Frying/sauteeing onions in a pot instead of frying pan

amother

Wed, Apr 17 2024, 9:10 am

patzer wrote:

Of course it's possible.
The onions don't care!

I just find that so much juice comes out. I need to drain of the water of the onions so many times till it starts browning.

its not water from wet onions from rinsing them. its from the onions itself.

I start with a big pot of onions and then left with so little.

unless I am putting too much into one pot?

so thats why wondering if a frying pan browns better and quicker.

ray family

Wed, Apr 17 2024, 9:12 am

What’s the difference between a frying pan and a pot aside from the size?
You can overload a frying pan and it’ll take longer to fry and you can put less in a pot and it’ll take less time to cook.

watergirl

Wed, Apr 17 2024, 9:15 am

amother OP wrote:

Keep the pot uncovered and the water will evaporate. There will be some initially, but as it cooks down it will be gone.

Like most of the organic material on the planet (including humans!), all things are mostly water. All fruit, veg, and protein will cook down as the natural water expels.

Amarante

Wed, Apr 17 2024, 9:21 am

It depends on what you want in the finished onion.

If you saute in the pan the moisture will evaporate and give you a more sautéed result.

Because of the high sides of a pot, you will get more of a steamed result because the moisture will be retained even if you don't have a lid.

It is why you would use a saute/frying pan to sear a steak or a chop and a heavy pot to braise meats because one is cooking with a dry heat and one is deliberately braising with liquid.

There are recipes in which caramelized soft onions are very delicious and these can be made very easily in a crock pot as you set it on low and it cooks down to delicious sweet softness in hours without having to watch it carefully.

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, Apr 17 2024, 9:23 am

amother OP wrote:

Has very little to do with the pan. In my experience it's at least 40 min and usually longer in order to obtain brownish onions and there is NO quick shortcut.
Do other tasks in the kitchen while you fry those onions Smile

amother

Wed, Apr 17 2024, 9:27 am

Amarante wrote:

ah so the pot does cause more liquid cos of the moisture not just cos of the liquid in the onions.

I want it to bake chicken. I want it sauteed soft caramelized and brown.

I dont want dry crispy.

but in the pot I get cooked with water.

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, Apr 17 2024, 9:29 am

Amarante wrote:

Thank You

Amarante

Wed, Apr 17 2024, 9:56 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

As I wrote, it depends on the result you want.

If you want crispy onions, you need to saute in a pan with low sides and also you shouldn’t crowd because then it will steam instead of sautéing properly.

I have a 14” sauté pan so that I can properly sear or salute larger quantities at once.

If you want softer caramelized onions, then you cook them low and slow. You can do this much more simply in a crockpot.

Amarante

Wed, Apr 17 2024, 9:58 am

amother OP wrote:

It is because the liquid from the onion isn’t evaporating and the cooking process s causing steam which drips down the sides of the own.

I would suggest using a crockpot because you actually want what is called caramelized onions. These are soft and golden and the long slow cooking develops the sweetness from the sugar in onions. You then can use these onions in many ways.

ra_mom

Wed, Apr 17 2024, 10:13 am

Yes it does collect more liquid OP. But if it's liquidy, just keep sautéing until you get the results you want, and because it's on high, keep stirring. Can take an extra 20 minutes more than what you think.

And yes the onions do cook down. Always. So if you need to store the finished product by onion size, just split up the results into as many plastic cups and freeze (if you sautéed 10 onions, divide the mixture after sautéing into 10 separate cups so you know how much 1 onion sautéed is for later recipes).

amother

Wed, Apr 17 2024, 10:38 am

ra_mom wrote:

I dont mind that it takes longer but
doesnt it cook down more cos it takes longer cos of the liquid?

ra_mom

Wed, Apr 17 2024, 10:39 am

amother OP wrote:

I dont mind that it takes longer but
doesnt it cook down more cos it takes longer cos of the liquid?

It just gets softer/collapses, the diced pieces are less pronounced so it may look like less in a measuring cup, but the flavor of a full onion is still there.

amother

Moonstone

Wed, Apr 17 2024, 11:00 am

I use a pot - Like with meat, slow & low brings good results.
Shouldn't need to drain, just add tons of onions, coated well with the oil, a little kosher salt sprinkled, low flame, & let it be, uncovered.

When nicely very wilted, perhaps starting to brown some, stir & continue to let it be. Not an expert but I like using non-stick for this

Amarante

Wed, Apr 17 2024, 12:00 pm

Here is a recipe for caramelized onions in a crockpot

Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients

8 medium/large onions*
¼ cup melted butter or olive oil (about a tablespoon for every 2 onions)
1 teaspoon salt (¼ teaspoon for every 2 onions)
Directions

Peel, cut in half, and thinly slice enough onions to fill a slow cooker half to three-quarters full.
Sprinkle onions with the melted butter or olive oil and salt. Toss to coat.
Cook for 10 hours on LOW. At this point, I found the onions had reduced from about 4 quarts raw to a little over 1 quart cooked onions and 1¼ cup liquid. To reduce further, leave the liquid in and cook for another 4 or 5 hours on LOW, stirring occasionally, until the onions are deeper brown and the liquid is almost completely cooked off.

*Note: I used a 6 ½-quart slow cooker. Adjust the recipe amounts to suit the size of your equipment.