I always say if you want to seem like a genius in the kitchen just sauté some onions
I saw somewhere there exists a saying along the lines of ‘start sauteing onion, add some garlic, then you figure out what you are going to cook.’ When my wife and I have time to actually cook, this is basically what we do. everything is better with garlic and onions, from German to Korean. The rest is just details.
I usually start my meals by sauteing onions and without fail whoever is in the house will say “Ooo, that smells good what is it?”
Literally just onions
Garlic makes your meal taste thicc. Trying to force myself into a lite and airy phase. Not sure why… think I’m just wanting to lose weight, not as if that’s how foods work though. Garlic isn’t fattening haha
Saute carrots, onions, and celery. Everyone will think you’re making something incredible. And, fortunately, you’ll have the base to follow through, if you so desire.
I do need more dishes in the back of my pocket that start with mirepoix. If y’all got favs, pop a holler.
Got me thinking it’s time for chicken pot pie again…
Haha, I can cook but I don’t really know what I am doing. It usually starts with some oil and garlic or onions in a pan, then I figure out what to actually cook. But if someone walks in at just that step they think you’re some culinary genious.
Haha, I can cook but I don’t really know what I am doing.
Bruh, don’t sell yourself short. If you know how to just throw shit into a pan and have it come out both edible and tasty (or even only the first one), you have a decent idea of what you’re doing.
Being able to do that is a skill that takes work, and is something my wife has worked hard to develop. He k, just knowing what spices go well together or with what meats is a skill in and of itself.
Best way to stop a small argument? Saute onions in olive oil then add some garlic. Guarantee a head will poke around a door frame and all arguments melt away.
So how do you do it?
I’m asking because I learned not a long time ago to somewhat heavily salt the onions beforehand (in olive oil ofc) and it’s great. Burst for some minute or three, keep hot while stirring til done (hard, melted, …).
I don’t put garlic in it though, I’d put that in the rest of the food if I do.
I made a big batch yesterday (4 large onions).
Butter and olive oil. Add onions. I add water at the beginning so I don’t have to pay as much attention as the beginning. Once the onions are soft, turn it low and take your time. Only stir occasionally.
I used the instant pot yesterday and it was super easy.
What do you do you with a big batch? Saving some for later or just gorge on sautéed unions?
Really I just lightly spray some canola oil in the pan and add sliced onions and heat.
Sauteed onions in olive oil for 10 minutes is delicious, but it’s not caramelized onions. They’re talking about something completely different.
Remember, it takes at least 45 minutes to caramelize an onion. If you’re doing it for less than 45 minutes, then you’re just cooking it.
45 minus to fully caramelize.
If you don’t want them that dark you don’t have to cook them that long.
Sure, you can use non-caramelized onions. You just won’t get that sweetness.
I know you’re joking, but the only way I can see it taking that long is if you put whole onions into an oven set to 180° to 200° F.
In a frying pan, one can easily caramelize an entire large frying pan of onions in about 30 minutes, or even faster if you decide to use physics to your advantage, and add a small amount of water to your pan and caramelize your pan of onions within 14 minutes. This is an advanced technique that requires some experience to try to use. Much like making a Dark Roux in 15 minutes.
I’m absolutely not joking. If you’re cooking it for less than 45 minutes, you’re not caramelizing the onions. Frequent stirring, adding water, whatever, you can get the color and texture of caramelization, but not the flavor.
I spent a couple of years making slightly disappointing meals because I was focused on the color and texture of my onions instead of the flavor. When I finally took the time to fully caramelize them again, I remembered what I had been missing.
Try it and taste the difference if you don’t believe me.
put whole onions into an oven set to 180° to 200° F.
Wait, would that work?
Might need it to be a bit higher than that, but I know one can caramelize onions slowly in an oven. Just not sure what temp is needed
I had someone arrive at a BBQ, saw me frying some onions, and ask “Are you going to caramelise those onions?”
Yes mate. The onions I’m frying for a few minutes while the burgers cook, gonna be nice and caramelised in seconds, just you watch.
Every time I do a Bunnings BBQ for the community centre, it’s women run, we get the onions on ASAP because they need time to cook, and we’ll have people buying a plain onion sandwich in addition to a snag, because caramelised onions are so good!
Every time I volunteer to help my partners football club run a sausage sizzle, I’m saying “put the onions on, they take longer” and I’m told by the guys “I’m a man, I know how to BBQ, go away little girl, go hold the sign and be pretty”
Then everyone buying a snag is complaining about crunchy raw onions, and the guys are saying “why did we buy so many onions?” (because you were supposed to cook them down so they shrink!)
These same men will unironically say “women belong in the kitchen” then won’t take cooking advice from a woman.
(also, the footy guys always giving me flak for deglazing the BBQ plate with water to help the onions cook down faster. They’ll just keep adding oil, once saw a Rotary Club use 1L of canola oil to half cook 5kg of onions, when we’ve never needed more than 200ml to fully cook onions, because onions need water to cook down!)
Ngl, you just taught me some thing, I thought I was cooking them down quick, frying them in my bacon fat, before adding eggs to them, I’ll have to try adding some water, maybe that will make them come out better.
30 minutes
https://youtu.be/Ovqhzil3wJw?feature=shared
We start our caramelized onions in a covered nonstick skillet over high heat with ¾ of cup water. The water and steam help the onions quickly soften. Then we remove the lid, lower the heat to medium-high, and press the softened onions into the bottom and sides of the skillet to allow for maximum contact with the hot pan. Instead of finishing with sugar or honey as many recipes call for, we add baking soda, which speeds up the reaction that converts flavorless inulin (a polysaccharide present in onions) to fructose.
Only way I’ve done em. I am basically incapable of standing in front of the same pot for 45 mins. Don’t get me wrong, I love cooking, but some of the really tedious styles, especially if also monotonous, I can’t do. I’d get distracted by something eventually.
Slow cooker, on the back porch, if making a batch of them. Otherwise just low & slow in the skillet. A comment farther up says ‘many recipes call for sugar’ but I have never seen that. The onions that make your eyes water when you cut them, and a little salt & olive oil.