Pearl Onions

[johnjohn]

I made a chicken pot pie last night that called for pearl onions. I soaked them in hot water for a few minutes to help loosen the skin, but it still took me a 1/2 hour to peel all of them. In researching other recipes, I came across one that used frozen pearl onions. I almost always use fresh vegetables (except peas), but the effort put into preping these onions made me wonder if the frozen ones would of been worth trying. Anybody have experience with them.

Tips on peeling fresh pearl onions would also be appreciated.

johnjohn

[JAZ]

I've used the frozen ones with success (I'm not ordinarily a big fan of frozen vegetables either, but it's so much easier than peeling the little suckers). I actually even used them to roast along with some sweet potato chunks once. I was afraid they might be mushy, but they worked well -- crisped right up.

If you want to peel fresh onions, try blanching in boiling water for a minute or so. It works better than soaking in hot water. But it's still a pain.

I'll never forget the first time I peeled pearl onions -- it was for a beef stew that I was going to cook in the crockpot. I finally got all the onions peeled and dumped them in the pot along with the other ingredients, including a couple of cups of red wine. Turned on the crockpot, went to work. When I came home and checked on the stew I discovered that every single last onion had simply dissolved in the wine. All that work, and not an onion to show for it...

[bushey]

I've used frozen pearl onions in several recipes (coq au vin, beef daube) with great success. No need to defrost them, just use them as is. They even carmelize beautifully also.

[Monica Bhide]

I have used them with great success in some curries and also made a wonderful pickle with them.. never any problems

[Dave the Cook]

. . . every single last onion had simply dissolved in the wine. All that work, and not an onion to show for it...

Any idea why?

[JAZ]

. . . every single last onion had simply dissolved in the wine. All that work, and not an onion to show for it...

Any idea why?

Not sure. All that occurred to me was all the acid in the wine, and the long cooking time.

[Dave the Cook]

. . . every single last onion had simply dissolved in the wine. All that work, and not an onion to show for it...

Any idea why?

Not sure. All that occurred to me was all the acid in the wine, and the long cooking time.

Doesn't seem sufficient, does it? Guess it's possible. Lots of salt, maybe?

[JAZ]

. . . every single last onion had simply dissolved in the wine. All that work, and not an onion to show for it...

Any idea why?

Not sure. All that occurred to me was all the acid in the wine, and the long cooking time.

Doesn't seem sufficient, does it? Guess it's possible. Lots of salt, maybe?

I don't tend to add much salt to stews and such to start with, so I doubt that was it. (Now, this was about 12 years ago, so it's not like I can remember the details.) And after that episode, whenever I used pearl onions in stews, I added them halfway or two-thirds of the way through, so I never expereinced the same thing.

Here's another thing: My ex used to compete in chili cookoffs in Texas (won a couple, even), and he said that in those competitions, the only identifiable pieces of anything allowed were meat chunks. In other words, all the tomatoes, and onions had to dissolve. And when he made chili, his onion chunks dissolved too. His chili simmered for a very long time, and had enough tomatoes to bring the up the acidity level, so I still think it's the cooking time combined with acid.

[Jim Dixon]

Part of our Thanksgiving dinner is creamed onions, and my mother and I have debated the use of various types of small onions for this (which is much better than it sounds...the "creamed" part is really a sharp cheddar-gorgonzola sauce with bourbon).

Anyway, I prefer Diamond brand canned pearl onions. They fit nicely with the other from-a-can baked dish (green bean casserole) we like to eat once a year. Mom did the dish one year with the frozen onions, and it didn't seem quite right. But so many years of creamed onions all run together, so I can't really say why.

Jim

edit: for Italian sweet and sour (agrodolce, from Marcella) onions, I cut a cross in the blossom end of small boiling onions, boil for a minute, then peel...go figure

[Matt Seeber]

Tips on peeling fresh pearl onions would also be appreciated

i prefer to roast them first before peeling. when finished and cooled, snip the top end and squeeze. a nicely roasted pearl onion pops right out...

[bellaS.F.]

Cutting an X in the root end before putting them in the boiling water helps.

[rich]

I was thinking of making Keller's Oysters and Pearls for a dinner party Saturday, but I didn't have the French Laundry cookbook at my office and I wanted to check out the ingredients for shopping purposes.

I "googled" the term hoping it would be somewhere on the web. It wasn't, but I came across another Oysters and Pearls recipe. It's a individual tart with spinach, eggs, cream, whole oysters and finished with Lebanese Couscous (the pearls). This sounds interesting so I'm going to make that instead of Keller's version this week.

But don't fret FL fans, I'm still going to make Keller's "Bacon and Eggs." I found the greatest spoons for this "dish." The handle of a soup spoon is turned under so the utensil sits up and is easy to grasp. They make a terrific plate presentation as well.

[rich]

I decided to try the recipe last evening and it was delicious - the combination of the couscous, oysters and spinach was intriguing.

I also poached the quail eggs for Keller's Bacon & Eggs. The recipe says poach for 2-3 minutes. Don't believe it. The eggs will be on the firm side of soft cooked at that point. The real time should be about 45 seconds to 1 minute. And make sure you plunge them into ice water immediately to stop the cooking.

Not that the "soft cooked" is bad, but not the same.

Edited April 29, 2005 by rich (log)

[racheld]

I was thinking of making Keller's Oysters and Pearls for a dinner party Saturday, but I didn't have the French Laundry cookbook at my office and I wanted to check out the ingredients for shopping purposes.

