Caramelized Onions Recipe

Why and How to Caramelize Onions

Remember when your grandmother said to six-year-old you, "No, these aren't hot onions, dear, they're cooked. You'll like them,"? Well, caramelized onions take "cooked" to a whole other level-- very sweet and rich, acceptable by anyone's standards. You'll like them.

Start with naturally sweet onions like Vidalia, Walla Walla, or Maui onions.

Use leftovers to top burgers, steaks, pizza or pasta. Or, caramelized onions can be refrigerated for several days or frozen for up to 3 months.

3 pounds sweet onions (about 5 or 6 med.)
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (more or less) dry white wine or balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

How to caramelize onions:

Peel and slice the onions 1/4" thick.

Melt the butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and sprinkle with the teaspoon of salt.

Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft, about 30 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring constantly now, until the onions reduce to about half their volume and turn a deep caramel color, about 25 minutes.

If the onion "juices" build up in the skillet during this time, pour in a little dry white wine or vinegar to deglaze the pan. Reincorporate the bits into the onions as they continue cooking.

Serves 6-8.

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