Peeling Onions by the bushel

[billieboy]

Normally I just peel an onion or two for supper and don't even think about it. I just do it.
But today I decided to make a huge batch of Caramelized Onions. After peeling 10lbs worth, I said to myself, "self....there has to be a better way"
Any ideas?

[alanbarnes]

Once upon a time in the dark ages I worked in a professional kitchen. Started out as a prep cook, and one of the daily jobs was to peel and slice 50# bags of onions for onion soup. Here's the method I was taught:

Dump out the bag into the sink and cover with cold water. Grab an onion and slice off the blossom end. Set the onion on the cut surface and cut in half through the root. Get a bit of skin and flesh between your thumb and the heel of your knife and pull it off in one motion. Lay flat, slice, repeat.

The key is that the entire skin has to come off in one quick motion. If you're fiddling around, you haven't grabbed a thick enough layer. Yes, you'll end up pulling off some edible flesh, but unless you do you'll be there all day. And if you use the peelings for stock, they don't go to waste.

[billieboy]

Oh thank you Alan. I know that peeling off the first layer with the skin is the quickest way but I hate to waste food. You mentioned saving that for stock.....now my conscience is clear :-)
Why didn't I think of that!!!!

[alanbarnes]

You're welcome! Onion skins, carrot peelings, celery leaves, mushroom stems, chicken carcasses - that's not garbage, it's stock waiting to happen. And once the stock is done, I strain off the solid matter, mash it up, and feed it to the dogs. Zero waste (except what has to be picked up in the back yard) and everybody's happy.

[greygarious]

Another clear conscience here! Of course, since I consider onions a basic food group, I may need a second freezer....

[billieboy]

The second freezer option has crossed my mind more than once. Both my freezer and fridge freezer a crammed. Have to eat more and buy less. (But honey!!!! it's on sale!!!)

[BobB]

There's a Chow Tip video about dealing with the tears-in-the-eyes issue: http://www.chow.com/stories/10842

Doesn't help speed things up but should make it more pleasant while you're peeling.

[alkapal]

i always tell mr. alka when i'm peeling and chopping lots of onions, that "cutting onions is a labor of love."

it is easiest for me to:
1. cut off non-root end.
2. cut in half, lengthwise, through the root end (which will serve to hold the onion together when you start into step 4).
3. peel off the skin, by holding edge of knife under edge of skin, and pulling back, holding skin with my thumb down against the skin, with the knife on the other side.
4. slice with cut side down, by slicing perpindicular to cutting board, radiating away from the root end, then cut onion from the non-root end, about half-way from the top curve of the onion, holding flat hand on top of semi-sliced onion, and cutting toward the root end. then discard root end. and chop, mince.

process all the onions in the first step, before moving on to the second/next step. it goes faster.

[paprkutr]

Here in Los Angeles we have the produce mart downtown and can buy large quanities of peeled onions or potatoes. Alternatively, what I do when I need large quantities of chopped onion, I go to Smart and Final and buy the 3 pound bags of chopped onion which is very fresh, and I don't have to peel or chop. Lot's of times I brown several bags of onions, and then freeze in smaller containers so I always have them. I found that I put the onions in a large roasting pan with some oil put it in the oven and come back once an hour or so and stir. This way it takes a little longer, but I don't have to stand over them.

[Demented]

Hey Billieboy,

when breaking down large quantities of onions I prefer the two step.

With a 3 -4 inch paring knife, cut away the tops and roots then remove the paper with the top layer of flesh. Next slice, dice or otherwise cut the onion into pieces suitable for what I'm making.

[lisavf]

Use the biggest onions you can find (I'm talking softball-size). Then there are fewer of them to peel! Jumbo-sized whites are my favorites. Bonus: IMO, they make the BEST caramelized onions because the rings are thicker than smaller onions.

