I did a pot of onions in the slow cooker last weekend, but added some olive oil. There was quite a bit of liquid from the olive oil. I used the onions in soup and on top of burgers.

I'll try it with just the onions next time.

I have been doing the onions in a crock for years now, but fair warning: if you let them cook overnight, the kitchen will just reek of onions in the morning with your coffee. If you can, put the crock in the garage or in the basement.

I have been doing the onions in a crock for years now, but fair warning: if you let them cook overnight, the kitchen will just reek of onions in the morning with your coffee. If you can, put the crock in the garage or in the basement.

I can't see the caramelizing method linked since I'm no longer a CI subscriber. I too caramelize large quantities of onion in the crock pot, but that isn't what you asked. You asked about deglazing using the CI oven method.

I'm going to make a stab at an answer, but remember, I haven't seen the recipe.

I don't think there is a need for you to deglaze the pan if you are using the onions in your casserole. Deglazing in the French Onion Soup recipe would be to recover the fond and make it part of the soup. I don't think you would want the flavor of the sherry or the depth of onion flavor from scraping up the fond.

But, like Tibb, suggested, make a small batch to test. You can always freeze it for later use.

Thanks all. The only crock pot I have is ancient and very small...so not good for a big batch of onions. I plan to start with 10lbs of onions and freeze what I don't use for the casserole. It's the sherry I'm concerned with. I think I'll follow bbstx's advice and skip the sherry and skip the deglazing if the onions are tasty enough as is.

bbstx, I've attached a different url to the CI recipe which you should be able to access. Sorry.

Here is a link that might be useful: Different link to CI onion soup recipe

When I followed CI's oven method there was some sticking. You don't have as moist an environment in the dutch oven.

You can use a little water, instead of sherry, if the onions look like they're going to crisp when you check them.

I suggested an alternate method because it's less hands on and no need to worry about liquid, but that obviously doesn't help in your case. Sorry about that!

I bought a 10-lb bag of onions and sliced a whack of that bag to put in my slow cooker. I used the old-style one from the 80's. It was crammed full but they cooked down in no time.

jasdip, I just looked in the pantry...it's an early 70's Rival 3.5 qt Crock Pot with removable pot and only High/Low settings (a 1972 wedding present). I'm not sure 10lbs of onions would fit or even if the crock pot is still working! Uh oh...am I showing my age? Held on to the crock pot but not the hubby!

alex9179, I'll keep an eye on the onions while they are in the oven to make sure they don't crisp up or worse yet burn. Thanks for the tip.

I agree about deglazing with water. It works fine for when you don't want another taste added. You can also use white wine, broth, jus, or even a thin sauce that you want to thicken and flavor. The acid in wine makes it easier to loosen the goo, but no so much that it's required so long as you have a very warm pan.

Thanks for the crockpot instructions everyone. Not so long ago I caramelized a bunch of onions on the stove and it took a really long time. I love the idea of putting it in a crock pot (outside) and walking away. :) I have a weird crockpot that I've never much cared for, but it might work great for this (and Jasdip's stuffing).

This is a stock picture, but it's identical to my slow cooker. Definitely vintage (I picked it up in a thrift shop). I also have a new larger oval slow cooker.

Ok, I had no idea about the capacity mine has so I looked up the model #.

It's a 3.5 qt, too! It looks exactly like the one in the link below.

So, yours is just fine for the recipe if you want to use it instead of the dutch oven. 8 cups of raw onions seem like a lot, but they aren't packed when measured. I just sliced onions until it was filled to the brim. They reduce pretty quickly and I ended up with around 5 cups of caramelized...which is a lot.

Just do it out of the house!

