ISO Onion Soup Help

[BoyWithSpoon]

I just wanted to thank everyone for the suggestions thus far. I have a few questions which I'll hopefully post later tonight.

-BWS

 

[Nicholas Mosher]

You should also do a search on the site for a bunch of other recipes.

Here is a link to a posting of my own tried & true recipe...
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f56/french-onion-soup-my-way-27183.html

Stock isn't expensive to make, especially brown chicken stock. It just takes a good chunk of time. Basing soups off a good solid stock really does make the difference between a good soup and just another pot o'stuff.

Good Luck!

 

[YT2095]

just out of curiosity, does anyone else add extra onions halfway through the cooking?

I always do, it sort of gives the extra Oniony type of "Hit".

 

[Chopstix]

just out of curiosity, does anyone else add extra onions halfway through the cooking?

I always do, it sort of gives the extra Oniony type of "Hit".

Not me YT. I like the onions fully caramelized. For more oniony flavor, I use at least equal parts red onions to white onions.

 

[Nicholas Mosher]

I also prefer my onions well caramelized to a milk-chocolate color. I find red onions develop too much sweetness, so I use all yellow. For some acidity, my recipe includes 1-oz of good balsamic vinegar which also provides a bit of sweetness.

Lots of well caramelized onions and a good stock is definetly the heart of my onion soup. The extras certainly take it to another level, but are nowhere near as essential as properly cooked onions and a good stock.

 

[YT2095]

I do the caramelisation part (is that even a word?) but I like to add finely chopped onions later for the oniony aroma as well, it packs more of a punch to me.
the way I can tell if it`s right is if I walk into my kitchen and it stinks of onion, I don`t get that if I don`t add raw onion to the soup.

 

[Snoop Puss]

I don't have a recipe, just a kind of "that'll do" type approach. Finely sliced yellow onions (a kilo or so) fried in as much butter as the volume of onions requires. I always end up adding extra part-way through caramelising. Gently caramelise till the onions are a rich brown. This always takes longer than I want it to. When ready, I stir in a tiny amount of plain flour and then gradually add a bottle of white wine. Not economical but quicker than making stock and not as salty as an Oxo cube (sorry YT). Bring to a simmer and leave till you can't wait any longer. Serve with toasted French bread and lots of grated emmenthal or gruyere and black pepper. One bowl is so rich it does for the whole meal.

 

[YT2095]

"lots of grated emmenthal or gruyere"

NOW yer cookin` with gas! )))
I`ve never tried adding any booze of any sort to mine which is quite unusual as beer goes into plenty of things I cook.

cheerz for that

 

[Harborwitch]

When we roast a chicken or a turkey I always save the carcass and make stock. We've got lots of chicken and turkey stock in the freezer. I also save the bones from beef roasts, lamb, and pork - brown them up nicely in the oven with carrots, celery, some herbs, and onions and make stock from them. It's easy to keep a supply of stock on hand if you just stash away bones, etc.


VeraBlue is right on - must have thyme in French Onion soup. I usually use chicken stock and white wine in mine. I also like a combination of onions, white, yellow, red, leeks, and shallots. Sometimes garlic. A trick I use is to toast some peppercorns and grind them into the soup. There's a real pop of flavor there. Hmmmmmmm- do I have enough onions???? This is sounding really good for dinner tonight.

 

[StirBlue]

No creamy onion soup recipes? That's hard to believe. I guess I'm the one who makes it creamy. Your soup puts me in mind of the french dip sandwich thing.

 

[Candocook]

One way to have an almost instant French onion soup available is to caramelize a LARGE amount of onions in a crockpot. Fill the crockpot to the tippy top with onions. Sprinkle with a little balsamic vinegar and perhaps some Better Than Bouillion and a cup or so of water. Cook on low for 24 hours or until the onions are caramelized. It will reduce to about 6 cups!! Freeze in muffin cups and put in a plastic bag for all your caramelized onion needs. Delicious!!

