Caramelized Onions

By Wewah

Ingredients

• 2 Yellow or Spanish Onions
• Butter
• Oil

Details

Adapted from bonappetit.com

Preparation

Step 1

1, Thinly sliced onions will burn faster and stick to the bottom of your pan. Aim to slice your onions 1/B" thick—their heft will prevent them from drying out.
2, Butter's Always Better you definitely want the flavor of butter in your onions—but butter has the tendency to burn. For insurance, use a combination of butter and has a higher smoking point. But how.... much do you use? Depending on the consistency you want your onions. you can use more or less fat. Just cover the bottom of your pan for jammy. soft caramelized onions, or add a little more for more structured. slightly charred caramelized onions. The more fat in the pan. the more the onions will fry rather than soften. (Okay, you can fry them a little.) You can use just oil, or a combination of butter and oil—the choice is yours:
3. Cram 'Em In All at Once! If you pack too many onions into your pan, they'll steam and produce water. Eventually, they will caramelize—but it will take much longer to get them there. In a 12" pan, you'll ideally be able to cook 2 large onions (we like yellow or Spanish onions} without encountering any steaming problems.
4. They Take So Long-I'll Just crank the Heat. You're not sauteing your onions—you're trying to slowly coax flavor out of them. It takes time, probably a solid 45 minutes, for the onions' sugars to caramelize. If your heat is too high. the onions will bum. Heat your pan over medium-low, then add your onions. Keep it on that temp for the whole process. No cheating!
5. Oil Is All the Onions Need. As our boss's tweet reminded us, there's flavor in the bottom of the pan.. too. Take full advantage of the brown bits and de-glaze with stock, wire, beer, vinegar, or even water—whichever liquid matches the dish you're going to he adding your onions to. Stir to incorporate with the onions, and they'll absorb all that flavorful making them EVEN BETTER.
6. Golden Brown—I'm All Done! Just in case it didn't sink in before: Caramelization takes time. Don't take them off too early—then., you're "blonding them instead of actually caramelizing them. They should be a rich brown, much reduced from where you started, and veyf soft but -not quite mushy.