If, in the 9 years that I’ve been teaching myself to cook, there has been more of an elusive food for me to make, it has been caramelized onions.  Every single time I attempt to make them, they come out differently and since I love them so dearly, I want them to be perfect every.single.time.  Sometimes I add sugar, sometimes I don’t.  Some recipes say they only need to be cooked for 20-25 minutes (or amazingly less than 10); others state 40-45 – or, do I just wing-it?  Non-stick, cast iron, or stainless?  Don’t fuss with the onions while they cook or stir often?  White or vidalias?  Butter or oil?  Or both??

Seriously, could cooking onions not be more freaking difficult?  So I decided recently that it was time to really buckle down and tuck this kitchen staple under my belt.  This recipe is simple – as it should be for something as basic as onions – but it requires some patience.

I’m not hugely picky about how I slice my onions but Cook’s Illustrated is (surprised?) so I sliced each onion in half through the root and chopped off each raggedy end.

I then spun the onion half 90 degrees and made 1/4-inch slices.  No stringy onions in this house.

You’re going to start with way more onions than you think you may ever need – 2 pounds, sliced is a lot of onion slices.  And yes, you’ll use both butter and oil.  The best of both worlds here.

It turns out that they really do take 45 minutes to cook, if you want them butter-soft, dark golden brown, and richly flavored.  You’ll need to have a good handle on the heat of your stove and you’ll want to make sure you do actually stir them often, especially towards the end of the cooking time.

And for the love of all things good, let them cook.  After 25 minutes or so, you’ll think they are done (top photo on the page) but don’t be hasty and rush them.  They’ll be really browned and soft but trust me – they will withstand another 20 minutes in the pan.  You want the onions to have almost no bite left, for them to feel almost sticky, and for the color to be a really, really deep and delicious brown (last photo on page).

Once you feel like they are starting to stick to the pan, take them off the heat.  Your glorious caramelized onions will be done and you can beam in the light of their perfection.  Or wait.  Is that just me?  Use them on burgers, steak, hot dogs (uh, heck yeah), grilled cheese, in pasta dishes, fritattas, quiches, or tartlets (just to name a few).  I have a few new recipes ideas that use up these onions which I’ll share with you in the next couple of weeks so stay tuned…