Onion Confit

[balmagowry]

By George, I think you have got it! (Where the hell do we get that saying "By George"? Is that a saying from Georgian times?)

At any rate, I think you are on the right track.

As to the construction of a burger, I stick with my analysis above.

Wouldn't much surprise me if it had something to do with St. George (he of dragon fame). Crying, God for Harry, England and Saint George!!!!

On the construction thing, I really think we have to test it empirically. Expressed theoretically, both ideas have advantages and potential disadvantages. But there are some things you just can't do on paper, and making a confit-cheeseburger has got to rank high among those. Hell, where's the fun of designing it if you don't get to EAT it afterward?

Edited March 10, 2004 by balmagowry (log)

[fifi]

- except for a few drops which need to fall on the plate so you can have the pleasure of wiping them up with a squashed french-fry or two.

Excellent point!

[s'kat]

The cooking phase of my confit experimentation has officially drawn to a close.

I took just over half of the caramelised onions that had been produced, and made them into French onion soup. A damned fine batch. Thanks for the springboard, Marlene. My husband had two bowls, and I was seen creeping back for a bit more crouton, myself.

The remainder of the caramelised onions were reduced on stovetop until approaching the right colour.... the consistency, unfortunately, was still not quite 'marmalade', but pretty close.

They have a fantastic flavour, and the futher reduction scented the house nicely, above and beyond the soup. hillvalley, I know not why you are not stinking of slowly-cooked onions at this juncture!

I am planning on using these throughout the week, with great abandon. My husband isn't quite of the same mind. In fact, on the original day of reduction, he was getting a little disconcerted by the scent; that morning, he couldn't stand it one bit. ['I just don't like tasting onions with my coffee!'- not that I can blame him, as I work at an office, and his office is in-home...]

These rock. Did someone mention burgers...?

[woodburner]

These rock. Did someone mention burgers...?

Like a revolution, which slowly slips upon us.

They must be slowly simmered.

Burger's and confit.

stay tuned.

woodburner

[hillvalley]

In college there was a guy who worked at one of the "Grills" on campus. He made a sandwhich that I spent the past decade dreaming of.

Grilled chicken breast with melted cheddar. Carmelized onions on top of melted cheese. Served on a bun with a touch of dijon. yummmmmmm

[Toliver]

Regarding the cheeseburger, what about a grand Gruyere? You know, something with a good bite to it. We already know the confit segues into a nice French Onion Soup, which is decadently topped with a slab of Gruyere (if made properly). I think a Gruyere would make a nice topping for a confited burger.

I would also recommend placing the Gruyere on top of the burger so the contact with the (I assume) still-warm burger will induce maximum melt-atude since Gryuere has a higher melting point than cheddar. Pile everything else on top.

Or, if the burger isn't that warm, place everything on top of the burger with the Gruyere on the tippy top (sans bun top) and broil it until the cheese melts. It will envelope everything on its way down to marry with the burger acting like "The Glue of the Gods", holding everything in place until that first bite where the juice of the confit & burger runs down your chin.

[s'kat]

It will envelope everything on its way down to marry with the burger acting like "The Glue of the Gods", holding everything in place until that first bite where the juice of the confit & burger runs down your chin.

That was an unabashedly beautiful statement. Visions of beef, onions, and cheese are happily dancing through my head, leaving me with the distinct feeling that my nice little green salad isn't going to cut it at lunch today.

[fifi]

I am starting yet another batch.

6 big white onions

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup EVOO

1/2 cup chicken demi glace

about 1/2 tsp each kosher salt and white pepper

thyme and bay leaves

And I will add the 3 T sherry. (Thanks for only using 3 T, Marlene. That means I get to drink the rest. )

I usually try to change only one thing at a time (chicken instead of beef demi glace) but the sherry just sounds too good.

The batch is done and tasted and all is right with the world.

I don't see any obvious differences in taste with the change to chicken demi glace. I am beginning to think that the addition of demi glace is more of a texture thing with the gelatin rather than any obvious taste differences.

