Caramelized Onions

One of the reasons LJ and I wanted to start blogging about our domestic skills is that we often receive praise from friends and family about our creations.  Though we appreciate the compliments, we often don't consider these accomplishments necessarly praise-worthy.  We know that what we have created is built from learning many individual skills, over some extended period of time, and then combining those skills to create something great.

Caramelizing onions is something I have been working at on and off for a number of years.  It isn't something that is hard, but it does require patience.  Once you master how to caramelize onions you will then be able to add them to a variety of dishes: from steak sauce, to quiche, to bialy.

For sometime I resisted using red onions for caramelizing because I believed red onions were best used fresh, while white and yellow onions were better for cooking.  However many recipes call specifically for red onions and after trying this one, I can confirm that they work well.

After cutting off the top and bottom of the onion I removed the peel.  I then cut the onion in half and cut each half in to thin strips.

Through experience I have learned one of the keys to reach quality caramelization is to start cooking the onions in a little bit of fat over medium heat.  Once the onions give up most of their liquid and are starting to brown, turn the heat to medium low for the remainder of the cooking.

I stir the onions every five or ten minutes as they begin to caramelize.

Once the onions reach your desired level of caramelization you can take them off the heat and add them to whatever you are making.