Caramelized Onions?

[The Ranger]

What is the difference between grilled onions and caramelized onions?

[wayne keyser]

Grill a raw onion (best to do slices or small sectioms) and you get a dry-cooked onion segment that is usually still a bit crisp, but browned or very slightly charred in spots.

Caramelize onion slices slowly at moderate temperature and you get oil-cooked soft onion rings, brown throughout because the water has been largely cooked away, with concentrated sweetness.

Caramelize onions wrong (too hot, or don't stir enough) and you get burnt onions.

[ipsedixit]

Almost like the difference between grilled corn on the cob and cornmeal mush.

[sfumato]

Here's a good example of caramelized onions (recipe is oh so good):

baked brie with caramelized onions
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[lexpatti]

add another method - roasted red onions. I have fallen in love with this lately. Toss in a little olive oil, salt and pep - roast in oven at 425 for about 15-20 min. Soooo sweet and yummy

[The Ranger]

Can you do this with Vidalia or Maui (my current favorites) or will it destroy the already-sweet flavors?

[chowser]

It ends up very sweet. Quicky grilled is good but anything more caramelized concentrates the sweetness too much for me.

[lexpatti]

I haven't tried with other onions, but now I will. I bet vidalia must be awesome roasted. I'll report back.

[lexpatti]

Report back: we roasted a vidalia onion (larg chunks) the other night and by far the red onions are better, sweeter, full of flavor. Made them the same way but for whatever reason, we loved the red onions better.

[The Ranger]

Made patty melts for everyone using Vidalias. I cheated and sautéed them in butter and then cleaned up the pan using a 1/2 cup of apple juice. SWMBO and I really enjoyed them but my three daughter-units were unimpressed. Spawn picked the onions, cheese, and bread away so that she had just a hamburger patty. <sigh> I live with peasants I tell ya!

The Vidalias were incredibly sweet but that could also have been because of the apple juice. I'll simply have to procure more for further data.

[EdwardAdams]

I'm uncertain what you mean by grilled onions, cooked on a grill or just cooked in a pan or a griddle until soft, as in grilled onions on a hamburger? If it is the latter it is purely a matter of cooking time. Onions get soft and translucent as they are cooked. If you keep cooking the released sugars start to caramelize and the onions turn a caramel color.

[The Ranger]

That was one of the reasons I was looking for a little more clarity on the term. What I had always considered "grilled" was not by someone else and I was looking for something to help the two of us with understanding those terms. It's since become a little clearer. :)

[sfumato]

If you said "grilled" to me, I would assume you meant on an outdoor grill, rather than a commercial griddle.

What did the other person mean by "grilled"? I am curious!

[The Ranger]

The product that the onions are used in is a patty melt. If I made it at home, I'd caramelize them. When I get them at a restaurant, I ask them to be grilled long enough to be browned.

[KerryLynn]

to me the main difference is this: caramelized onions (done in a pan for 1 to 2 hours) are far softer and sweeter than grilled onions, which can only stay on the grill so long until they are charred.

a great recipe for caramelized onions is to saute white onions, red onions, and chives in a bit of olive oil on low for an hour and a half with a touch of thyme and salt. place several layers of filo dough brushed with olive oil into muffin tins, and fill with the onion mixture and top with goat cheese. bake until the dough is golden and crisp for easy onion and goat cheese tartlets. for other recipes:
www.frenchrevolutionfood.com

[BobB]

And now that you've learned the difference, try mixing some chopped caramelized onions into mashed potatoes with plenty of butter. Yum!

[The Ranger]

We'll be enjoying patty melts and mashed taters tonight! Comfort food doesn't get much better.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I think this is just a semantic issue. Some people just refer to carmelized onions as "grilled onions," even though they are not made on a grill. Growing up in Cleveland, that's what they were called. Maybe it's a regional thing.

[morwen]

In NY/PA when you go into a sandwich shop and get grilled onions what they do is throw a dab of butter on the grill (the flat metal sheet griddle) and toss a pile of thin sliced onions on top. They fry until they're translucent/soft and then they go on your sandwich. When grilling onions on a charcoal/gas grill they are usually done whole or thick sliced, brushed with oil and laid on the grate on low/med or indirect heat until they have grill marks on one side and then flip and repeat. Carmelized onions may be sliced thick or thin, are placed in a deep pan in a fat of some kind (olive oil/bacon fat/butter) and slowly cooked down over low heat for a long time until the natural sugars develop and brown up. They are not crispy. Depending on how much natural sugar is in the onions, sometimes you have to add a touch of sugar to begin the carmelization process if it hasn't started on it's own. I've also discovered that a touch of sherry will help start carmelization and add a bit of flavor if the onions are intended for onion soup or a confit type product.

[David A. Goldfarb]

In our family the distinction between onions that were sauteed until translucent and onions that were browned until caramelized would be "bad grilled onions" vs. "good grilled onions." The best grilled onions are caramelized in chicken fat.

[wellfedred]

This has become one of my biggest restaurant pet peeves lately....they say caramelized onions but what you get is barely cooked grilled onions....really irks me....but as we've found before we can go on forever about restaurants that misname the food they prepare