Caramelized Onions

Caramelized onions are a staple at Le Poisson Bleu and are used in a wide array of dishes from dips to burgers.  The trick is not to burn the onions and to remember that all caramelized onions are not equal.  If you look at the darkest caramelized onion being the product of an hour of cooking to create a topping for a burger, patty melt of grilled cheese, you should then work you way backwards on the timeline and determine how dark do you want your onions for a dip (30 Minutes) or for onion soup (20 minutes.). This is all your judgement call.

Ingredients 

• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large red onion, peeled and sliced into 1/4 half moons
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1/4 half moons
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup homemade chicken stock
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Making It

• Put a sauté pan over a medium flame and add the olive oil and butter, add the sliced onion, salt and stir often over ten minutes and lower heat to medium-low and continue to cook for up to 50 minutes, depending on what the onions are for
• Be sure to stir through cooking and add a little chicken stock if the pan gets dry as you could be close to burning the onions which taste very bitter
• As you finish, add the vinegar and cook away, salt and pepper and let cool