Here is a link that might be useful: Clone of my Crock Pot

Do you think doing it in the crockpot under the hood would work? It was okay when I did it on the stove (powerful hood), though I do think there might have been some residual escaped scent. At least the crockpot is covered.... I was just getting ready to make onion soup when this came up, but had to put it off today, so it's quite timely. :)

I do mine in the crockpot too, and having them frozen in small batches is really nice, they add a lot to many of my dishes. But why not try the oven method, you can use other substances to de-glaze the pan. I dunno, could this be done with some parchment paper underneath? I have no idea if that would work, but some pans may stick more than others too. Anyway, worth trying.

I think the sherry would be a good addition to the dish.

Caramelizing onions in the crock-pot isn't a bad smell at all. We loved the smell all day, made us hungry! It only smelled when I lifted the lid to stir it. We used the last of the onions on our burgers last nite.

Some folks think the crockpot ones are "too wet" due to the steam created when the lid is on. I can live with the "wetness" since I'm not spending the 45 min. fussing over a saute pan. The flavor and ease are great, and how you feel about the onion smell might depend on the ventilation capabilities of your house. When I cook something smelly, I first smell it downstairs, which I then air out, and then I get the second round of smells in the upstairs back bedroom above the kitchen. But it dissipates eventually.

But the oven method intrigues me. I'm kind of with Ltilton, (welcome to the CF, BTW!) I think sherry might be good with the sweet potatoes, but it definitely would add a flavor component that you or your guests might not like. Tastes differ. I will say that I recently made a roasted squash/caramelized onion topper for goat cheese toasts, that was flavored with a teeny bit of maple syrup and cider vinegar, and it was delicious! Sherry might add a similar note to the cider vinegar. Not unheard of, but again, not to fiddle with if you're not in experimental mode with the dish.

I was thinking a little cider vinegar mixed with water might be good to deglaze the onions, too. At first I thought of just cider vinegar, but it might be a little strong.

That sweet potato recipe sounds good, no matter how the onions are caramelized.

Sally

I think the strength of the onion scent depends on the onions, but my crock was in the (attached) garage and we could DEFINITELY smell it inside. It was overwhelmingly onion-y when I would go to check them. I do not have a sensitive nose, either.

My kitchen is without venting except for opening a window or door. I don't think I'd want to run a hood for 24 hrs, though.

When I use the wet caramelized onions, I put them in a little skillet with a bit of butter and reduce the liquid while the other things are cooking.

Lots of options! I think I'll wait for warmer weather to try the crock pot method when the house could be more easily ventilated. I still find it hard to believe 10# of onions would fit into a 3.5 qt pot! I keep looking back and forth at the bag of onions then the pot and thinking "no way". I need better visual spatial skills. But then again I usually need to try 2-3 times to pick out the right size container for leftovers.

If I do use sherry/wine I might cut back to 1/2 or 1/4 the amount so as not to overpower the onions.

sally2, this is a favorite sweet potato recipe for our family. None of us enjoy the really sweet casseroles so this one is perfect.

The link shows the crock pot like the one I own.

Thanks all!

Here is a link that might be useful: Just like my vintage crock pot

You're right. 10 lbs won't fit but the recipe calls for 8 large onions which is about 3 lbs, right? If you're doing 10 lbs, would that mean a 10 qt pot?

I fit a 3 lb bag in the 3.5 qt.

If you can post a pic of the finished dish, I'd love to see it. I'm not usually a sweet potato fan but have found 1 or two dishes that really made them shine and I love those yummy onions.

Because caramelizing onions is so easy, I hesitate to mention this, but if push comes to shove, you can buy caramelized onions in the freezer section of the grocery.

I got mine at Wal-Mart. They are in a container that resembles an ice cube tray for 4 cubes. Although there is no brand name on them, I believe they are made by Dorot because it looks like a Dorot container and it says "made in Israel" which is where Dorot is made.

alex9179: I'm making the casserole for Thanksgiving and will try to remember to take some pics. I have two dutch ovens (7qt and 4.5qt) that I will use for the 10lbs of onions. Based on your experience it should all fit!

bbstx: Wow, I had no idea you could purchase frozen caramelized onions. Sounds like it would work in a pinch if you didn't need too many. I'll have to look for them the next time I'm in Wal-Mart.

lpinkmountain: Recipe please for the goat cheese toast!

