One of my favorite parts of cooking is how the taste of foods can change completely depending on what they’re paired with and how they’re cooked. Different ways of cooking create a different chemical reaction to foods changing their texture and taste. For example, when cooking a piece of meat, if you sear the outside on high heat then cook in lower heat, this creates a caramelized taste on the outside, from the steaks proteins and sugar undergoing a chemical change when coming in contact with high dry heat. If you place that same meat in a pot with a little water, the flavor will be much milder and the meat will fall apart rather than staying a solid form. The flavor from this method is usually whatever spices you place in the water. If you’re into the science behind cooking as much as I am, you have to pick up a copy of The Food Lab
That book is the reason I can boil an egg to perfection now, a much harder skill than I thought. Turns out real caramelized onions take skill as well; skill and a decent amount of time. So as we get started on these Guinness Caramelized Onions, let me first tell you, you’ll want to grab a second Guinness because this is a sloooow process. That being said, it’s totally worth the wait. These Guinness Caramelized Onions are delicious and add a real flavor punch to recipes including burgers, pizzas, as a spread or as a sauce replacement, you name it, they work. I put them on a Butternut Squash pizza with three cheese and sage, it was delicious. Pop open both Guiness’ and let’s get started.
I realize this looks like a Halloween yellowish worm monstrosity but I promise it’s delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 large yellow onions
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp guinness
Instructions
- Slice your onions in half then into 1/4 inch thick slices. Melt butter and olive oil together in a medium sized pan over medium heat.
- Add brown sugar and as soon as it starts to make bubbles, should only be a minute, toss in onions.
- Pour in Guinness and toss onions until coated. Turn heat down to low and let simmer, tossing every little while, for about 40 minutes… Told you this would take a while.
- Onions are done when they’re clear, dark in color and smell sweet. You can either serve them like that or thin them with a little extra Guinness at the end. Enjoy your Guinness Caramelized Onions
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