Caramelized Onions
A Quick Lesson for How to Make Caramelized Onions
Servings: 2 cups
Ingredients
- 5 lg onions (either red or white or both)
- t tsp olive oil or butter (or a mix of both)
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cut onions in half, peel and cut again into quarters, leaving the root end on while cutting
- Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, slice onions to your desired thickness.
- Heat olive oil and butter, if using, in a heavy-bottomed skillet, over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the sliced onion. Stir to coat onion slices with the oil mixture.
- Cook onions in the pan, stirring occasionally, making sure they do not dry out. After about 15 minutes, you can sprinkle the onion mixture with the sugar and stir to incorporate.
- If it looks like onions are getting too dry or are browning too quickly, reduce the heat and add a little water.
- Continue to cook onions for at least 30 minutes more, stirring every few minutes, until they are beginning to brown on the bottom. Once they begin to brown, allow them to stick a little bit to the pan. Then, using a spatula, scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and stir the onions again.
- Repeat this scraping and stirring process every few minutes until the onions have become a deep, rich brown color. Again, you may need to reduce your heat to keep from scorching them. You may also add a little more oil if it looks like they are getting too dry.
- Once your onions have reached the color you desire, season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. You can remove them from the heat and use immediately, or store them, refrigerated in an airtight container. They will keep for several days.