How To Caramelize Onions
A simple guide on how to caramelize onions at home with wine, beer or balsamic vinegar.
Servings 4 people
Calories 90kcal
Ingredients
- 3 extra large yellow onion sliced
- 1.5 tbs olive oil
- 1 pinch of sea salt
- 2 tsp wild honey optional
- 1/2 cup water + more as needed (+ more as needed)
- 1/4 cup white wine, balsamic vinegar or beer (Optional instead of water))
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil in a large heavy skillet on medium low flame. Add the sliced onions and toss to coat. Add the sea salt and let them sweat slowly. The salt will bring out the water from the onions and once that evaporates they will start to caramelized.
- Make sure to keep an eye on them and stir as soon as they start to stick to the bottom of the pan. About 30 minutes later add the honey if using to help with the caramelization process even more. Add a splash of water to deglaze the pan and intensify the caramelized flavor. Repeat this process as many times as desired allowing the liquid to reduce completely before removing the onions from the heat.
- I achieve the perfect caramelization in about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- The onions are done when they are completely softened, sweet with have a brown golden color.
- If using wine, balsamic vinegar or beer to deglaze the pan, make sure to wait until the very end and allow the liquid to reduce as much as possible without drying out the caramelized onions.
Notes
- A silicone spatula is perfect for stirring and deglazing the pan.
- Sweet Vidalia onions are perfect here but any yellow, white and even purple onions can be used instead.
Nutrition
Calories: 90kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 122mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg