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The Aha moment for me came when I was watching Chef Jean-Pierre's video on the topic. His terminology is unfortunate, he uses 'caramelizing' to refer to what we

The Aha moment for me came when I was watching Chef Jean-Pierre's video on the topic. His terminology is unfortunate, he uses 'caramelizing' to refer to what we call 'browning', but otherwise he's taught me more about cooking than any other YouTube chef. There are two steps to caramelizing onions. Cooking, and browning. Cooking, that is, making them soft enough to eat, is what takes the most time. Most of the time when you use onions in a dish, they're browned first, then they finish cooking with the rest of the dish. But when you make caramelized onions by themselves, if you don't spend the time to cook them properly, they won't have the right texture, even if the flavor is close. Since texture carries flavor, browned onions just don't taste the same as caramelized ones. So Jean-Pierre separates the process of making caramelized onions into two steps. Cook the onions by leaving them tightly covered in a pot on very low heat, they poach in their own liquid. Leave them at least 45 minutes but since the heat is so low it's almost like sous vide where you can cook them as long as you need. Finally, you brown them in a skillet to desired color. Video for the interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o-u7zjlShQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o-u7zjlShQ

ironSkillet 5y ago
I second Chef Jean-Pierre's YouTube channel. His humble nature, humor and enthusiasm make the videos very entertaining and educational. All substance, no fancy editing or hype.
uranusjr 5y ago
Home cook tip: You can approximate the cooking step by microwaving the onions. Not the same, of course, but takes a lot shorter.
- ineedasername 5y ago
  That is what I do. About 8 minutes covered in the microwave, not packed too tightly. It still takes a little over 10 minutes to caramelize, pan preheated and ready for them, but it cuts down a little bit and I can still do other prep work at the same time. Also important to note that about 70% of the onion goes away. If you start with 2 cups of chopped onions, what you end up with can fit into a little over half a cup. Onions are mostly liquid, and that gets cooked off in the process. If I'm caramelizing onions for burgers, a single medium onion will yield enough for a generous portion on two burgers with maybe a little left over. Pre-cooked onion size is a lie.
kstenerud 5y ago
Here's a tip: Shred a whole bag worth of onions with a mandolin and carmelize in a slow cooker overnight (10h on low). You don't need anything fancy; the $5 slow cooker gathering dust at your local Goodwill is fine. Separate the juice with a strainer and store separately for soup or whatever. Put the onions into bags and freeze them. Now whenever you need carmelized onions, thaw a bag of them in the microwave or a tub of hot water, brown in a skillet (5-10 mins) and you're done.
- ska 5y ago
  I’ve done something similar with better results in a Dutch oven inside a low oven, so as long as your over can really hold a low temp this is an option if you don’t have a slow cooker. You are also better off cutting pole to pole in small wedges but mandoline is faster. Something about the amount of cell wall damage, I forget why.

ironSkillet 5y ago

I second Chef Jean-Pierre's YouTube channel. His humble nature, humor and enthusiasm make the videos very entertaining and educational. All substance, no fancy editing or hype.

uranusjr 5y ago

Home cook tip: You can approximate the cooking step by microwaving the onions. Not the same, of course, but takes a lot shorter.

ineedasername 5y ago
That is what I do. About 8 minutes covered in the microwave, not packed too tightly. It still takes a little over 10 minutes to caramelize, pan preheated and ready for them, but it cuts down a little bit and I can still do other prep work at the same time. Also important to note that about 70% of the onion goes away. If you start with 2 cups of chopped onions, what you end up with can fit into a little over half a cup. Onions are mostly liquid, and that gets cooked off in the process. If I'm caramelizing onions for burgers, a single medium onion will yield enough for a generous portion on two burgers with maybe a little left over. Pre-cooked onion size is a lie.

kstenerud 5y ago

Here's a tip: Shred a whole bag worth of onions with a mandolin and carmelize in a slow cooker overnight (10h on low). You don't need anything fancy; the $5 slow cooker gathering dust at your local Goodwill is fine. Separate the juice with a strainer and store separately for soup or whatever. Put the onions into bags and freeze them. Now whenever you need carmelized onions, thaw a bag of them in the microwave or a tub of hot water, brown in a skillet (5-10 mins) and you're done.

ska 5y ago
I’ve done something similar with better results in a Dutch oven inside a low oven, so as long as your over can really hold a low temp this is an option if you don’t have a slow cooker. You are also better off cutting pole to pole in small wedges but mandoline is faster. Something about the amount of cell wall damage, I forget why.