the sparkling old dude likes them very brown

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/115726415

Oh my.

azurnoir (26,837 posts)    Sun Jun 2, 2013, 05:47 PM

anyone here familiar with making caramelized onions?

a few questions

what is the best medium to cook them in?

how long does it take to make them?

and can they be made in really big batches and frozen for later use?

<<<has a question.

For what use are "carmelized" onions?

<<<never heard of the phenomenon.

NJCher (15,442 posts)    Sun Jun 2, 2013, 05:58 PM

2. a tip

Use baking soda. It gives them a nice golden color. Just a little, like a tsp or two.
 
I slice mine on my mandolin and take plenty of time to cook them.

Nothing like them. Wonderful for sandwiches, toppings on burgers, be they meat or veggie burgers.

siligut (11,297 posts)    Sun Jun 2, 2013, 06:44 PM

5. I learned to make caramelized onions from from Ina Garten

Slice the onions thin, and use a couple tbs oil in a heavy sauce pan. Place on medium low heat, you don't want to burn them and stir every 15 mins or so. Takes about 1.5 hrs.

The empressof all (27,731 posts)    Sun Jun 2, 2013, 07:22 PM

6. I do large quantities in the crock pot

Basically you slice the onions thin, add a stick of butter, set the crock pot on low and let it go for 12 to 15 hours.
 
Here's the epicurious link.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Caramelized-Onions-100845

I usually don't measure the onions, I just fill the crock pot and add the stick of butter. I do cut the butter into 8 to 10 pieces and I do stir them after six hours or so...
 
I have substituted Olive Oil for the butter and I add a bit of salt as well.

And h-e-e-e-e-e-r-e's Ugly:

Warpy (69,384 posts)    Sun Jun 2, 2013, 07:59 PM

9. I make them in a big chicken fryer because there is a lot of volume initially that cooks down.

You can make them in big batches and freeze them, although the texture will suffer slightly. http://www.thekitchn.com/quick-tip-freeze-caramelized-o-81485
 
Onion confit http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/onion-confit is something I discovered some time ago to liven up boring fried tofu and bean burgers. You make it with veggie broth instead of beef broth and it's just as good. I also added the balsamic but found any other vinegar was too sour and interfered with the sweetness of the onions.

Stinky The Clown (51,384 posts)    Sun Jun 2, 2013, 08:47 PM

11. A big enameled cast iron pot, a stick of butter, as many sliced onions as you can cram into the pot

Set it in a 350 oven and plan to let it go for hours and hours. Stir it every hour or so. The volume will reduce significantly, Probably to well under half. Let them go until they're brown enough for you. I like them very dark brown.
 
Be careful about using sweet onions. They caramelize almost sugary and actually are not very good in other dishes.

[GOBUCKS]

liven up boring fried tofu and bean burgers

Oh my God.

[Big Dog]

Oh my God.

Imagine being cooped up in a car with Warpy, after she had a big meal of tofu and beans with fried onions.

 

[I_B_Perky]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/115726415

Oh my.

<<<has a question.

For what use are "carmelized" onions?

<<<never heard of the phenomenon.

Apparently that's a big thing with the restaurant chains now Frank. I saw an ad, think it was Red Robin, that had them a couple weeks ago. Then last nite I saw an ad, think it was McD's, that had them. I thought they were just cooked onions. Guess I was wrong.

Me? Throw the onions in the skillet with the burger, pork chop or steak, and let them cook in the grease from the meat.    When I cook burgers out on the grill I usually throw some onions in a tin foil boat with some burger and then put them on my burger when the burger gets done.   

[Chris_]

Caramelized onions are plain old onions sliced and cooked in butter, sugar, and a little bit of salt until they're dark and sticky from the sugar.  They're cooked on the stovetop, not the oven, you Yankee heathen.

They're good but I'm a little burned out on them.  It seems like everyone offers them now with varying degrees of quality.

[Delmar]

The empressof all (27,731 posts)    Sun Jun 2, 2013, 07:22 PM

6. I do large quantities in the crock pot

Basically you slice the onions thin, add a stick of butter, set the crock pot on low and let it go for 12 to 15 hours.
 

I like onions as much as the next guy, but they would have to be pretty special to get me to wait 12 to 15 hours for them.

[GOBUCKS]

I've never heard of making caramelized onions in a crockpot or oven.

They're about as easy to make in a skillet as falling off a log, and it only takes a few minutes.

When you saute onions, "caramelized" comes just before "burned".

I love to slop them onto a bloody-rare steak.

Sparkly Mike Pantano must be one hell of a poor "restaurant consultant".

Maybe he really is a mafia gofer.

[Ptarmigan]

There is something called Google or Bing. Why go to DU for that? 

[BattleHymn]

liven up boring fried tofu and bean burgers

I'm not so concerned about this.  As disgusting as it sounds, it just means there is more cow for the rest of us.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Me thinks Frank needs to stop posting threads from the cooking & baking forum. ;D

[RobJohnson]

Imagine being cooped up in a car with Warpy, after she had a big meal of tofu and beans with fried onions.

 

Tofu is full of Monsanto's GMOs..................

[Big Dog]

Tofu is full of Monsanto's GMOs..................

Will that make Warpy's farts even worse?

[Gina]

I didn't know what to think with that title, Frank 

[zeitgeist]

Tofu is full of Monsanto's GMOs..................

  Good point.     Now we know why the vegans are the way they are. 

[RobJohnson]

  Good point.     Now we know why the vegans are the way they are. 

 

[Wineslob]

I didn't know what to think with that title, Frank 

Made me think of this:

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&biw=1019&bih=626&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=over+tanned+new+jersey+woman&oq=over+tanned+&gs_l=img.1.2.0l5j0i5l2j0i24l3.42063.50975.0.52919.30.19.0.0.0.3.164.1937.2j14.16.0...0.0.0..1c.1.15.img.5hNGnY6GDfI