Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Crockpot carmelized onions

I got this idea from my mother, who regularly makes these onions in her crockpot, then enjoys them on cold sandwiches or with her dinner.  She likes to use whole onions.  I decided to slice this batch to make them easier to serve.  Here's what I used:
Start with about 3 pounds of sweet onions.  These are from Central Market and are called Texas Sweet, very similar to Vidalias.
I put about 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted  butter in the bottom of my big crock pot and set the temp to low while I sliced up the onions.  I had to work fast - those onions were powerful!  I always end up looking like something out of a horror flick with red eyes and tears streaming down my cheeks.
This time I sprinkled about a tablespoon of brown sugar over them, but you could skip this step.  Especially if you are using a variety of sweet onion.  I covered them, and off the boys and I went to do errands and pool all day.  These spent about 9 1/2 hours on low.
Halfway through the cooking time I gave them a stir.  The onion aroma filled the kitchen and people came running to see what was for dinner...sorry, no onions tonight  Before bedtime they had turned a nice light caramel color and I ladled them into jars to cool and store in the fridge.
When you slice them its hard to tell this is a jar of onion.  But it will make the most amazing thing to add to a burger, cold from the fridge.  It makes a great leftover roast sammie, is good in an omelette or quesadilla, and a spoonful of it stirred into beans is great! The cooking time is an estimate - If you want them darker, cook them a little longer; lighter, cook them less.  Eyeball them for color and texture and when they look like what you intend to use them for, stop cooking.  You can't really go wrong if you're an onion lover.  Try 'em and tell me what you think!



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6 comments:

Love Bakes Good Cakes said...

This is such a great idea! I can think of so many times it would be useful to have this on hand. Any idea how long these will keep for?

Angie@Echoes of Laughter said...

I LOVE onions and these look divine! I eat onions with everything....meals, sandwiches, pizza..you name it! Going to try it! Angie xo

Lauren said...

These look SO good! How long can you store them?

Rustown Mom said...

Hi! Thanks for visiting my post about crockpot carmelized onions Since a couple of other people asked too, I have to say; I have no idea how long they will last as we eat 'em up pretty quickly! I don't "can" these the traditional way. I keep them in the fridge as soon as they've cooled. The last batch I made was in there for about 2 months and they were delish all the way through! Try them and thanks for visiting (:

Gina

CharlesR said...

Thank you for the time line, Gina!

Have a Joyful Day :~D
Charlie

Porky said...

IF you have a crock pot that is "hot" meaning on low it burns things, watch the time on these. I tried to cook them overnight and in the morning they were black. Other wise they are super good... I use 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil in place of the butter for our diets and it works just fine.