Caramelized Red Onions

Caramelizing onions is the act of slowly cooking down onions over low heat with a little bit of olive oil (or in my case, some sugar, salt and worcestershire sauce, too!). Doing so produces sweet, jam-like onions that are a rich and flavorful addition to tons of different dishes.

What To Do With Caramelized Onions

You can use caramelized onions in a variety of ways, including:

• To top burgers
• On sandwiches
• In my Ham & Cheese sliders

Caramelized Onion Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to caramelize onions:

Onions: I’m using red onions for this recipe, but you can honestly use whatever variety you have on hand.

Worcestershire sauce: I use this sauce to add a bit of flavor.

Sugar: To help kick start to caramelization process.

Salt: Just to bring it all together.

How to Caramelize Onions

All you need is a bit of time to get the perfect caramelized onions.

Step 1: Chop your onions.

The first thing you’ll do is chop up all of your onions. I like to do thin slices that are about a half inch thick. Once done, throw them into your skillet or cast iron.

Step 2: Start cooking your onions.

On medium high heat, add the olive oil, sugar, salt and worcestershire to the onions and stir. Let cook until the onions begin to soften — just about 8 minutes. Making sure to stir at this point so that you don’t burn the onions. They’ll start releasing their juices in this stage.

Step 3: Caramelize your onions.

Now turn the heat down to low and let your onions cook away for about an hour. Make sure to stir (and even add a touch of water if things start to dry up). I like to let the onions stick for a little before stirring again. This helps to form those browned bits on the caramelized onions that I love so much. Once the onions have reached the consistency you’re looking for, turn the heat off, stir and remove.