lid on, then turned it down while I had to go out for a couple of hours. Came home and nothing was happening except a lot of liquid out of the onions. I took the lid off, put it back on high and that is where it is now. I think we are getting close.

My crockpot seems to be faltering under the weight of this momentous enterprise and I am after a new one that doesn't have the kitschy grape garlands. Yes, this is probably just a lame excuse to get a new toy. Given the performance of my crockpot, I would probably go with a Le Creuset in the oven at 200 if I would do it again. But then, I maybe couldn't have gone out to meet with my architect or slept soundly while the onions were doing their thing. Hey... I am into SLOW cooking.

Onions... I used the strongest white onions that I could find. I even avoided the flat ones, what with the old wives tale of flatter onions being sweeter. I did NOT add any sugar. I didn't need to. Predictably, my strong and skanky onions have been cooked into sweet submission. Anyone would swear that I added sugar to this wonderful brew. The demi-glace was just an inspiration that hit me when I put the remaining fishsticks (Yes! Fishsticks!) in the freezer.

To recap:

6 large white onions, quartered and sliced

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)

1/2 cup EVOO

3 sprigs thyme

3 bay leaves

about 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (guessing here)

1/2 cup beef demi-glace

And I have no idea if I am spelling demi-glace correctly and if it really should have a hyphen.

[woodburner]

I'm using red onions, plus I've included the sugar, as called for in my recipe. Having no defrosted bacon available right now, I sliced up about 6 slices of Black Forest Ham, and added that for flavoring. I'm into the 200º oven now, as the crock pot was lost during the war, and never saw a need for it after that.

woodburner

[bloviatrix]

I wouldn't waste vidalias or other sweet onions on this. Strong onions cook up sweeter as they have more "stuff" that converts to sugar. My rule is sweet oninons = raw, strong onions = cooked.

To follow-up on your rule, In How to Read a French Fry, Russ Parsons says:

And what about those so-called sweet onions?.....They taste sweeter becasue they are much lower in the acrid sulfuric compounds (as well as the enzyme that produces much of the onion flavor).  The practical application of this is that while raw sweet onions are delicious on hamburgers or in salads, it is spendthrift to cook one.  Take away those sulfuric acids by cooking, and a yellow storage onion will actually taste much sweeter than the so called sweet.  You can even make raw storage onion taste sweeter by soaking them in several changes of cold water.....Use vinegar, as they do in Mexico, and your onions will seem even sweeter, because the remaining sulfuric acids are overshadowed by more palatable acetic acids. (p. 2, paperback edition)

[fifi]

Houston... We have confit!

I just had a confit sandwich on a toasted bolillo. It is excellent. Great toasted onion flavor and wonderful sweetness. Those six big onions made almost enough to fill a quart canning jar.

[BettyK]

Houston... We have confit!

I just had a confit sandwich on a toasted bolillo. It is excellent. Great toasted onion flavor and wonderful sweetness. Those six big onions made almost enough to fill a quart canning jar.

Wow I almost licked my screen. I have a feeling sales of crockpot are going to skyrocket. I'm starting to love mine already

[woodburner]

Looks fantastic fifi. I just gave mine a taste test.

Good Lord!

woodburner

[bloviatrix]

Last week you got me to make beans. This week I have a feeling it will be onion confit. Amazon recently sent us a FREE crockpot (it was a bonus with another purchase) that's sitting in its box waiting to be used. So maybe this is how I'll break it in.

Hmmm, maybe I'll use some duck fat.

[Mudpuppie]

I don't have a crockpot, but I just went to preheat my oven....

[fifi]

Duck fat... YES! By all means.