[SethG]

I topped some focaccia dough with a heaping pile of my onion confit last night. So good.

Thanks again, people.

[balmagowry]

My favorite, very favorite, is tomato confit. Gives me shivers just thinking about it.

Like a sharp pang to the heart, suddenly remembered this from up-thread and am now haunted by my freezerful of last year's plum tomato harvest. Ooooh, Mudpuppie, please - tell us more!

(Discovered yesterday that I don't have crockpot after all; used to have one of those orange jobs with the lobsters on it but now remember it fell to ex's share on the divorce - good riddance, too - so last night I bid on, and won for about 5 bucks, a charming little 2.5 qt. Rival Chefmate crockpot. It has Pretty Blue Flowers on it, I'm afraid, but I figure I can always superimpose a canada goose or two as inspired by the design on the Crockpots thread. 2.5 qts is small, I know, but something about this one talked to me, and I just had a feeling it would come in handy for all sorts of things. There's a lobstered one coming up in a couple of days - cheap enough that maybe I'll go to hell with myself and bid on that too.)

[Marlene]

By George, I think you have got it! (Where the hell do we get that saying "By George"? Is that a saying from Georgian times?)

"By George! I think she's got it!"

…said Professor Henry Higgins of Eliza Doolittle when she finally refined her cockney dialect to his satisfaction in My Fair Lady -- the successful musical based on Bernard Shaw's classic play Pygmalion.

It come from My Fair Lady and was the writer's way of paying tribute to George Bernard Shaw's original Pygmalion from which My Fair Lady was adapted.

(I think).

[balmagowry]

By George, I think you have got it! (Where the hell do we get that saying "By George"? Is that a saying from Georgian times?)

"By George! I think she's got it!"

…said Professor Henry Higgins of Eliza Doolittle when she finally refined her cockney dialect to his satisfaction in My Fair Lady -- the successful musical based on Bernard Shaw's classic play Pygmalion.

It come from My Fair Lady and was the writer's way of paying tribute to George Bernard Shaw's original Pygmalion from which My Fair Lady was adapted.

(I think).

It certainly does appear in that context, but it goes back farther than that. Hmmmm - this bears investigation. By George, I think I'll look it up and get back to you.

[Marlene]

It certainly does appear in that context, but it goes back farther than that. Hmmmm - this bears investigation. By George, I think I'll look it up and get back to you.

Good luck. I googled to no avail and I also have a couple of "Why do we say it and expressions and their origins books, and I couldn't find it.

[Squeat Mungry]

It certainly does appear in that context, but it goes back farther than that. Hmmmm - this bears investigation. By George, I think I'll look it up and get back to you.

Good luck. I googled to no avail and I also have a couple of "Why do we say it and expressions and their origins books, and I couldn't find it.

Not exactly definitive, but I found this:

BY GEORGE – “…Many of the milder oaths listed below follow the old Hebraic and Middle English tradition of avoiding the use of sacred words, such as God, by substituting words with the same initial letter. Thus for God the oaths substitute George, ginger, Godfrey, golly, gosh, gracious, gravy, grief, etc.” From “I Hear America Talking” by Stuart Berg Flexner (Von Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, 1976).

here.

Back OT, I'm ordering a crockpot just so I can make some onion confit!

Cheers,

Squeat

[balmagowry]

It certainly does appear in that context, but it goes back farther than that. Hmmmm - this bears investigation. By George, I think I'll look it up and get back to you.

Good luck. I googled to no avail and I also have a couple of "Why do we say it and expressions and their origins books, and I couldn't find it.

Not exactly definitive, but I found this:

BY GEORGE – “…Many of the milder oaths listed below follow the old Hebraic and Middle English tradition of avoiding the use of sacred words, such as God, by substituting words with the same initial letter. Thus for God the oaths substitute George, ginger, Godfrey, golly, gosh, gracious, gravy, grief, etc.” From “I Hear America Talking” by Stuart Berg Flexner (Von Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, 1976).

