You can use them to top a variety of dishes, and they keep in the fridge for several days, so your effort in making them will be well-rewarded! The way onions are transformed by cooking is miraculous. Even cooking them for just a few minutes takes much of their sharpness away. And when you patiently cook them in butter over low heat until they are caramelized, they become incredibly soft, buttery, and flavorful.
Variations
You can cook the onions in olive oil instead of butter. However, I have found that cooking them in butter helps them to caramelize, thanks to the milk solids that become browned as they cook. Adding a splash of balsamic vinegar promotes browning. It’s helpful in this caramelized shallots recipe. However, it’s not mandatory, and I rarely use it. Although the onions are flavorful just as they are, you are welcome to season them. I sometimes add a pinch of garlic powder and smoked paprika. An advantage of the paprika is that it adds color in addition to a smoky flavor.
Instructions
Recipe Card
Onions: In this recipe, we will use two large onions. I like to use yellow onions, but other onion types will work, too. Butter: Whether salted or unsalted - I’ve used both, and they work equally well. Salt: I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt almost exclusively in my recipes, including this one.
Your first step is to peel the onions, rinse and dry them. Next, cut them into slices, and separate the slices into rings. When cutting the onions, you’ll want to cut them in half through the root end, then position them with the root end facing you and slice them into ¼-inch slices. Tilt the skillet to spread the butter. Once the butter starts foaming, you’ll want to add the onions in two or three batches, sprinkling salt on each batch and allowing it to slightly soften before adding the next batch. Keep cooking the onions, stirring them often. If the pan becomes too hot and there are brown bits on its bottom, add a splash of water and use it to deglaze the pan. You can lower the heat to low if this keeps happening. After about 45 minutes, you’ll be rewarded with gorgeous, silky strands of well-browned onions. They will be very flavorful and completely lose their sharpness. In fact, they’ll be almost sweet. But when sauteing them, you can cook them for a shorter time (around 15 minutes) over medium heat. When you caramelize them, you cook them for much longer - as long as 45 minutes - over medium-low or even low heat. The results are quite different, as you can see:
Steak. Whether New York strip steak, ribeye steak, or picanha, these onions can enhance almost any type of steak you can think of. They are also delicious on top of lamb steak and cauliflower steak. Liver. I like to add them to chicken livers or beef liver. Hamburger. I use them as a topping for baked hamburgers, bison burgers, and turkey burgers. Sandwiches. They take grilled cheese sandwiches to the next level! Eggs. Add them to fluffy scrambled eggs and omelets like this egg white omelet. Want to be super indulgent? Top soft scrambled eggs with a dollop of sour cream and some of these onions. Mmm good! Vegetables. They greatly enhance mashed cauliflower, sauteed spinach, and roasted green beans. They’re also great in this green bean casserole.
