# Slow cooker onion base



## Bolas De Fraile (Oct 29, 2011)

I have just put some on and the kitchen smells like a hotdog stall.

Fill your slow cooker with sliced onions, a bit of butter and cook for 10 hours. 
The base freezes well. The possibilities for using the onion goop are endless, but my first port of call is french onion soup.
Has anyone tried this method?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Oct 29, 2011)

No, but I had just read about it and want to try it.


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## PattY1 (Oct 29, 2011)

Bolas De Fraile said:


> I have just put some on and the kitchen smells like a hotdog stall.
> 
> Fill your slow cooker with sliced onions, a bit of butter and cook for 10 hours.
> The base freezes well. The possibilities for using the onion goop are endless, but my first port of call is french onion soup.
> Has anyone tried this method?



Nope, I have never heard about it. So do tell.... More details please.


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## DMerry (Oct 29, 2011)

What kind of onions did you use?  Will it work with white or red ones?


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## Aunt Bea (Oct 29, 2011)

It is good smeared on a burger or a bacon sandwich as a condiment, sort of an onion jam.


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## kezlehan (Oct 29, 2011)

I am intrigued. I now want to buy a slow cooker even more!


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## SharonT (Oct 29, 2011)

I've used this method for making a large number of servings of:

Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Onion Marmalade
Celebration Luncheon 

For the Balsamic Onion Marmalade:

4 to 6 onions
1 stick unsalted butter
1 can chicken broth
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup apple juice

Cut onions in half (end to end), cut off stem and root ends, peel and slice thin.  Cook in crock pot on High for 8 hours.


For the Marinade:

1/4 cup apple juice
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons port
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Combine ingredients for marinade (enough for 2 [3/4-lb. to 1 lb.] pork tenderloins) and marinate tenderloins overnight or at least 4 hours.  Place pork in shallow roasting pan along with the marinade  Bake uncovered about 35 to 45 minutes or until thermometer registers 150º . When the tenderloins start to brown on top (about 20 to 30 minutes), turn them over.

Let pork rest about 10 to 15 minutes, then slice thinly on the diagonal and serve with the warm onion marmalade on top.


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## Timothy (Oct 29, 2011)

That sounds really good, SharonT. 

The only thing I would add is at least two glasses of Port in the cook as well! It always seems to help me in the kitchen!


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## SharonT (Oct 29, 2011)

Oh, yeah - how does it go?  'I ALWAYS cook with wine... and sometimes I put it in the food.'


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## CWS4322 (Oct 29, 2011)

Bolas--sounds great--how many onions do you usually put in?


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## babetoo (Oct 29, 2011)

yes, that is how i make french onion soup. also good on a burger. lots of uses.


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## Bolas De Fraile (Oct 30, 2011)

CWS4322 said:


> Bolas--sounds great--how many onions do you usually put in?


I uses as many finely sliced red onions as I can fit in the pot.I have a large Rice/Slow cooker. Sometimes when the onions are very juicy after slow cooking there is a lot of liquid so I put it on rice cooker mode to boil it off. I only add a nut of butter so the base is flexible. Tonight we are having cheats Pissaladiere so I just put a big blob of base into a frying pan add a few tbl spoons of concasse de tomate, black pepper and thyme, fry till it smells right then cool for spreading on the pastry.

I also use the goop to make potato pizza.


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## buckytom (Oct 30, 2011)

what colour does it end up being, bolas? does it get carmelized?


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## Bolas De Fraile (Oct 30, 2011)

Not really Tom mate thats why I call it goop or onion base, to carmelize the goop just fry quickly in a little butter.
I also make onion bread and proja with it. When you next make Corn bread (proja) mix in some of the goop and feta cheese.


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## spork (Oct 30, 2011)

I'm intrigued by this, too.  I sweat onions down to a paste in a lot of dishes, so this'd be a real time-saver.  8-10 hours, maybe uncovering the slow-cooker lid at the end to evaporate out excess moisture?  Do the onion slices hold their shape, or do they break apart into one big gelatinous goop?


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## Zhizara (Oct 30, 2011)

This idea might just be the push I need to get a slow cooker.  I've been thinking about it for quite a while, but felt no real _need_ for one, but the thought of French onion soup is starting to create that need.  

It may also create the need for a storage cabinet too, but I think that is going to be inevitable eventually anyway.