Ahem. OED to the rescue. First literal citation 1731, Fielding's Grub Street Opera: "By George, I will make an example of him!" Earlier citations (earliest 1598, Ben Jonson) in the forms "for George," "'fore George," and "by St. George," which does seem to support the dragon connection.

Back OT, I'm ordering a crockpot just so I can make some onion confit!

I just got one on eBay, but meanwhile I'm borrowing one tonight. I just can NOT wait any longer!

Edited March 10, 2004 by balmagowry (log)

[hillvalley]

How long will confit last? I just found out I have to go out of town for a few days and still have half my batch.

[woodburner]

How long will confit last? I just found out I have to go out of town for a few days and still have half my batch.

What's to go bad?

3 weeks and still ticking in my corner.

Keep refrigerated.

I'm making a new batch this weekend.

So that will make 4 weeks.

woodburner

[hillvalley]

Just what I was hoping to hear! Otherwise my nondeserving coworkers would have benefitted. Glad I don't have to share

[s'kat]

Just what I was hoping to hear! Otherwise my nondeserving coworkers would have benefitted. Glad I don't have to share

Likewise- they get too many of my goodies as it is.

[Kim WB]

My experiments so far:

Last week, I used Fifi's recipe, with the sherry, buttle , OO, and demiglace, but it was store bought. The beef/sodium/ burnt taste from the demi glace was a bit overpowering..I added too much. However, texture, color and liquid amounts were good, and while the onions solo were cloying, added to some pasta with gorgonzola, they were great. I cooked them 13 hours, on low.

Last night, I went with homemade beef stock, greatly reduced, a sprig of thyme, no sherry, OO, a pinch of sugar, and butter..10 hours into it, and its not very carmelized or browned,lots of liquid, but smells great. Onions are still crisp. I'm going to fire it up to high for the hour or two before I have to leave, then perhaps low for another 3 hrs.

Edited to add that there is actually quite a bit of condensation that can be collected off the lid, I am up to 1/2 cup of liquid, just poured off the lid into a pyrex measuting cup doing double duty as a spoon holder..Just FYI...might be a culprit in the "too liquidy" batches?

Edited March 11, 2004 by Kim WB (log)

[hannahcooks]

I've got a batch in my crockpot right now. I put the onions in overnight on "Auto". This morning, they had reduced by half and were tender, but not as sweet as I'd hoped. I let them cook some more this morning with the lid off, and then turned it on to Keep Warm (which I think is close to Low on a regular crock pot). They're still cooking now, lid on.

Hopefully, when I get home, I'll have confit to put on pizza with lemon pepper cream sauce and prosciutto.

[s'kat]

Well, ladies, how did your confits grow?

[hannahcooks]

Well, when I got home, some of it was charred. I stirred it all up and let it cook some more on Keep Warm (there was still a bit of liquid in there) until I was ready to use. I was surpised by how much darker (not including the charred parts) the onions became in the last 8 hours of cooking. And how rich-tasting they were. (In the morning, after 12 hours or so, I was worried- they didn't have that much flavor.)

I think the confit was even better than caramelized onions on the pizza. This weekend, we'll have onion confit omelets. And next week, pissaladiere.

[hwilson41]

OK, a question for all you pros who are ahead of me on this. I'm going to make my first onion confit this weekend using essentially Fifi's recipe (the beef demi glace version). I have no demi glace and don't want to buy store bought, but I have quite a bit of good, homemade beef stock. As a substitute for the 1/2 C demi glace, I'm thinking of starting with 2 C of beef stock and reducing it down to approximately 1/2 C before adding it to the confit. Should I add any other seasonings? For the rest, I'm following Fifi's recipe, using Amontillado for the Sherry. Any other pointers? Thanks.

THW

[picaman]

(never do by hand what my dishwasher will do for me is my motto )

Completely off topic, but couldn't resist posting this recipe link for you, Marlene:

Salmon in the Dishwasher

This may, of course, be old news to a dishwasher veteran such as yourself

Jamie