Here they are:
{{gwi:2080425}}

{{gwi:2080426}}

I love the Dorot products. They are carried by Trader Joe's. Unfortunately, DD moved from the closest TJ (4 hours). I was so excited when I found the same product, even if not the same name, at Wal-Mart. The local Wal-Mart also carries frozen crushed garlic and frozen chopped basil. Wal-Mart calls theirs "Pop & Cook." Now if I can just get them to carry the minced ginger!

Yeah, I was like "Note to self: make more squash dishes with caramelized onions!"

"Squash toasts with ricotta" recipe was from Smitten Kitchen and she got the recipe from Mark Bittman at NY Times. It was fabulous! The recipe calls for an onion confit which might take a long time under normal circumstances but I had a bunch of caramelized onions in the freezer from when I did a big batch in the crockpot so they made the whole thing go together in a snap. I roasted the squash earlier because it was starting to go bad, and it was delish too. I used a small hubbard squash. I adore, adore hubbard squash but usually those suckers are so big it just doesn't pay for me to get one. Here's a link to the recipe, both from Deb Perleman and then the original from the Times.

Smitten Kitchen Squash Toasts with Ricotta and Cider Vinegar
Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Squash on Toast

My notes: Besides using pre-caramelized onions, I didn't use any EVOO because the onions had some and anyway, I didn't miss it. I improvised on the cider vinegar and maple syrup amount because I had less squash. I also used ground pasilla peppers that Lascatx sent me, I love that and I don't have any chili flakes. It was fab with the squash and sweet and sour. I didn't have mint and didn't miss it, but I am not a mint fan. I have had squash agrodolce which is what this is a riff of, and I can take or leave the mint, but I know it is considered essential. I also topped this with toasted sunflower seeds. I used creamy goat cheese as the base. I love goat cheese with squash! Anyway, it was DELICIOUS. I ate it some of it on wholemeal rye bread instead of wheat bread, that was delish too.

bbstx and lpinkmountain: Thanks a bunch!

I plan to caramelize 10lbs of onions tomorrow and will let you know how it goes. I suspect prepping the onions will be the worst part of the whole procedure.

LOL!! LPink, what you made sounds fantastic, but I think it was a whole different thing than the actual recipe. ;)

about that nasty word, "prepping." I only have one thing to say: Food Processor. Oops, that's 2 words. I caramelized a ton of onions once. I sliced them in the food processor.

If you don't have a food processor with a slicing blade, my next best advice to you is, first, sharpen your knife. Stand next to the stove with the vent hood running full blast (or dig out the kids snorkel mask from last summer). Then slice the onions in half, pole to pole (stem to root) and remove the skins. Cut off ends. Slice the onion from pole to pole into thin slices.

Cooks Illustrated did a test once and found that slicing onions pole to pole did not release as much of whatever it is that makes you cry. They also found that a sharp knife, which will cut cleanly instead of crushing the onion, diminished crying.

Let us know how it goes. I'll be curious to hear how long it takes and any blips along the way.

Squash on toast did not seem like it would be all that good to me but since I was drowning in squash I tried it. It turned out to be one of the most delicious dishes I have had in a long time. You could use the flavor profile in a regular squash dish but then you'd just have squash agrodolce. The key is to use really good crusty bread and I think tangy goat cheese or feta would be better than ricotta or marscapone but if you don't like those kinds of cheeses then go with the ricotta. Ricotta seems to be the one dairy product that kicks up my lactose intolerance.

Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen's recipe:

Squash Toasts with Ricotta and Cider Vinegar
Adapted from Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s ABC Kitchen, via NYTimes Cooking

The original recipe uses the larger amount of olive oil (which felt like more than I needed), just 1/4 cup cider vinegar and maple syrup (but I preferred it with slightly more vinegar and slightly less maple syrup) and slightly different cooking times �" for me, the onions were done more quickly but the squash needed more time to soften. If your store sells peeled, already chunked butternut squash, you can absolutely use it here instead (buy 2 1/2 pounds and cut it more thinly before roasting, for speed). Finally, my favorite bread for this and most savory things is the miche, a rustic whole wheat-rye sourdough baked in massive rounds, sold at either Balthazar or at the Le Pain Quotidien chain. Both can be purchased in quarters (the size of a small loaf), inexpensively. Note: I’ve updated the recipe (post-publication) to reflect that really great commenter tip (thanks, Anne!) that you can spare yourself the squash-peeling step as once the squash is roasted, it’s easy to cut the soft flesh from the peel, much easier than peeling it beforehand.

Serves 4 as a main, 8 as an appetizer. Takes about 45 minutes.

1 2 1/2- to 3-pound kabocha or other yellow-fleshed squash (such as delicata, acorn or butternut, which I used)
1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried chile flakes, more or less to taste
Coarse sea or kosher salt
1 yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup (though I’ll probably use 3 tablespoons next time)
4 slices country bread, 1-inch thick
1/2 cup (4 ounces) ricotta, goat cheese, feta or mascarpone
4 tablespoons chopped mint leaves

Heat oven to 450. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. No need to peel your squash (as shown above), just halved, seed and cut your squash into 1/4-inch thick slices. Toss with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 to 2 teaspoons salt (Vongerichten recommends 2 teaspoons; I used a bit less) and chile flakes until evenly coated. Transfer mixture to prepared sheet and roast until tender and slightly colored, anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes (depending on the density of the squash you use), flipping once about 2/3 of the way through. Once tender, you can cut the flesh from the skin and discard it. Leave roasted squash on the tray.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened and beginning to brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add vinegar and syrup and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until onions are jammy and broken down, another 10 to 15 minutes.

Pile onions on top of roasted squash, still on their baking sheet. Use a fork to gently half-mash the mixture; I like this best when the mixture is not uniformly combined. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil per slice of bread, and cook bread until just golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Spread cheese on toasts, heap with the squash-onion mixture, sprinkle with coarse salt and garnish with mint.

Do ahead: Now that we’ve finished lunch, I can note with great confidence that these reheat wonderfully, even fully assembled, with none of the sog you’d expect from day-old stuff on bread. (It helps if you use a sturdy bread, of course.) Reheat on a baking sheet in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes.

I have never done the crock pot onion thing although it is still intriguing me. However, even if you use the crock pot for 95% of the onion cooking time, a final 20 minutes in a pan (with constant stirring) will do wonders.
It will take the reduced mass and transform it into a knotty brown lump, equivalent in strength to a fine truffle, a powerhouse of flavor in a spoonful.
Anyway, for a sweet potato casserole, unnecessary, but I do want to point out the advantages of browning to the point of not burning, so, so marvelously flavorful.

Tangent: LPink, in learning about FODMAPs, I also learned that lactose (which is a FODMAP) is almost entirely in the whey. Hard cheeses are mostly free of whey. Traditional ricotta is made from the whey left from cheesemaking, so is high in lactose. I made an Ina Garten recipe quick ricotta (which is curds) from Lactaid whole milk (I skipped the cream) to use in a lasagna for my low FODMAP friend. It's dead easy to do if you have a hankering for lactose free ricotta.

Droooooool! I made that same Ina recipe for several lasagnas that were to be frozen, didn't skip the cream since it was parceled out so well. DH tested it with the sauce and had a "moment", hahaha. Luscious is the word for it! The people I took the lasagnas to were over the moon.

I've been looking for a reason to make that cheese again, thank you for the inspiration LPink!

