Caramelized Onion Dutch Baby With Melty Gruyère Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What is the best thickness to caramelize onions? ›

Cut the onions into long, 1/4-inch-thick strips for best results. These are also known as julienne slices. This is the best size to cut the onions for a final product that's tender and jammy like caramelized onions should be, but not complete mush, says Christine Hazel, recent winner of Food Network's Chopped.

Baking soda makes the onions more alkaline, which speeds up the browning reactions necessary for properly caramelized onions. But it also weakens the pectin that holds the onion's cells together, turning what should be soft but distinct pieces of browned onion into a nauseating stew of pea-green mush.

Cooking instructions

Caramelize the onions: Heat about 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the onions and stir to coat. Let cook, stirring every 5-10 minutes, until deeply caramelized, about 1 ½ - 2 hours.

You can use either oil or butter to caramelize onions — but ideally, you use a combination of both! I like to use olive oil, and this cooking fat tolerates heat particularly well. Meanwhile, butter adds a distinctly rich flavor to the caramelized onions.

The winner was a technique heralded by America's Test Kitchen, which begins by steaming the onions, covered, over high heat. The onions are then cooked uncovered over medium-high heat until caramelized, at which point a baking soda solution is stirred in.

Tip: use apple cider vinegar for white and yellow onions and balsamic vinegar for red onions. Tip: the vinegar serves to deglaze the pan, adds acidity, and brings this recipe together by boosting the tangy and savory flavors of the caramelized onions. If the onions stick to the pan, that's fine.

A large cast iron or steel pan is essential for creating the best caramelized onions. A heavy pan is ideal because it evenly distributes heat and will cook the onions evenly. Even cooking = the best caramelized onions. Nonstick pans don't work quite as well and prolong the process.

Fold onions with a spatula, scraping bottom of pan to ensure they don't stick or scorch. Cook, stirring every 5 to 6 minutes and reducing heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, until liquid has evaporated, about 35 minutes.

Cook onions too little, and they won't have enough time to develop that sweetness; cook them too hot and those sugars can burn.

If your heat is too high, the onions will burn. Heat your pan over medium-low, then add your onions. Keep it on that temp for the whole process.

Do you caramelize onions on low or high heat? ›

For most of the cooking process, the heat should be low or medium-low to prevent the onions from burning before they have a chance to soften and caramelize.

When you add baking soda, the onions start to turn to mush as they caramelize. Delicious mush. But something closer to jam.

Apparently, the trick to getting onions to caramelize more quickly is to add baking soda.

Never slice the onions less than 1/4 inch thick.

Slicing onions too thinly will mean that they're more likely to stick to the pan and burn. Using 1/8-1/4 inch thick slices will prevent them from drying out and burning during the caramelization process.

Use a wide, thick-bottomed sauté pan for maximum pan contact with the onions. Coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil, or a mixture of olive oil and butter, if using (about 1 teaspoon per onion). Heat the pan on medium high heat until the oil is shimmering.