I am thankful that, for the most part, Hubby and I have the same likes and dislikes when it comes to food.
I fully understand how lucky I am.
It’s our standard to say “No raw onions or tomatoes, please” when asked what we like. Which adds irony to the fact that after our wedding, the person who packed a meal for us from the buffet (that we never went through) packed a big tub of onions, a big tub of tomatoes, and a big tub of pico de gallo.
Which is tomatoes and onions.
But . . . hubby does love caramelized onions. Especially with fajitas. So, when making the second of my three-dinners-from-one-big-cooking-session meals, I add onions. Onions which add a nice flavor, but which I then pick out for the kids and me.
Over time and trial and error (and some Rachael Ray watching), I have learned to make what Hubby claims are some pretty good caramelized onions. I’ll have to trust him . . . because I won’t touch ’em.
Peel off the paper-ey outer skin. If unsure, peel more. Cut off both ends.
Slice the onion into thin strips. I don’t worry about prettiness since they’re going to cook down. Hurry . . . to keep from crying.
Heat oil in a pot that has a lid, and once it is hot, add the onions. I use about 1/4 cup of oil for a large onion.
Add salt. I usually add about 1/4 tsp for a single onion. This is the part I learned from Rachael. It helps draw out the moisture, and that’s what makes them soft. Stir them around, and put the lid on it over medium heat.
Keeping the lid on seems to help the cooking process, and it also keeps this from being quite such a tear-jerking experience.
Meanwhile, I get out my already-grilled chicken breasts and start slicing them up.
Every few minutes, I give the onions a stir, and check to see if they’re starting to brown. Don’t stir too often, because you want the ones on the bottom to start browning.
Can you see how the onion is starting to turn color? At this point, watch closely for it to get the point where you (or your husband) like your onions.
Once our onions look like this, I add the sliced, already-grilled chicken breasts, and stir them around with the onions until heated through.
Mmmm. I love fajitas.
And now our menu plan for the week:
Monday – Sausage and Potatoes with salad
Tuesday – Grilled chicken breasts, mashed potatoes and broccoli
Wednesday – Spaghetti
Thursday – Tator Tot Casserole
Friday – Out to Eat
Saturday – Homemade pizzas
I’ll be linking this up over at Orgjunkie.com for Menu Plan Monday.
Give those caramelized onions a few ‘brave bites’. They taste nothing like Onions anymore, sweet and smooth with absolutely no heat to them. I add a pat of butter, a grind of salt and simmer with the lid off. MMMM, Good enough to be a side dish.
Hi there,
I’ve been wanting to know how to carmelize onions. Thanks for giving this tutorial.
I love onions, which are good for blood pressure.
Rebecca G.
I’ve tried carmelized onions before and burned them horribly. But you got me wanting to try it again…
Chop the ends off first and cut in half, then peeling is a cinch.
The 2 most effective ways to minimise the tearing up experience is:
1) use the sharpest knife you own, this works because it slices instead of squishes the juicy bits
2) when slicing pretend the onion is a steaming hot pot of liquid and you are avoiding the steam, which helps you to avoid the vapors.
Hey Dana… I haven’t tried this yet but I want to because I ADORE caramelized onions & when I cook them in a pan they’re okay, but not really caramelized according to what people who know tell me! Anyhoo… I pinned it a while back and your FB post made me think about sharing it with you, even though it’s not field tested yet, because it looks super easy, SLOW COOKER!! and it adds to your freezer stash. Love you, love your blog, think I am most likely your long-lost, much older twin. 🙂
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-caramelize-onions-in-the-slow-cooker-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-193413
i can eat bowls and bowls of caramelized onions. mmm mmm good. they do brown better with the lid off though, because the lid traps the moisture in, which will hinder caramelization.
I have nothing to say about onions, but we didn’t get to eat at our wedding either! A friend had given us a picnic basket as a wedding gift (filled) and we ended up eating that, in the hotel room, because we were so hungry. (And a filled picnic basket is now our go-to wedding gift.)
Vidalia or red onions which are sweeter are way less likely to make you cry.