Bumblebeez, I take the onions further for whatever recipe I add them to. A smidge of good butter or olive oil, possibly some seasoning if the recipe would benefit. Reducing the liquid and getting those onions a little further along seemed so right!

bbstx: It took about 30 minutes to peel and slice 10# onions using a food processor....a definite time saver! It would have taken less time but as I said I am spatially challenged and could not figure out how to slice them pole to pole.

Does anyone know how to place onions in the feeder tube so they will slice pole to pole?

The other thing pole to pole supposedly does is minimize those translucent stringy things.

10# of onions filled my 7Qt and 4.5Qt dutch ovens right to the rim...perfect! I put 6# in the 7Qt pot for my casserole and the remaining 4# in the smaller pot. I have the range hood on (fairly strong fan) but a faint odor after 30 minutes is seeping into the adjacent rooms...so far nice, not overpowering.

okay, but -- why would you onionize your house for hours and hours, when you can do it on the stove for 1/2 hour?

This post was edited by Violet.West on Tue, Nov 18, 14 at 12:27

OB, I only meant pole to pole if you had to slice by hand. :-) My FP has a mind of its own when it is slicing. I have no idea if what I'm slicing is going to flip or skew or whatever.

Yeah Pllog, I knew that about ricotta, but the thing that mystifies me is why sour cream, cottage cheese and cream cheese don't bother me, only ricotta. I don't buy fancy fermented versions of any of those products. It may be partly because I use low fat ricotta, but I use low fat sour, cottage and cream cheese too. Food sensitivities mystify me! I'm supposed to also avoid acid foods, and yet it is only tea, wine and diet soda that bother me. Actually, a glass of wine is OK, but no more. It may be the sulfites or other additives in the wine that does it to me anyway. I was avoiding red wine because of the amines, but now it seems to be all alcoholic beverages. I used to drink vodka because it supposedly has the least irritants in it, lol!

It would be fun to make homemade ricotta sometime but probably not something I will devote time to in the near future. I would like to make paneer too, 'cause I love it, but never do. I have made goat milk cheese that was kinda like ricotta, but I did it for a work thing years ago. It only worked with unpasteurized goat milk, which was a pain to find!

As for the caramelizing, I'm not sure how long it would take to do a bag of onions on the stovetop, but I am just not into spending time doing that. I have never found the onion smell bothersome or long lingering in the end, and I'm not a big fan of the onion smell to begin with. It is a matter of personal taste and it will smell up your house for a little while. If that would bother you then you don't want to do either the oven or crockpot method, and you'll want to get a strong stove ventilation hood and clean it well too! :) I can't stand the way latkes smell up the house but I only make them a couple times a year and manage to get rid of the smell in the end, so I can live with that too. Honestly, the fact that the crockpot infuses the house with food smells is something I like about it, that's one of my favorite things to do on a Sunday, stink up the house with something yummy all day and have it for supper in the end. Smell gone by morning and I have the delicious leftovers to eat.

LOL about the latkes! It's the aerosolizing fat that carries the odor and sticks to everything that makes the smell linger. It gets into all those crannies that only get thoroughly scrubbed a few times a year.

I'm just guessing about the ricotta, but I think it's the concentration of lactose in the whey of the traditional version that might be the issue. Cottage cheese is made more like the Ina Garten curds method. It's super easy to do. Just make sure you have some cheese cloth. Wet it and line a strainer in a big bowl, boil the milk, add vinegar, wait a minute and pour into the cloth. After awhile, empty the whey or put the strainer over your pot, so the curds aren't sitting in the whey. That's it.

I caramelized about 5-6 quarts (loosely packed) of onions recently, on the stove in a big dutch oven. It took forever. I think it took as long to do all together as it would have to do four separate batches in a smaller pot. It seems to be an exponential process.

