Caramelized Onions

Caramelized onions are a kitchen workhorse that are made of just 3 things: fat, sliced onions, and patience. Cooking onions gradually breaks down their natural sugars so they brown and become tantalizingly soft, savory, and sweet. The process takes patience and a watchful eye, hurry the process and you’ll wind up with a pan full of bitterness.

What Kind of Pan to Use for Caramelized Onions

A large cast iron skillet will provide constant and even heat, but you can also use a good quality sauté pan. Don’t use a deep pan like a soup pot; the higher sides will inhibit evaporation and you’ll end up stewing instead of browning. The pan will look over-full at first, but as the onions lose moisture they will reduce down to just a cup of caramelized goodness when you’re finished.

How To Make Caramelized Onions

You don’t need to stir constantly, but you should be in the kitchen near the stove to monitor the onions’ progress, stir, and adjust the heat as needed. Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the pan frequently where the pan is hottest as small bits tend to burn in these places. Burnt onions equals bitterness in flavor and attitude as there’s no way to save the batch once they’ve burned.  

Once the onions are cooked to a mahogany brown color and jammy consistency, you only need to deglaze them with a bit of water or flavorful liquid of your choice to release every last bit of the flavorful goo on the bottom of the pan. The onions can then be used immediately or stored for future recipes.

How To Use Caramelized Onions

Though cooking onions slowly until they’re deeply caramelized takes patience, you’ll be rewarded for your time with a sweet and savory flavor bomb that can be used in just about a million ways. Most famously, they star in French onion soup, where they form the base of beef broth soup topped with gooey cheese and slices of bread.

They are also the headliner in creamy French onion dip and can be added to quiche. In Indian cuisine, they can be used as a base for curries along with ginger, garlic, and spices. And let’s not forget American comfort food—a burger topped with caramelized onions is one of the great pleasures in life. (Hellooo, patty melts!)

How To Make Caramelized Onions in a Hurry

For caramelized onions in a hurry, cook the onions at medium-high heat until they are browned in places. Then start adding splashes of broth or water frequently to deglaze the pan, letting each addition evaporate before adding the next. The onions may not be as deeply flavored as the traditional version, but they will only take 20 minutes and they’re a fine start to soups and sauces where the onions will be further cooked with other ingredients. 

Tips for Making Caramelized Onions

• Turn on your exhaust fan — The smell of caramelizing onions tends to linger. 
• Add herbs for more flavor — Add 1 teaspoon of chopped sturdy fresh herbs when adding the salt to amp up the flavor of the onions. Chopped fresh thyme, rosemary, and oregano all add wonderful flavor.  
  
• Listen for a crackling sound towards the end of cooking — This indicates that the onions are nearly done or the pan is getting too hot and the sugars in the onions are beginning to burn. At this point, watch very carefully and add a splash of liquid and scrape the bottom of the pan frequently.
• Speed it up — One way to speed up the process without resorting to the quick method above is to add all the sliced onions to the pan, then cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes. Then remove the lid and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the onions have caramelized. This wilts the onions faster, buying you a little time but still largely sticking to the classic approach.