Link: https://www.seriouseats.com/caramelized-onions
This is the side dish I've been tasked to make for a Thanksgiving event for 12 people.
I currently make it in my 12.5 inch cast iron skillet and even that is almost overflowing at the beginning of the process.
Is there any way to scale up this recipe without cooking in batches? Do I just have to have 3 burners going simultaneously?
I do have a very large stockpot but I'm not sure that would be the right approach.
by xkdchickadee
13 Comments
You can just keep adding onions as they shrink. That’s what I do when I make kasha.
I haven’t made this recipe, but my guess is that three burners is your best bet because you will want to maximize the amount of surface area of the hot pan that is in contact with onions. If you throw more onions in a deeper pot, it would likely take even longer.
From the article you posted:
The size of the pot or pan (and even whether it’s a pot or pan) will depend on the size of your batch. The larger the batch, the larger the cooking vessel you’ll want, and, likely, the higher the walls. That said, you generally want to opt for width over height, since the browning of the onions happens on the bottom of the pan, so the more bottom you have, the better. Sauté pans, which tend to be wide and broad but also have high vertical sides to contain the onions, are particularly well-suited to the task.
I’d probably go with the 3 burners over the stockpot
You could make them in the oven.
if your current skillet is only almost overflowing at the beginning, throw a little water in and a lid on top and let the onions cook down until they’re completely collapsed and starting to dry out. then you can remove the lid and proceed
Get a turkey fryer burner and pot. Last time I did this it took longer to slice all the onions than it did to caramelize them. Low heat but keep adding water so the onions don’t burn.
Probably did like 15lbs of onions this way.
Multiple pans they don’t caramelize in a big pot
it’s like spinach. it will cook down to nothing. either put a lid on it, or stir every couple minutes to hasten the deflation.
Sous Vide lets you very hands off caramelize a TON of onions.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskCulinary/comments/1h58fm6/comment/m042olm/?rdt=38148
Crockpot
Caramelized onions as a side dish?
Why not in a slow cooker? [https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-to-make-slow-cooker-caramelized-onions/](https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-to-make-slow-cooker-caramelized-onions/)
I’ve made caramelized onions in a dutch oven. It would take a bit longer than a shallow pan but it has worked for me. It looked like the picture you provided in seriouseats.