by Tierney O'Hara

Created on: May 26, 2010   Last Updated: June 06, 2010

Tips for Making the Best Caramelized Onions in Town

Don’t Be a Crybaby

The hardest part of making caramelized onions is peeling the onions which can often turn a happy chef into a weeping chef. Two tricks that work to keep the tears away are one, to submerge the onions in ice water for 5 or 10 minutes before slicing and two, light a candle near where you will be slicing or chopping your onions.

Slice, Season and Saute

Now you are ready to dry off the onions and slice them thinly. Onions cook way down so use about two to three pounds of onions.  Next put a heavy bottomed pan like a cast iron frying pan over medium heat.  Into the pan put 3 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil/butter is heated, add in your onions and sprinkle salt and pepper over the top.

Even if You Can't Stand the Heat, Don't Get Out of the Kitchen

You now have about a half hour in which you will need to stir these onions every few minutes so page through a magazine or make another recipe but stay in the kitchen so the onions don't stick or burn.

From Here to Mahogany

You start off with pure white, yellow or even red onions slowly sizzling in butter and oil and with patience and about 30 minutes of your time, you will end up with reddish-brown onions, so sugary and sweet they are sometimes referred to as “candied” onions.  You must continue to stir these onions over low heat until all of them have turned a deep mahogany color and the onion's natural sugars have been released. 

They will get darker and darker as they lose moisture and start “roasting” in the bottom of your pan, so be sure to pay attention to your onions so that they don't burn at the last moment.

Once the onions are very dark you can remove them from the pan.  Some chefs like to pour in a shot of white vermouth over the top of the onions and then turn off the heat.  Depending upon your taste, you can also add a teaspoon of brown sugar at the very end of the cooking time to darken and sugar the onions even more.

That's a Crock

You can caramelize your onions right in your slow cooker.  Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of your slow cooker. Throw in about three pounds of sliced onions.  Put 3 tablespoons of butter over the top of the onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Put your cooker on low and check back in about 6 hours for beautiful onions that are as good as those made in the frying pan.

For a sweet and tangy onion "jam," stir in one tablespoon of sugar and one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar in the last hour of crock pot cooking.

Use caramelized onions as a relish for hot dogs or burgers, a pizza topping or a spread for crunchy French or Italian bread.   Spread the onions on crackers or top simple steamed vegetables with a large spoonful of these sweet delicious onions.

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