I found a Wolfgang Puck recipe I'm going to try, however. It's one onion to two cups of stock, and only has port and flavorings else. I only have six cups of stock defrosted, so I'm just going to do it all on the stove and hope that three onions go more quickly. :)

Done and in the freezer! My 10# of onions made about 4.5 cups of mahogany colored caramelized onions. The onions broke down quite a bit but they sure taste amazing. I did not use the sherry or balsamic vinegar this time around. Can't wait to make the sweet potato casserole and some onion dip!

Thanks for everyone's very helpful suggestions.

YAY! Doesn't it feel good to have that out of the way!!

You betcha!

Ovenbird, you got me going. I bought about 8 pounds of loose onions a few weeks ago and figured today was the day to carmelize them. They are in the crock with a good dash of EVOO and thyme.

For those planning to do this, one easy way to get them peeled is to soak them in cold water to soften the skins. Just put them in the sink and add water, come back in 10 minutes. Run the onions through the FP. If you have a 'shoot" to feed them into, drop in so they are pole to pole.

Jasdip, I never meant that it didn't smell good, just that it is the first thing in the morning and can be a bit much before the coffee.

Chicago is in the deep freeze, so onion soup is next. Still working our way through the ham, leek and potato soup first.

Thanks, Ovenbird, for the topic. Good news that you got yours all done!

My soup is done (boringly, on the stove) and now I'm considering caramelized onions for various other cooking endeavors to try these new tricks. :)

---+---

So I've had four large onions caramelizing in the crock pot under the hood for over three hours. They started to caramelize, then shed so much water that they were just simmering. My crock pot is one of the unfortunate too warm newer kind. Pluses: Can walk away from it safely. Good side heat. Minuses: Slow and wet. I think yesterday's on the stove were just as easy, even though they took more minding.

This post was edited by plllog on Wed, Nov 19, 14 at 20:34

I know I promised alex9179 to take photos if I remembered. Well, I just made the casserole, portioned for freezing, tasted it (oh my, I'd forgotten how good this casserole is!), and guess what? I did not remember to take photos. So sorry!

Actually it is not a pretty casserole since there is no real topping so maybe it was good I forgot to take a photo!

alex9179, make a small recipe...1/4 of my recipe is katiec's original recipe. I bet you'll like it in spite of how it looks!

I will. My mom might visit and I can try a new turkey recipe on her (she hasn't eaten any so far) along with the casserole. She loves sweet potatoes (and onions), so it should be well received!

I forgot to say that although it's not in the recipe I salt and pepper the sweet potatoes while assembling the casserole. Hmmm, I think I'll have some of the casserole tonight!

I am glad this thread came up. Ran by Walmart today to pick up some of their frozen "glazed" onions. I used the ones I had this weekend when I forgot to caramelize onions for the Italian beef sandwiches. They apparently no longer carry them! I need to slice up a bag of onions and get to caramelizing. Then portioning and freezing!

I bought some sweet potatoes too, today. I think I'll make the sweet potato casserole while I'm at it.

Ovenbird, the link for the CI French onion soup recipe doesn't show up. The page is blurred because it wants me to sign up, of course. Is there someplace where it shows up?

I found the CI onion soup recipe at food.com. I've not made the soup but use their technique of caramelizing onions in the oven...well mostly in the oven!

Here is a link that might be useful: CI onion soup recipe at food.com

Alex9179: Are you saying Ina's ricotta recipe made all the difference in the lasagne you made? Did you use her recipe for lasagne or do you have a special one of your own? Tks for any help.

ovenbird, do you think I could freeze this casserole before baking? We have an early Christmas dinner with cousins, but usually arrive a day or two ahead of time. I'd love to have something I could prepare a week or two ahead of time.

Come to think of it, I guess I could freeze it baked. 8-)

I love all the onion suggestions in this thread!

Pink, I used her recipe for the ricotta in my own lasagna. I make a very sauce-y lasagna because of family preference and I think the combo of my red sauce and the luscious ricotta made it out of this world.

The ricotta was divine by itself. I could have smeared it on a cracker or toasted baguette and made myself sick.