[chef24]

Using cold water helps.. Put a piece of bread in your mouth leave half in half out while u peel the onions... Try it

[Sharuf]

Haven't done this myself, but I saw somewhere (maybe here on CH) the suggestion that you wear swim goggles while tackling onions. Makes sense to me.

[billieboy]

Just an update on the Caramelized Onions. It was worth the agony of peeling them. Just had a taste of them after 16hrs in the slow cooker. OMG OMG OMG they are good.
Peeling or not, this is now standard repertoire.

[Caroline1]

I invite friends over, get them started "helping" peel the onions, then call my house phone from my cell phone and tell them to keep peeling until I get back. When I get back, I serve them Kleenex (for their rears) coffee and cookies. '-)

[greygarious]

<Kleenex (for their rears)> ....... and when watching 'Old Yeller", a roll of Charmin next to the remote? ;-D

[Caroline1]

LOL~ i REALLY DO need to learn how to proof read!

[kchurchill5]

I can relate, lost my glasses, I'm hurting. Glad I'm a pretty good typist LOL

[Siobhan]

hehehehehehehehehehehe took me a while to figure that out. "What are her friends doing with their rears? Why is coffee required?" heheheheh

[kchurchill5]

That I could of used. These guys (homeless but so sweet and willing to do anything were SOOOOO slow. It took forever. We had some hundred bags ... There were a lot!! I kept saying I need to check on something or I need to go to the bathroom, any excuse I could make I tried just to get away. We had a fan, running water, just about anything LOL We were all crying. It was so funny we were crying and laughing at the same time. The guys said it was the most fun they had in years. I guess ... all worth just for that compliment.

It really makes you think when a bowl of soup is a whole days meal for them and makes them so happy just to peel onions and for others a $300 dollar kitchen appliance or pan. No disrespect to anyone, please. I just meant it as a reality check and really makes you think what is important in life. One of the guys was a banker who came from a extremely wealthy family and gave it all up. Left it all for nothing. Funny how peeling onions made him so happy. And he, I will have help again. He was a good peeler unlike my other 4 helpers. He was the onion king!!

[critter101]

Caroline1, I know you meant "tears", not "rears" but that was the perfect typo!!!

[Caroline1]

I'm wondering if I'd make fewer typos if I cleared my desk? Or maybe just replaced the batteries in my cordless keyboard? '-)

[critter101]

My method is wasteful, but quick. I cut off the tops and bottoms, then make a slit (from top to bottom) cutting through the skin, and the first layer of onion. Peel off, and continue to slice the onion. As I said, wasteful, but gets through the chore quickly.

[JoanN]

I saw Tyler Florence slit the top layer of onion from top to bottom and have done that, too, ever since. A bit wasteful, but so much faster it's worth it.

But I never cut off the root end. You need the root to hold the onion together if you're going to make horizontal and vertical cuts in order to chop or mince it quickly.

[dmd_kc]

That's pretty much my method too -- but I don't understand what part of it is wasteful. I core out the "gathers" at the top, then slit down around the first layer and pop it off.

I nearly always find that the first fleshy layer (the one I discard) is at least partly turned into paper. After I take it off, I usually salvage the edible part if it's over 2/3 of the whole layer. Much less than that and I don't bother.

Maybe I don't funny understand what you mean.

[critter101]

Because I cut off the first layer (sometimes it's not papery at all), and the top and bottom, there's some of the onion that's discarded. Some people consider that a waste. When I peel potatoes, I cut off the top and bottom, and use a paring knife to peel the rest. Again, it wastes some of the product, but for me, it's worth the time saved.

[dmd_kc]

Gotcha. Not much waste, in my book. Certainly nothing like the "right" way to core a bell pepper, or how most people discard the stem from broccoli or artichokes. Now THAT's waste.

[mnosyne]

Me too!

[Channa]

Soaking the onions in water overnight makes them easy to peel.

[greygarious]

Hadn't heard that one but it certainly makes sense. Thanks! I've got a bag waiting for me and will try this.

