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Caramelized Onions

Cooking Time: 12 to 14 hours on LOW
Slow Cooker Size: 4 quart

This recipe made me fall in love with my slow cooker and recognize its potential for dishes other than beef stew and chili. Caramelizing onions in the slow cooker eliminates the possibility of burning them that exists when you cook them on the stove top. An added bonus is the heady broth you end up with, which can be used in other dishes along with the onions.

Use the onions and liquid to flavor soups, stocks, and stews. They make a wonderful addition to risotto, a perfect pasta sauce, and the world's best pizza topping (for this use you will have to drain off the liquid first). The onions can be served on their own as a vegetable to accompany fish, meat, or fowl. Cook a very long time until they are a deep mahogany color.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes about 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients

3

pounds Vidalia or other sweet onions (4 to 5 onions, 3 to 4 inches in diameter), peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick to 1/4-inch-thick slices

8

tablespoons (1 stick) butter (see Note)

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

  1. Place the onions and butter in the insert of the slow cooker, cover, and cook on LOW for 12 to 14 hours, until the onions are deep brown and very soft. It's almost impossible to overcook these; make sure to let the onions cook until they are mahogany colored.

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Recipe from Slow Cooker Cooking, by Lora Brody, Copyright © 2013, published by William Morrow Cookbooks.