 

[Michelemarie]

Yes, the water versus stock would make a huge difference. Since money is tight, when you CAN, buy a good quality chicken base and beef base. Some of the cheaper ones are VERY salty. You don't have to use a lot to get a nice smooth flavor. A combination of the two gives a nice smooth flavor. BUT, if I had to choose just one or the other I would use a beef broth. I also use some port and burgundy wine in mine but it's not a must. I buy the cheap port and the cheap burgundy. They will both last a long time and can be used in other dishes. Also, a combination of onions gives a unique flavor. But just yellow or white is good too.

Also, once you have added your base/broth and it's still a little too bland don't be afraid to add a bit of salt. The smoothness of "just the right amount of base" will be there but the salt will flavor it more. This is the recipe I have used for years:

FRENCH ONION SOUP

3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
3 large onions - sliced **see note
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons flour
5 (16-ounce) cans beef broth
2 1/2 cans water (empty broth cans)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup Port wine
3/4 cup Burgundy wine
French bread
Mozzarella, Gruyere or Swiss cheese

In large soup pot, melt the butter with the oil. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add sugar and flour, cook for 1 minute. Add beef broth, water, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in wines, simmer for 2 hours.

Preheat broiler To Serve: Pour into onion soup crocks. Place a piece of French bread on top. Cover bread with choice of cheese. Place in oven and broil until cheese is melted and bubbly.

***Note - I do use a combination of yellow onion, red onion, and leeks. It makes for a really smooth flavor using all 3 of them. Last time I used 2 yellow, 2 red, and 3 leeks. You can't have too many onions in my opinion! LOL I did make a mistake but only once! I thought it would really be good if it cooked for a long time - NOPE - when I took the top off the onions had all "melted" but the broth sure was good! LOL

Also, do not add more Port or Burgundy than the recipe calls for (I know this from experience too!). It makes the broth too sweet.

Oh my gosh, I made this for lunch today - absolutely wonderful!!!!! Thank you Kitchenelf!

 

[mudbug]

One way to have an almost instant French onion soup available is to caramelize a LARGE amount of onions in a crockpot. Fill the crockpot to the tippy top with onions. Sprinkle with a little balsamic vinegar and perhaps some Better Than Bouillion and a cup or so of water. Cook on low for 24 hours or until the onions are caramelized. It will reduce to about 6 cups!! Freeze in muffin cups and put in a plastic bag for all your caramelized onion needs. Delicious!!

this sounds like a very sensible and efficient way to do things.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I'll also add in here that on a cold wintry day or when I'm feeling a bit under the weather, I sometimes will just make myself an "individual" serving of onion soup.

I just slice up one small onion & saute it in some butter & olive oil until it's done to my taste, then add some Swanson's chicken broth, & dashes of white wine & cognac if I have them on hand. If I have the "gratinee" ingredients, I'll add them too, but even just "as is" it's great if you have a cold or just want something quick but good for lunch on a cold day.

 

[Aria]

BreezyCooking...YES. I use Pacific Natural Foods free range chicken broth.
I always have white wine on hand...cognac??sometimes.

 

[philly29]

Ingredients for Potato, Tomato And Onion Soup Recipe

• Mashed potato (leftover), cold
• Tomato, chopped
• Onion, peeled, chopped fine
• Butter
• Water, 3 times as much as potato
• Seasonings to taste

Instructions

1. Tomato And Onion Soup Recipe, With a whip mix the water slowly with the mashed potato, beating constantly.
2. Add the butter, seasonings, onion and tomato.
3. Put in a sauce pan.
4. Boil for about 15 minutes.
5. Then serve.

 

[marygio]

Here is a recipe that I made for a dinner party and everyone loved it! I've made several different recipes and I think this by far is the best I've had!

French Onion Soup:

2 T unsalted butter
2 T Olive Oil
add and stir to cook
5 Medium Onion thinly sliced
pinch of dried thyme
cook stirring occasionally, and keeping a viligant eye on the onions so they do not scorch, over medium heat. As soon as they start to brown, after about 15 min, reduce the heat to med-low and continue to cook, covered, stirring more often, until onions are a rich brown color, about 40 minutes.

