Red Onion thread

[zoebisch01]

Ok, so sort of my Garlic thread's evil twin cousin (but not really ), I have a very successful harvest of some wonderful Red Onions this year. I have probably 50 lbs of Red storage onions, but to go along with that around 50 lbs of a sweeter (translates to reduced shelf life) Red Onion. And along with that the menacing dilemma of "what to do with all those sweet Red Onions". Sure it's a great problem to have, but seriously "what to do"? Other than raw, pickled or stuffed, or give away (and even variations on those themes are welcome) what would you do with them thar Onions?

 

[PseudoChef]

Onion relish. Or you could do a sweet onion & pepper relish.

I'm wondering if it's possible to carmelize a bunch of them, then can those?

 

[the_bird]

I'd be making (and canning) some chutneys. I did an amazing mango chutney a few years ago (don't remember jack about the recipe), I bet that would be kick-ass with some sweeter onions in the mix.

 

[BigKahuna]

MMMM
Ok, No secret that I Loves Some Pickled Eggs...But to improve Pickled eggs, put a layer of Purple Onion in between each layer of eggs. Garlic and/or Jalapeno and/or Mozzarella cheese can also be added at up to ridiculous amounts!

 

[bob1852]

Alton Brown's french onion soup:

Recipes : French Onion Soup : Food Network

 

[newkarian]

Red onion jam. Sounds weird but it is good.

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium-large red onions, thinly sliced (about 2 pounds)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red wine
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium skillet, over medium heat. Add the onions, 1 thyme sprig, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, covered, until the onions have wilted, about 10 to 15 minutes, (give them a stir every now and then with a wooden spoon to prevent them from sticking). Add the red wine, and simmer over high heat until most of the wine gets absorbed into the onions. Add the honey and red wine vinegar and simmer gently until the onions get jam-like, about, about 15 minutes.

 

[pjj2ba]

Soup! The Carnegie house over in Toftrees once had a seven onion soup that was one of the best soups I've ever had. It's my next soup to make after I make waterzooi for my mother-in-law this weekend. Mine will only be a 4 onion soup though - I'm including leeks in the total.

That's 50 lbs - 3 nice examples, thank you very much!

 

[Laurel]

This would probably be pretty with red onions.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f56/cool-cucumber-salsa-69745/

 

[PseudoChef]

Onion bread.

Oh, you should probably start growing some breath mints, too.

 

[jfrizzell]

Dice 'em and freeze 'em. That's what we did with the extras from our garden this year. We have a whole bunch of pint freezer bags filled with white and red onions, all diced and ready to go into soups, etc.

 

[Zymurgrafi]

I second the caramelized onion/canning suggestion. I suppose it would have to be pressure canned though unless you acidified it farther. Caramelized onions are good with everything!

 

[Brewin_Bob]

I know it's the cooking thread, but a red onion cooking wine perhaps?

 

[newkarian]

How about zweibelkuchen. Ed probably has a recipe. MMMM

 

[zoebisch01]

How about zweibelkuchen. Ed probably has a recipe. MMMM

Made those for O'Fest with my Walla Walla Sweets, it was so good. I made a flaky savory crust and added some finely minced Rosemary to it.

The thing with Red Onions is they turn a grayish color when you cook them and it can be unappealing to the eye, but I wonder if I can find a way around that. I have been thinking through a lot of the traditional ways I use onions....it's kind of like Red Cabbage if you say boil it, although with Red Cabbage it reacts to acid and stays a nice color, but the Red Onions don't do that.

 

[newkarian]

I bet if you carmelize them no grayish color.

 

[Brandon O]

you can make a really good appetizer quesodilla with them

carmelize some red onions and season them.
Add blue cheese crumbles at flame out and stir around.
Use small corn or flour tortillas to make a quesodilla
be sure to make outsides really crispy.

Just saw sam the cooking guy do this and it looked great, trick is not to use too much blue cheese. I would prolly use a bit of mozerella in there too.

 

[pjj2ba]

Made those for O'Fest with my Walla Walla Sweets, it was so good. I made a flaky savory crust and added some finely minced Rosemary to it.

Good stuff it was too!

The thing with Red Onions is they turn a grayish color when you cook them and it can be unappealing to the eye, but I wonder if I can find a way around that. I have been thinking through a lot of the traditional ways I use onions....it's kind of like Red Cabbage if you say boil it, although with Red Cabbage it reacts to acid and stays a nice color, but the Red Onions don't do that.

I suspect the pigment is reacting with something else in the onion that is not present in the cabbage. It might be some kind of free radical. Cabbage is LOADED with vitamin C so maybe that is what preserves the color in the cabbage. If you cook the red cabbage long enough (destroying the vit. C) it will go gray too. Maybe if you added some ascorbic acid it would keep it's color better.

I doubt it's a pH problem as the pigments are similar in both plants. Just last week I was messing with some pigments from morning glories a colleague had made as a demo for his students. I took the sample and started playing with the pH. Initially it was a light purple, not the bright blue of the intact flower. I figured the exraction process lowered the pH, probably like what happens when the flowers fade - the color was that of a day old morning glory. I added more acid and the pigment became a bright pink. I then added a base and was able to make it a real nice blue. Hmmm.....Blue, Grey. I wouldn't think cooking would raise the pH though. If you grind up most plants, the pH will be around 5.5

 

[Sunsettseeker]

I had a really great Red Onion and Ale soup at "The Tavern" a while ago. You can't go wrong with that combo!

 

[zoebisch01]

I had a really great Red Onion and Ale soup at "The Tavern" a while ago. You can't go wrong with that combo!

Hey, welcome aboard fellow State-Collegian.

 

[Sunsettseeker]

Thanks! Pleasant Gap actually; but nobody would have any idea where that is unless they are from around here.

 

[paulthenurse]

You are missing the obvious solution. (At least it's obvious to me.) Ship a bunch of those bad boys up to PTN. Duh!