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## Aunt Bea (Oct 30, 2011)

Zhizara said:


> This idea might just be the push I need to get a slow cooker.  I've been thinking about it for quite a while, but felt no real _need_ for one, but the thought of French onion soup is starting to create that need.
> 
> It may also create the need for a storage cabinet too, but I think that is going to be inevitable eventually anyway.




I do mine in a frying pan on the stove top or in the oven. 

 I use the oven method when I am making other low and slow type dishes to fill up the oven.

Like you storage space limits me to only a couple of electrical items in my kitchen. 

I suppose we could use the crockpots for cookie jars when they are not in use.


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## taxlady (Oct 30, 2011)

Aunt Bea said:


> I do mine in a frying pan on the stove top or in the oven.
> 
> I use the oven method when I am making other low and slow type dishes to fill up the oven.
> 
> ...



Okay, how do you do it in the oven?

I don't even have a tiny kitchen (badly laid out, but not tiny) and I don't have room for anything more. I just bought a gravy separator and I'm looking for a place for that.


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## lyndalou (Oct 30, 2011)

I also have a badly laid out kitchen with no place for extra storage. One reason I don't have a stand mixer. I do have a crock port and use it a lot. I'm definitely going to make the onion base as soon as i can get to the supermarket for some onions.


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## Timothy (Oct 30, 2011)

lyndalou said:


> I'm definitely going to make the onion base as soon as i can get to the supermarket for some onions.


 
Me too! I love French Onion Soup! 

If food is going to kill me, I'd prefer to drown in it!


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## PattY1 (Oct 30, 2011)

Zhizara said:


> This idea might just be the push I need to get a slow cooker.  I've been thinking about it for quite a while, but felt no real _need_ for one, but the thought of French onion soup is starting to create that need.
> 
> It may also create the need for a storage cabinet too, but I think that is going to be inevitable eventually anyway.



Buy a small 1 1/2 qt. size crock pot. Just right for a single person or a couple.


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## Aunt Bea (Oct 30, 2011)

taxlady said:


> Okay, how do you do it in the oven?
> 
> I don't even have a tiny kitchen (badly laid out, but not tiny) and I don't have room for anything more. I just bought a gravy separator and I'm looking for a place for that.



I put the sliced onions into a covered casserole with two or three tablespoons of butter, salt, pepper a tablespoon or two of water and cover it.  Then I put it into the oven for about an hour and a half at 350 degrees.


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## Zhizara (Oct 30, 2011)

PattY1 said:


> Buy a small 1 1/2 qt. size crock pot. Just right for a single person or a couple.



Thanks, Patty.  I was wondering what size to get.


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## spiceoflife (Oct 30, 2011)

I mix it with garlic cloves and then freeze them in bags for a curry base. YUM. Makes curries a breeze.


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## CWS4322 (Oct 31, 2011)

Since I have to make turkey stock tonight, I think I'll try the oven method in my small roaster. If I were going to do this in a crockpot (I too do not have a "dream kitchen"--no storage, limited counterspace, etc.), I'd probably plug in the crockpot in the sawmill shed so as not to have the house smell like a hotdog stand. My friend who is moving gave me 10# of onions yesterday...sounds like the perfect thing to do with a bunch of them.


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## Zhizara (Dec 15, 2011)

Bolas De Fraile said:


> I have just put some on and the kitchen smells like a hotdog stall.
> 
> Fill your slow cooker with sliced onions, a bit of butter and cook for 10 hours.
> The base freezes well. The possibilities for using the onion goop are endless, but my first port of call is french onion soup.
> Has anyone tried this method?



I'm ready to make this.  Bolas, you didn't say it, but I'm guessing 10 hours on Low?

After this is done, I'll use the crockpot to make stock using the 2 cooked drumsticks, and the canned beef juices I saved (about 3 cups).  There is a nice layer of the beef juice fat that I'll save to start a roux or two.

I'll also leave the onion base in the bottom of the crockpot with a bunch of garlic cloves around the edges.


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## Dawgluver (Dec 15, 2011)

Bolas De Fraile said:
			
		

> I have just put some on and the kitchen smells like a hotdog stall.
> 
> Fill your slow cooker with sliced onions, a bit of butter and cook for 10 hours.
> The base freezes well. The possibilities for using the onion goop are endless, but my first port of call is french onion soup.
> Has anyone tried this method?



Got a massive bag of onions from recent foray to Costco, this sounds like a marvelous use!  Thanks, Bolas!


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## babetoo (Dec 15, 2011)

that's what i do to make onion soup. great depth of flavor.


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