[woodburner]

These onions will surely be an option on a pizza.

woodburner

[fifi]

I am thinking of putting some on a baked potato for a lunch treat next week. I only have a quart jar full and I have to share with my sister or she won't give up the "mystery orange" marmalade she has made. A friend has snagged some gorgeous pork chops and will be grilling them. I will bring some as an accompaniment for that. I may stir in a splash of balsamic vinegar for that use. That may exhaust my supply. Now that I have the new crock pot, I will probably do this again... and again... and again... This has the potential for becoming a staple in my fridge/freezer. I do recommend storing it in glass jars though so that it doesn't turn the whole fridge/freezer into onion-land.

woodburner... How did the ham work out? That is a really interesting twist on this.

[woodburner]

woodburner... How did the ham work out? That is a really interesting twist on this.

fifi,

The ham added some interesting flavor, but these onions are the way to go, plus they will surely be hitting the top of a biased sliced french bread this weekend.

woodburner

[redfox]

Oh my god in heaven, does that look good. *swoons*

I am seeing this as an element in some sort of heavenly sandwich or a ploughman's lunch kind of thing, with some exceedingly ripe cheese. I bet the slow cook setting on my rice cooker would do the job nicely. Time to buy a bag of feisty white onions, methinks.

[fifi]

redfox, if I haven't properly welcomed you, let me do that now.

Do you have a BIG rice cooker? That scant quart of confit came from a largish (5 quart) stock pot that was full. I don't think you have to have a crock pot. A heavy pot, like a LC, in a 200F oven should work just fine. Mine took a long time because I figured out that a heating element went out in my old crockpot so it was running on low the whole time. I think these things work on the principle of one element for low and two for high. At any rate, I couldn't see any temperature difference whatever the setting. I got another crock pot but that is another story. Anyway, this stuff is so good that I don't expect that quart to be around long.

Go for it. You won't be sorry. Oh... And be sure to report back. There are all kinds of variations you can add. Give us the details. After all, woodburner put ham in his. WOW!

[hathor]

Ooops, must have hit the scroll button funny. The onions look fabulous! I'm starving. I'm making them this weekend!

[woodburner]

I will surely add bacon, next time out. It was originally called for, but I was a slacker, and had none available.

Couple the ease of cooking the confit, it's long term storage capabilities, and the amount of ways to use it, I find it remarkable.

woodburner

[redfox]

Thanks for the welcome! My rice cooker is indeed not that giant, so I think I'll go for the oven and my nice big le Crueset pot. I have a couple of spare quart jars around, at least one of which deserves to be filled with delicious onion jam. Will definitely report back.

[redfox]

Operation Onion Confit was a success! As promised, six large white onions yielded just under a quart of confit. I followed pretty much the Fifi model:

6 large onions, quartered and sliced

4 bay leaves

a teaspoon or two of dried thyme

ground black pepper

sauteed in about 3/4 cup, combined, butter and olive oil

After that had cooked for about twenty minutes, I stirred in a couple of tablespoons of vegetable demiglace (storebought, I must confess) and simmered (now that all the juices were coming out) about ten minutes more. Then lid on and into the oven at 200 degrees. After about six hours, I decided to uncover it partially. That worked fairly well -- I think next time I would even just leave the lid off the whole time. The onions really do give up a great deal of liquid!

The final result, over scrambled eggs this morning:

Tonight, we'll be having some more with runny cheese, crackers, and a salad. I could see this becoming a staple. Maybe someday I could be generous enough to make a couple of batches in a row and dole it out in properly canned pint helpings, as gifts for Very Good People.

I'm thinking that it would be really good with a crumbly cheese of some sort and PEARS, for some reason. Is this crazy? I haven't had a nice pear in ages, and it's not really the season for them, but my brain is crying out, "Eat this with a pear!" so I may see what I can do.

[fifi]

Oh my, redfox. That is LOVELY! Now why didn't I think of that for my eggs. Now I am seeing something with lovely poached eggs crowned with the confit.

I have just been reading the eGCI course on Poached Eggs and there is so much good info in there, I am tempted to try poached eggs again for the first time in many years. What a pairing!

[redfox]

Ohhh, yes, poached eggs would be fantastic! Imagine with some chewy sourdough toast... heaven.