Caramelized onions

[Mudpuppie]

Carmelized onions are one of my favorite foods, and they're one of my favorite ingredients. I love them in mashed potatoes, on a grilled cheese sandwich, as a condiment for tacos, and sometimes I'll eat them on a slice of good bread with some blue cheese.

What do you do with them?

[Ling]

with mushrooms and cheese as a gooey side dish

also love them in quiches

[bloviatrix]

They're absolutely neccessary for kasha varnishkes. And I like 'em on burgers.

[foodie52]

I put some on a pizza just last night. I ate the leftovers at room temperature. Just plain. Nothing else. Dessert!

[Squeat Mungry]

Pissaladiere!

[GG Mora]

Dab them behind my ears.

Oh, and mix them with a little veal demi-glace for an excellent sauce for, um, meatloaf. And caramelized onion pizza is a wonder....especially with rosemary, toasted walnuts and some crumbled goat or blue cheese (that's goat cheese, not crumbled goat. Ew.).

[Bux]

Actually, every dictionary I've found says it's "caramelized," although my guess is that it's pronounced "carmelized" quite commonly.

[Mudpuppie]

Actually, every dictionary I've found says it's "caramelized," although my guess is that it's pronounced "carmelized" quite commonly.

You're right, of course.

I'm from Texas. Give me a break.

[tanabutler]

I put them in my mouth.

[fifi]

First, I want to state that IMHO, caramelized onions are a different beast than onion confit. And what is the difference you ask? I think it is one of uniformity. The confit is more evenly "processed" whereas traditionally caramelized onions have more variations like darker edges and less cooked bits. I may be totally wrong here but that is my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

I have made onion soup with confit and it is quite good, but I prefer to caramelize my onions in the bottom of my LC pot for doing onion soup. I also caramelize onions in bacon fat for my green beans. No other method does as well for this and other "southern style" smoothered veggies.

I do have to admit that I have never caramelized a batch just for uses as described above. I will have to change my ways.

[Marlene]

First, I want to state that IMHO, caramelized onions are a different beast than onion confit. And what is the difference you ask? I think it is one of uniformity. The confit is more evenly "processed" whereas traditionally caramelized onions have more variations like darker edges and less cooked bits. I may be totally wrong here but that is my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

I have made onion soup with confit and it is quite good, but I prefer to caramelize my onions in the bottom of my LC pot for doing onion soup. I also caramelize onions in bacon fat for my geen beans. No other method does as well for this and other "southern style" smoothered veggies.

I do have to admit that I have never caramelized a batch just for uses as described above. I will have to change my ways.

What's a geen bean? And I can just see it now. fifi's carmelized onion thread. The rest of us will be carmelizing along directly.

edited to add: I adore my confit in onion soup

Edited March 25, 2004 by Marlene (log)

[hillvalley]

They're absolutely neccessary for kasha varnishkes.

mmmmmmmmmm, best part of erev Rosh Hashanah

[fifi]

Geen beans are a rare variety of bean grown only in the rain forests of the PNW, fertilized with banana slug poop and tended by elves.

(fixed the typo)

[JAZ]

Caramelized onions mix really well with roasted red peppers. I use the combination (flavored with a little sherry and salt) on crostini topped with a sliver of aged gouda. Or I thin it with some chicken broth and enrich it with some cream for a wonderful soup.

With or without the peppers, caramelized onions are great on steak sandwiches.

[snowangel]

I also caramelize onions in bacon fat for my green beans. No other method does as well for this and other "southern style" smoothered veggies.

I do have to admit that I have never caramelized a batch just for uses as described above. I will have to change my ways.

First "real" meal in our new house was a roasted chicken (ala Hazan) with your green beans, Fifi. It was a Sunday night.

Best part of all was Monday morning. Kids off to school. Warmed up the leftover beans, put them on a slice of Acme levain toasted, topped off with a poached egg. Eaten while wandering around this big house, surveying the stacks of boxes. I swear it was the beans that gave me the energy to tackle the Job At Hand. (I must add that I ate a mess of them cold while waiting for water to boil and toast to toast. With fingers right out of that Glad container.)

