Caramelized Onions

It has taken me years but I finally can successfully caramelize onions.  For those of you that cook, you know that getting them right is not as easy as one would think.  I have made them well in the past but I now realize that, that experience was mostly luck.  It begged the question of knowing what was happening through the cooking process.

I have found 4 key steps:

1. Cook on medium high heat
2. Stir frequently
3. Let the onions get stuck to the bottom of the pan
4. Add a little water near the end of the process a couple of times

Ingredients:

• 3 yellow onions, sliced
• 2 – 3 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 – 4 tbsp water

Directions:

Heat the oil on medium high heat until it is hot.  Then, add the butter.  Once melted, put in the onions.  Mix them well so they get covered with the oil and butter.  They will take roughly 30 minutes to cook.

But don’t worry if it is taking longer or shorter.  What you want is for the onions to stick to the bottom of the pan just a little.  Each time they stick, use a spatula and move them around.

The liquid from the other onions will keep all the onions moist.  When the onions are reasonably colored, add 2 tbsp of water.  Scrape the bottom picking up the sticky bits.

When the water has evaporated, add 2 more tbsp of water.  Repeat the previous process.  When the water evaporates this time, they are ready.  Enjoy!