Caramelized onion: how to prepare it quickly (step by step)

Onion is an essential element in the kitchen. In all types of gastronomy, the onion is used either as a complement to other ingredients to enhance its flavor, or as an element by itself.

It is consumed raw in salads and vinaigrettes. It is also used fried and crunchy or mixed with tomatoes and spices for delicious sauces or creams. But caramelized onion has its own place in the kitchen, and it has also acquired an incredible popular in recent times.

Let's see how to prepare it.

Caramelized onion: how to prepare it quickly

The caramelized onion is used to accompany other vegetables or different dishes. Preparing it is simple, although the truth is that it takes time to get it to be perfect. However, there are a few tricks to speed up the process without sacrificing its great taste.

To accompany goat cheese, blood sausage or as a garnish for a steak or fish, onion caramelised is excellent, and can also be pre-prepared and refrigerated to use later.

Here We leave you the step by step to achieve a delicious caramelized onion.

• It may interest you: check here all our recipes

1. Cut the onion (without crying)

To cut the onion and not cry there are some simple tricks. One of the “martyrdoms” when preparing caramelized onion is when it is cut. Sometimes the whining when cutting it is so strong that we give up on doing it.

The onion makes us cry because when it is cut, a very irritating substance is released that hurts the eyes. However, this can be minimized or permanently eliminated if we follow some tips when cutting the onion.

To prepare the caramelized onion, the most usual thing is to cut it into julienne. It can also be cut into cubes to preserve it in a jar as a type of jam. In whatever way it is going to be cut, if it is not done correctly it will make us cry.

To cut the onion without crying, the most efficient method is to use a very sharp chef's knife and a good chopping board. To further reduce the possibility of eye irritation, the onion must be cut without our face being above the onion.

Another trick to prevent the onion from making us cry and to be able to prepare our caramelized onions without suffering is to spread the knife with a little vinegar. Simply soak a cotton ball in white or apple vinegar and run it through the knife before cutting the onion.

You can also prevent the onion from causing irritation to the eyes when cutting it if we continuously wet the knife while we continue cutting, likewise the onions can be submerged in water from time to time and continue cutting usually.

2. Cooking the onion

To start caramelizing the onion you have to prepare a frying pan with oil. The traditional method of caramelizing onions takes some time, which is inconvenient if you are preparing a large quantity of onions.

It must be considered that once the onion is caramelized, the quantity will be greatly reduced, so 1 kilo of Onion may seem quite a lot especially when cut, but at the end of the process there may be very little left amount.

Once you have the total amount of onion cut either in julienne or cubes, you have to prepare the pan by putting it on maximum heat with a very good amount of oil and a pinch of salt, leave it like this for about 2 minutes before adding all the onion.

When all the onion is in the pan, lower the heat to a minimum and leave it there, taking care that it does not burn or fry. The process will take place slowly, allowing the onion's own juices to begin to caramelize it..

You have to move the onion a little when you pour it into the pan to allow the julienne strips to separate well and soak up the oil. After this you just have to wait and check that it does not burn, if so then it requires even more oil.

This process can take about an hour for 1 kilo of onion. Although it is a very slow process, it is simple and can be used in the preparation of the main dish, because once you have the exact amount of oil it does not require too much care.

3. Caramelize the onion quickly

There are some simple tricks to caramelize the onion faster. Sometimes there is not that long to wait an hour or more for the caramelized onion to be ready. In this case, you can use a few simple tricks that do not sacrifice flavor.

It is a mistake to think that if the heat is raised to the maximum the caramelizing process will accelerate and the waiting time will be reduced. This would only cause the onion to fry or burn, as it has not given enough time for the onion to release its juices.

The first tip is to use baking soda. Simply add a pinch of baking soda to the onions once they are in the pan with oil. The bicarbonate causes the onion juices to come off faster.

Using bicarbonate to add the process does not alter the flavor of the onion at all. It will not be necessary to raise the fire level either. Let it simmer and the baking soda will do its job allowing it to caramelize more quickly..

Another trick is to add sugar to the onion. For this you just have to add a tablespoon of sugar, preferably brown sugar, to the pan with the onions and oil, together with a little water and mix.

The sugar trick can alter the flavor of the caramelized onion a bit, since you are adding extra sugar to the one that the onion already has. However, the result is also delicious in addition to speeding up the cooking time.

4. Serve and preserve the caramelised onion

Traditionally, the caramelized onion takes an hour to be ready. If bicarbonate or added sugar is used, this process can be reduced to half an hour or less if a little less than a kilo of onion is used.

Perhaps a kilo of onion seems too much if you plan to use it as a garnish for a dish and if it is a lunch or dinner for one or two people. But it does not hurt to prepare a little more caramelized onion because it can be preserved to be used later or in later days.

Once the onion is fully caramelized, that is, bathed in its juice and with a characteristic yellowish or brown color and totally soft and flexible, so it can be served directly or mixed according to the case.

It can be used to intensify the flavor of an omelette, to add as another complement to a hamburger or as a base on a canapé. It can even be combined with other caramelized vegetables like carrots.

If there is still a lot of caramelized onion after serving, this can be saved to be consumed later. What is advisable is to wait until it is completely cold and store it in a canning jar or any glass jar and keep it in the refrigerator.

In this way it can be preserved for a long time and consumed in some other food. If it is required that it is hot, it can be done in a water bath or left out of the refrigerator in advance before serving so that it is at room temperature.

If you have any questions about the procedure, the well-known chef Alberto Chicote explains how to cook caramelized onion in this tutorial: