Caramelized onions are a real treat.
So creamy, tender and tasty...
In a burger, with mash or soup or just on toast...
Only one problem:caramelizing the onions the old-fashioned way takes a lot of time and you have to stay in front of the pan!
Fortunately, there is a simple and effective trick to caramelize onions easily and effortlessly.
The solution is to use an electric slow cooker and let it do all the work for you. Watch:
With the slow cooker, preparation is easy as pie. And the idea is to keep some of the onions in the freezer.
That way you can always have delicious caramelized onions to enhance your dishes and recipes. Awesome, right?
The traditional way to prepare caramelized onions is to cook them over low heat in a pan very slowly.
The natural sugars caramelize and the onions turn golden brown and perfectly tender.
It's delicious, but you have to stay next to the pan and it's very long!
While in the slow cooker, you just have to slice the onions, put them in and wait quietly.
The advantage is that it's a foolproof method ! With a slow cooker, impossible to burn your onions.
- 1.5 kg to 2.25 kg of yellow onions (about 4 to 5 large onions)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or melted butter)
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 3.5 liter or 6 liter electric slow cooker
1. Peel and cut the onions in half, then in thin strips.
2. Put the onions in the slow cooker. It should be about three quarters full.
3. Pour the olive oil over the onions and stir. You can also add ½ teaspoon of salt.
4. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.
5. After 10 hours, your onions are golden brown and tender. It's time to taste them! If the cooking suits you, they are ready!
There you go, now you know how to make caramelized onions with a slow cooker :-)
Easy, convenient and effective, right?
All you have to do is use a slotted spoon to put your delicious onions in containers.
Onions will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator and 3 months in the freezer.
Thanks to the slow cooker, no more waiting next to the pan while the onions slowly caramelize!
The advantage is that you can prepare your caramelized onions in large quantities and freeze them for later.
- While cooking the onions: if you're home while the onions are cooking, stir them occasionally. It's totally optional, but it will help to achieve a more even cooking.
- Do not discard the cooking juices: if there is a little liquid left in the slow cooker, do not throw it away! Keep it in a separate jar:you can use it as cooking juice for another recipe.
- The cooking time is long: thus, I find it much easier to cook the onions before going to bed. Try to choose a night where you are sure to spend the next morning at home, in case you decide to caramelize the onions a little longer.
- How to freeze caramelized onions? Are you planning to freeze some of your caramelized onions? Good for you! I advise you to keep them in containers of different sizes. Use ice cube trays to make mini portions of caramelized onions, ideal for topping burgers and sandwiches. Use medium-sized containers to garnish pizzas and accompany pasta. Large containers are perfect for adding your onions directly to a soup.
For me, the ideal cooking is done in 10 hours. The onions are golden, melting and slightly crunchy. Perfect to add to a soup or garnish a sandwich.
For those who prefer their onions even more caramelized, simply continue cooking for 3 to 5 hours always at low temperature.
On the other hand, leave the lid slightly open so that the liquid can evaporate.
Check for doneness every hour until desired color and flavor is achieved.
The longer you cook the onions in the slow cooker, the more caramelized they become.
