Ok, it’s not the best picture on the planet, but these onions are to die for! The best part? They cook while you are out and about and they make enough to last you for weeks. Also, they last for weeks in the fridge! We use them to top our pizzas, use as a side dish to a nice beef dinner, or even as a soup starter(french onion soup, anyone?). Mmmmm….oniony goodness. Here’s the recipe:
3lbs sliced onions
1 stick butter
Place sliced onions in your slow cooker.
Place stick of butter(or margarine) on top of onions.
Turn slow cooker to low.
Let cook for 12 to 14 hours. The onions on top will look “burnt” but won’t be. Don’t open the top until after 12 hours! You’ll ruins it!
EDIT: I forgot another great part! Once you let the onions cool in the fridge, the butter will return to the top and harden. Instant onion-flavored butter! Great on baked potatoes or used to cook hash browns or home fries.
That’s it! It’s such a simple recipe but will drive you insane with the smell. It’s a great idea to make this while you are out all day, otherwise you’ll be torturing yourself.
Tips for cutting onions:
1. Use a sharp knife. This is the best tip to avoid the crying game in your kitchen. Sharp knives cut cleanly through cells, thus releasing less gases from the onions.
2. Cut near an open flame or window. The flame will “capture” the fumes before they can reach your eyes and the window may blow the fumes in another direction, away from your face. The window idea is a bit iffy, but the flame has always worked for me.
3. Chew some gum! I was surprised to see that this worked, but it did! The gases released from onions are attracted to moisture. Since your eyes and tear ducts are full of moisture, they tend to float straight towards that area. By smacking on some gum, you keep your mouth open, attracting the gases to the moisture in your mouth. The bad thing? You’ll need to chew another piece to get the raw onion taste out of your mouth. I mean, unless your into that sort of thing.
4. Wipe your cutting board down with vinegar. Of course I would have a vinegar tip in here! The vinegar neutralizes the onion fumes on contact, as soon as you cut the onion. How cool is that?!
Those look yummy!! I wonder how many I would need for french onion soup. I’ve been wanting some soup lately.
Tiffany,
the same amount for a big batch of it. You can make these one day while at work(or out for the day) and the next day, you can add them to 2 cans of beef broth and a tablespoon of dried thyme in the slow cooker, and let it go for about 4 hours.
Yummy!! My family absolutely loves caramelized onions. I never would have thought to put them in a slow cooker…how easy is that!! Thanks for the great tips!
Thanks for the tips. I may just have to find some really cheap onions tomorrow and try this out. It sounds so good and I love french onion soup. YUM!!
My first two attempts only involved three onions and they came out perfect and sweet (except that I won’t have them going while I’m away at work. I’m a bit of a workaholic and didn’t leave work promptly to come home in time to turn off the crockpot before they had burned– I’m talking 15+ hours having started the crock pot before going to bed around 2:00am).
I think the crock pot was too small when I decided to caramelize the whole 3 lbs of onions. They came out steamed instead. What size CP do you use? Thanks.
These would be wonderful for French Onion Soup. Thank you for the great Caramelized onion recipe.