I "googled" the term hoping it would be somewhere on the web. It wasn't, but I came across another Oysters and Pearls recipe. It's a individual tart with spinach, eggs, cream, whole oysters and finished with Lebanese Couscous (the pearls). This sounds interesting so I'm going to make that instead of Keller's version this week.

But don't fret FL fans, I'm still going to make Keller's "Bacon and Eggs." I found the greatest spoons for this "dish." The handle of a soup spoon is turned under so the utensil sits up and is easy to grasp. They make a terrific plate presentation as well.

←

You're sure that's not Geller's version?

[rich]

I was thinking of making Keller's Oysters and Pearls for a dinner party Saturday, but I didn't have the French Laundry cookbook at my office and I wanted to check out the ingredients for shopping purposes.

I "googled" the term hoping it would be somewhere on the web. It wasn't, but I came across another Oysters and Pearls recipe. It's a individual tart with spinach, eggs, cream, whole oysters and finished with Lebanese Couscous (the pearls). This sounds interesting so I'm going to make that instead of Keller's version this week.

But don't fret FL fans, I'm still going to make Keller's "Bacon and Eggs." I found the greatest spoons for this "dish." The handle of a soup spoon is turned under so the utensil sits up and is easy to grasp. They make a terrific plate presentation as well.

←

You're sure that's not Geller's version?

←

According to the information page it's a David Garrido recipe, who is the chef at a restaurant named Jeffrey's someplace in Texas.

[racheld]

Sorry---that was my silly side emerging...the bent spoons and the Keller/Geller reference was too much to resist.

rachel

[ludja]

I was puzzled as to how the couscous was 'incorporated' so I looked up the recipe; Here it is

So in garnishing the tartlettes did you cover the whole tartlette with a single layer of Israeli couscous? It is interesting, but not something that I could automatically picture 'working' without trying it--so it's nice that you did!

Also, are the tarts served warm and then the couscous mixture cool on top?

[rich]

I was puzzled as to how the couscous was 'incorporated' so I looked up the recipe; Here it is

So in garnishing the tartlettes did you cover the whole tartlette with a single layer of Israeli couscous?  It is interesting, but not something that I could automatically picture 'working' without trying it--so it's nice that you did! 

Also, are the tarts served warm and then the couscous mixture cool on top?

←

No, I just sprinkled a few on top (8-10). I also put a few into the tart about halfway through the baking process - it gave the tart a little more texture. I served the entire tart warm - kept the couscous warm in a covered pot until ready to use.

And I used Lebanese couscous, not Israeli which are smaller. My wife likes big pearls.

[rich]

The Oysters and Pearls turned out perfect - not one morsel was left. The guests enjoyed the the contrast in textures.

I noticed someone posted the recipe. It has one major flaw (albeit obvious). The recipe says bake the tarts 5-7 minutes. It should read 25-30 minutes.

Keller's "Bacon & Eggs" acutally were the hit of the evening and I altered the recipe slightly. After crisping the bacon, I added a tablespoon of Grade B maple syrup. It gave the dish a little more depth and eveness.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Just home from a productive trip to Costco and found something I have yet to try, namely preparing tiny multicolored pearl onions:

Some questions for you:

(1) how to keep them until Thanksgiving next week?

(2) how to prepare them so the colors remain intact?

(3) serve them in a sauce or plain?

(4) attractive on the turkey platter?

(5) peel or not?

[theabroma]

1. Dry, and in a place where (dry) air can freely circulate around them

5. Yes! Ask Beulah. She's got the peeling technique down pat. Trim the blossom end straight across just above the head of the onion bulb. Using a paring knife - a tourne or bird's beak works great - peel the skin off. Trim the root end.

2. They're like any other onion: they will retain color. For the red ones, they will pale out a touch when peeled, and the yellow ones will not be so intensely yellow.

3. They are great in the Southern tradition: blanched until knife tip tender, then put in a cream sauce. They are also wonderful blanched, shocked, then sauteed in butter w/a bit of water and sugar - caramelize them. A drizzle of good, fairly old balsamic is a nice finishing touch.

4. I would put them, caramelized, around a turkey, though it does make carving it tidilyl a bit of a crap shoot. Creamed, I'd serve in a separate dish - Havilland, with a Francis I serving spoon.

Theabroma

PS: Seriously, if you cannot cajole someone into peeling these little suckers for you, I recommend you sit down with the container of onions, a bowl for skins, a bowl for peeled ones, a good paring knife, and a bottle of peach brandy.

T.

[gsquared]

I like them boiled until just soft and then served in a sweet and sour sauce:- eggs creamed with sugar, add water and lemon juice and thicken in a bowl over simmering water. Best at room temp, making it great for preparing beforehand.

[Malawry]

I just dealt with 4lbs of those for the wedding I catered Saturday (they went in the boeuf bourguignonne). Peeling them SUCKS. Get somebody else to do it. Those are particularly small and uneven which makes them more annoying than the sort in net bags at the supermarket--but being from Costco of course they are cheaper than the net bags.

The white and yellow ones look the same once peeled. Peel and cook them separately from the red ones. Combine at the last minute or the red ones will bleed all over the pale ones. You can cook the red ones with a splash of red wine or red wine vinegar to enhance their color as they are much paler when peeled than they look in the skin.

[theabroma]

A sleep-aided recollection: you can incise a small 'x' in the base of the onion, not deep, but through the root hairs and dry skin, and barely into the flesh, and then blanch them after water returns to the boil for 1 minute. Shock. The skins will (largely) slip off. This is a not entirely foolproof, but much easier way to undress the little beasties.

Theabroma

[Gifted Gourmet]

You have saved me tons of work with this simple tip, theabroma! I am now hoping to do exactly that and blanch them ... much appreciated!