Stir in:
2 T dry sherry or cognac
increase the heat to high and cook, stirring constantly, until all the sherry has cooked off. Stir in:
3 1/2 C brown beef stock, Roasted vegetable stock or brown chicken stock
bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered for 20 min.
season with
1 to 1 1/2 t salt
1/4 to 1/2 t ground black pepper

put oven proof cups on baking sheet, ladle hot soup into the bowls and top each with:
1 to 3 slices french bread, toasted if fresh

sprinkle each bowl with:
3 T grated Gruyere cheese

broil and bake at 450 until cheese is melted and started to brown.

 

[maxcook]

Most important - Lots of onions cooked low and slow preferably in clarified butter. If you use clarified butter it won't burn. Also... a good beef stock like Minor's is the best - never plain water.

 

[moonglowlady]

Epic Onion Soup

I begin my onion soup by checking for "flat ribs" at the market. I buy them when they are cheapest. I go home and roast them with a rub I make. I gnaw on the ribs until I've had my fill and throw the bones in the freezer. When I run out of room in my freezer, it's stock making time. I usually plan this for some Saturday when I have indoor chores.
Get out the biggest, heaviest pot you have and throw the bones in first, no liquid, not even thawed. Heat this up (med. med-hi) until you can smell it and little bits are starting to stick to the pan. Throw in celery, carrots, onions and garlic, these can be in good size chunks. (Don't forget a good pinch or two of kosher salt and a few cranks of cracked pepper.)You may need a bit of olive oil at this point, just to keep things from sticking too much. (Not too much) Rattle these things around until it seems as though each item has gotten a little browned.
Here comes the water. I use enough to top my ingredients by at least as high as the ingredients are deep. So, by that rule of thumb, if your ingredients are about 3 inches deep in your pot, add water to, at least, 6 inches.
I hate to let this boil as I don't like to skim for the "scum". So, I keep it just below boil for awhile (say 20 mins.), then cover and simmer for awhile ( as long as it takes to do your other chores, at least two hours.) Remove the cover, let it reduce for awhile. This timing is now dependent on your taste. I keep a ladle and a mug by the pot to taste until it's the strength I want. I set the timer for 45 mins to an hour and check on it through out the afternoon.

This process takes you up to supper time, (if you start late morning.) Set aside this pot to let it get cool enough to handle. This will be an hour or so.
Line a colander with cheesecloth and pour your first pot through this into either another pot (smaller this time) or a bowl. Now, the broth needs to cool down enough to put in the fridge. I usually do this right before bedtime.

Next day, take the fat layer off with a spatula. This broth should be good and jellied. It is ready to use or freeze or split and do both. You will reduce it more when you actually make a soup with it.

Considering that I love my roasted flat ribs (cheap cheap) and will have quite a few meals of them first, this stock is really a bonus $-wise. ( I even dry out the boiled bones and save them as treats for my dog. Talk about cheap!)
So, that's the best stock I know. Always the key to a good onion soup.

I use large sweet spanish onions, sliced as paper thin as possible, enough butter to keep the onions moist until golden and my secret (no longer) ingredient is a good splash or two of vermouth on the onions a minute or so before I add the fabulous home-made beef stock. This should simmer until it tastes the way you want it. (Correct for salt and pepper. I never add herbs, but if you do, do it at the end to avoid them turning bitter.
I love to try artisanal breads, like rosemary-garlic, or olive or any of those hearty breads that even supermarkets are making, for the croutons. I toast (or stale them if I think of it early enough) slices and cut them onto bowl-fitting shapes.
For cheese, it's Jarlsberg or nothing for me. I love the stringy, chewy, strong flavor.
Float the crouton on the soup, top with piled shavings of cheese, broil till it's deep golden brown, (even almost scorched, if you dare.)

So, I think I beat everybody in the time factor, as this can take WEEKS starting with the rib suppers.