[Melanie Wong]

Commercial processors wet the onions, makes the papery skins easier to remove.

[coll]

My friend who has a hot dog wagon does 50 lbs at a time. He looked into the restaurant style machines, especially because he has arthritis, but the cheapest ones were $200. Don't know how desperate (or rich) you are, though! Just google onion peeler if you want.

[greygarious]

These are all things I figured out for myself, but have since seen in Cooks Illustrated:
1. Refrigerating the unpeeled onions first keeps them from causing teary eyes when
they are cut.
2. If peeling an onion before cutting, start at the stem end, not the root. Grab the tip of
a stem and pull it back to get started.
3. It's easier to peel if you first halve the onion from pole to pole. Then start at the stem
end and pull back to the root end, but do not tear the peel off. You can then anchor the
root end to the cutting board by holding down the bunch of peel as you chop, dice or
slice the onion. This keeps your fingers well clear of the knife blade and allows you
to cut right up to the root.
4. Although smelly bags of supermarket frozen onions will spread off-flavors to other
food in your home freezer, when you chop your own onions and freeze them in a
freezer-weight baggie, this doesn't happen. I like the convenience of having ready-to-
cook onions instantly at hand. Because freezing breaks cell walls, they cook faster
right from the freezer than they do freshly-cut.
5. When I buy a big bag of onions, after prepping I freeze some raw, sauteeing the rest.
I'll remove some to freezer containers when they are just getting golden, and
continue the rest to caramelized before making soup and/or freezing them in small
amounts. Because of the oil, they don't freeze rock-hard, so it's easy to pry some out
with a fork when I want to add it to a sauce, sandwich, or whatever.

If all else fails, make someone else do it! At times like these I wish I had kids rather than dogs. Then again, a kid will balk at eating your steak gristle and burnt toast ;-)

[kchurchill5]

This was 15 gallons of soup onion for the salvation army. I picked the onions up between jobs, no time to prep or do anything. I had 5 homeless people helping. and no where to refrigerate. And the knifes, where whatever was available. So no pick and choose here. Needless to say it came out good, took a while but good carmelization just butter for a long time on a flat top grill. Added some sherry, broth, seasoning and we grilled 50 loafs of baguettes. Also fresh slices of some good swiss already melted on the grilled bread. This way they just heat the bread and drop on the warm soup. My contribution. I have a friend at the market and he donates 1/2 and I donate the other half. Have a friend at Publix market too and helps with the cheese and broth. My way on contributing to the community. I do this 4 times a year and volunteer the other months just 1x per month handing out food. Nice way to give back and I write it off as donations. It is as much as people think and it helps. It's not a whole dinner but it is more than some eat in a whole day. Anything can help. I got out local Sams club to donate 100 hams one weekend to go with my soup and a local vendor to donate mashed potatoes and another for hundreds of pounds of fresh corn when in season. Gourmet to most.
Well, I'm way off subject, my apologies. Just a passion of mine.

Well onions are still a pain in the a*s to clean and peel.

[alwayscooking]

Cold onions, a very sharp knife and quick chopping.

[billieboy]

Oh, it's not the chopping that bothers me, in fact I enjoy food prep, it's the damned peeling of them. Like I said, not one or two, but 10 lbs....boooooring.

[alwayscooking]

? Do you peel after taking the top off and halving - seems like the easy part. If peeling whole, that would be a dull run - choose some good background music.

[kchurchill5]

I did, still just a pain, I used a mandolin (sp?) to slice, Need a few hundred) That was the easy part

[kchurchill5]

Oh I so agree

[kchurchill5]

If you hear, please please pass them on. I made onion soup enough for 3 pots for the salvation army. I volunteer 1 a month. I made 3 f gallon buckets. Talk about onions. I lost count of how many. It took 5 of us forever to peel them all.

Someone had got to have a better way. I agree billieboy, making soup just for me is bad enough, this was a test!