Can You Sous Vide Onions?

Anyone who is only beginning their journey into the wild and wonderful world of sous vide needs a bit of a road map. Sure, you likely enjoyed some sous vide recipes that made you interested in everyone’s favorite form of cooking. That goes without saying. However, it’s also likely that you aren’t aware of the depths of possibilities available to you once you embrace the numerous possibilities available through your new sous vide lifestyle. In particular, far too few sous vide chefs consider the onion. That’s right, everyone’s favorite tear-provoking vegetable is also an ingredient that brings our the best of sous vide!

That’s right. While chopping onions will bring tears to your eyes, it definitely pays off to go through the ordeal. In particular, caramelized onions from a sous vide cooker taste heavenly and make a perfect addition to just about any plate. A lot of people who are new to sous vide cooking hesitate to sous vide onions, because of internet articles about gas buildup and burst vacuum bags. But this shouldn’t deter you from trying, because using the right preparation method will make your culinary adventure explosion-free.

Sure, preparing onions sous vide is a bit more complicated than other options, but the delicious results are unquestionably worth it. These recipes aren’t for everyone. You should be an experienced sous vide veteran before attempting to prepare onions in sous vide. But, if you’ve put in the work and are ready for a challenge, then keep reading to find out the secret to fabulous caramelized onions with these tasty sous vide onion recipes!

Sous Vide Caramelized Onions

Ingredients

• 3 cups (or 700 grams) of chopped red onions (or about 3 medium-sized onions).
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter.
• 1 tablespoon of honey (you can also feel free to use maple or agave syrup).
• Some salt, used to taste.
• Some black pepper, used to taste.
• 1 pinch of dried thyme or 1 twig of fresh thyme (optional).

Instructions

Preheat your sous vide machine to 185 degrees Fahrenheit or 85 degrees Celsius. While the water bath is heating up, peel and chop the red onions into wedges. Next up, it’s time to melt the butter in a heated pan. Then add the onions with the seasoning (salt and pepper) and cook until the onions become translucent. Set the cooked onions aside and stir in the honey. Let them cool off a bit before transferring to a ziplock bag. Now you can cook the onions sous vide for a full 2 hours. Finally, when those onions are gorgeously tender and caramelized, it’s time to Serve with thyme. These onions would be perfect as a sandwich topping or perhaps even as a side dish to pork tenderloin.

Sous Vide French Onion Soup

Ingredients

• 2 pounds (or 1 kilogram) of brown onions that have been sliced into thin wedges.
• 1 clove garlic that has been crushed.
• Some salt, used to taste.
• Some pepper, used to taste.
• 2 tablespoons of butter.
• 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil.
• ½ teaspoon of dried parsley.
• 1 cup of chicken stock.
• 4 slices of bread (ideally baguette, but any type of bread will do).
• 1 cup (or 150 grams) of shredded cheddar cheese.

Instructions

Peel and cut the onions into thin slices while you set your sous vide oven to 185 degrees Fahrenheit or 85 degrees Celsius. Now it’s time to add the butter and oil to a heated pan, and then add the onions with the seasoning (salt and pepper). Cook the onions until they become translucent and then set them aside to cool off once done. Seal the cooked and cooled onions in plastic sous vide bag and cook in a hot water bath for about 3 hours. If you want to get darker caramelized onions with a more intense flavor, feel free to sous vide them for even  longer- if you’re serious about this, then it’s even worth considering leaving them in the sous vide oven overnight. Once the sous vide onions are done, bring them to a pot and combine with chicken stock and dried parsley. Cook this mixture for about half an hour, and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Top the sous vide french onion soup with bread and shredded cheddar. Finally, finish off the dish by searing the cheese with a kitchen torch. In case you don’t have a brulee torch, toast the bread and melt the cheese on it before adding it to the dish. It’s not quite the same, but still a worth substitution.

So those are our experts absolute favorite sous video onion recipes. How about you? Do you have any tips or tricks that allow you to get the most flavor out of a delicious onion by cooking it sous vide? If so, we would love to hear about it. Please leave your sous vide onion tricks and dishes in the comment section below. Let’s share all of those tasty recipes with the community and ensure that everyone gets the most out of their onions and their sous vide cooker!