Howlin Cooks: best fried onions

Monday, January 18, 2010

best fried onions

2 medium yellow onions, or whatever you got
evoo
butter
9 inch non stick skillet

the idea is to sear and get a lot of color (flavor) on the onions before you add any fat. so put the pan on medium high heat for a couple of minutes, just empty. while the pan is heating, slice the onions in half vertically, then about 1/4 inch thick slices, not thin slices. with a small to medium onion, you'll have maybe 4 or 5 thick slices. place the slices into the skillet, taking care to keep their shape, don't let the rings separate just yet. salt them to taste.

it will start smelling like burning onion and smoke a little, but that's ok. after maybe two minutes, take a look and if the onion is pretty much completely browned, you're ready to flip them over. do it very carefully to keep their shape, you still don't want the rings separating, not yet. then another 2-3 minutes on your medium high heat and the bottoms should now be brown as well. when they are, now you add about a tablespoon or two of evoo. watch out, it will splatter a bit. shake it around; now you do want to separate the rings in the oil. cook for another 2-3 mins, flipping the pan to toss them a couple of times. the pan should wind up almost dry, hardly any liquid. just before you take them off the heat, add a tablespoon or two of butter and mix it through the onions. that's it. they should have a lot of burnt smoky onion flavor, but because the slices were thick enough, you still have that sweet, soft al dente mouth feel to them as well. over your favorite burger. enjoy.

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About this blog

It's unlikely you'll find any exotic Asian food or recipes in here. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But I cook what I know and love, what would generally be called Mediterranean cuisine. Olive oil is almost always the fat of choice. I rarely measure anything when I cook, it's not like baking where things tend to be more precise. So for the purposes of this blog, having to put this stuff in writing, I am basically estimating after the fact as to quantities. Of course, what this can lead to is that if you make the same thing two different times, the second time (or third, fourth, etc) it may not come out exactly as it did the first time. That's all good, no problem with that. That's creative variation on a theme.

As for cookbooks: read them. They are a great for learning what things go together, what are traditional combinations, and maybe some techniques as well. Cookbooks are a great source for ideas. Same with the cooking shows on TV, great ideas and great demonstration of technique. But then ignore them when you decide to cook something yourself. Go to the market, see what is in season and/or looks good and fresh, and then decide what you want to make. Some of the best meals are simple fresh ingredients, simply prepared. You have to eat to survive, you may as well eat well doing it. Simple pleasures.

Unless it says otherwise, these recipes will serve 2-4 people, more or less.

Also, I have 4 notebooks in the cupboard where I have been writing down recipes since about 1991. Some of them are "original" recipes I suppose, but what they all have in common is: whatever it was, it came out really good. I've thought about putting them into some sort of electronic form, and I guess this is the best way to do it. So I will eventually start doing that too.