[tanabutler]

I just caramelized one perfect onion, a offering from my sweet neighbor. Turns out she gives massage to Joe Rubin, the farmer at Live Earth Farm (I interviewed him last week).

It's the sweetest onion I've ever had.

[fifi]

First "real" meal in our new house was a roasted chicken (ala Hazan) with your green beans, Fifi. It was a Sunday night.

Best part of all was Monday morning. Kids off to school. Warmed up the leftover beans, put them on a slice of Acme levain toasted, topped off with a poached egg. Eaten while wandering around this big house, surveying the stacks of boxes. I swear it was the beans that gave me the energy to tackle the Job At Hand. (I must add that I ate a mess of them cold while waiting for water to boil and toast to toast. With fingers right out of that Glad container.)

happy dance... happy dance... happy dance...

I just love it when one of my recipes gets enjoyed.

I have been known to eat them for breakfast as well.

[spoonbread]

I'm from Texas. Give me a break.

Rofl!

I guess us Texans have a different way of sayin' things at times, huh?

Caramelized onions are alot of fun. I'll coat one side of a fish ( like sea bass) with a seasoned flour and add the onions on top of that, coat with a seasoned bread crumb/parm cheese mixture and sear. Bake to finish.

Also, I caramelize onions and then smoke them, and mix them in mashed potatoes. Or just make a reduction with them and add to a sauce. Yummy!

[fifi]

Also, I caramelize onions and then smoke them, and mix them in mashed potatoes. Or just make a reduction with them and add to a sauce. Yummy!

OK... How do you do that?

In a few weeks I will be doing a marathon chicken smoking thing on my Weber Smoky Mountain. I will need to know how to smoke caramelized onions. That just sounds too good to be true.

[sandra]

Stir them through pasta with mushrooms and crisped up sausage...

[spoonbread]

OK... How do you do that?

Hi fif!

Caramelize your onions as usual. Then put them in a smoker. Thats it. I'm not familiar with a Weber, but I use a wok smoker and smoking pellets that I buy from Walmart or HEB, as I can't seem to locate a person locally in Texas that sells different woods for smoking. I do the same with leeks. If you intend on putting them in mashed potatoes, you can knock'em dead by adding white cheddar cheese, sour cream along with the other ingredients you would use for mashers. The onions get a strong, smoky flavor, so a little goes a long way. I also stuff prok with this alonf with thyme, cheese and other ingredients.

The reduction is simple, 10# sweet onions to 2 gallons water, thyme, garlic and bay leaf. Sweat onions for 456 minutes on low heat until caramelized, add water and aromatics, and reduce to 2 cups.

Hope this helps......

[Raynickben]

Much like realtors who bake chocolate chip cookies when selling a house I caramelize onions for the lovely smell that permeates the kitchen and beyond.

Edited March 31, 2004 by Raynickben (log)

[jimgeralds]

I like heavily caramelized onions with a bit of balsamic for acidity. Grill a nice firm round of goats cheese, and put the onions and the cheese on top of a piece of toasted walnut bread. Very very nice!

[fifi]

Caramelize your onions as usual. Then put them in a smoker. Thats it.

I am still not following you. Do you put them in a pan? What kind of pan? Shallow? Deep?

I tried smoking some salt a few weeks ago. I spread it out in a disposable aluminum pan and it didn't pick up any smoke flavor at all that I could tell.

Where are you in Texas? I am able to find various kinds of wood. There is a place here in League City that has different kinds of wood. And the big Academy sporting goods stores have a pretty good selection. My favorite place is a local called "Chim Chimeney's". They sell fireplaces, fancy grill set-ups and the like and have a pretty good selection of charcoals and wood chunks. Local folks like that will normally bust their buns to order stuff for you to win you over as a repeat customer. Look in your yellow pages for BBQ supplies.

[phaelon56]

Pizza, pizza and also.... on pizza.