Caramelized Onions

Getting started

     Caramelized onions are one way to dress up a steak or other piece of meat with amazing, intense flavors that does not involve a lot of potential allergens. Unlike steak sauce, caramelized onions can easily be made to contain no corn, soy or yeast. If you're not allergic to onions, the only concern is picking a variety of oil to which you're not allergic.  

     Caramelizing onions does take some time, so do this when you are going to be busy in the kitchen anyway.

A few minutes in

     8 c. thinly sliced onions 
          (I recommend a food-
           processor for this.)

     ¼ c. oil      
          (any that you are not 

          allergic to and that does 

          not scorch easily. I like  

          safflower oil for this. See 

         Oil in the Glossary) 

     2 tsp. salt (See Salt in the 
          Glossary)

     Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed stainless steel pan, add the onions and salt and set the burner to medium high.  Stir frequently. The goal is to brown, but not burn, the onions. Stirred constantly, they may not brown; left alone for too long, they may scorch. As time passes, you will need to stir the onions more frequently and to turn the heat down. You may need to add a little water occasionally to prevent scorching and to stir up browned bits stuck to the pan. Thoroughly cooking down and browning the onions should take 30-40 minutes.

Getting there

Ready to serve

Extra toasty