This weekend, I decided to make some fresh French onion dip to eat during the Alabama and Auburn games. You have to caramelize the onions, which takes about twenty minutes, so it’s a little time consuming. I wouldn’t have considered doing this on Saturday if I didn’t have a TV in my kitchen. Thankfully, I can wheel the island into the middle of the room and chop onions while I’m watching the game. What could go wrong?
The recipe I use is based on one from Williams Sonoma, but it’s evolved over time. Here’s everything you need:
Fresh French Onion Dip
- 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/4 cups sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup (+/-) low sodium beef stock
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Begin by finely chopping the onions and garlic.
Caramelizing onions is kind of like making a dark roux; it takes at least 30 minutes and you can’t really walk away. If you screw up and let it burn, it’s ruined. That said, when you do it right, it’s sublime.
Lots of recipes instruct you to saute the onions for 15-20 minutes. That’s not caramelization. To caramelize, you have to use medium-low heat and stir frequently. It depends on how much water is in your onions, but you should plan to spend 30-45 minutes getting the onions just right.
Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, salt, and pepper and cook until they’re soft and golden brown. I usually start it over medium-high and gradually reduce the heat to medium-low as the water expels and evaporates. It’s better to take a long time and do it right that it is to do it quickly and let it burn.
While you’re cooking the onions, pour the Worcestershire sauce into a measuring cup. Top it with beef stock until you have 1/3 cup.
When the onions are almost finished, add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. As soon as the garlic starts to brown, deglaze the pan with the sauce/stock mixture and cook until almost all of the liquid is absorbed.
Measure out the sour cream and mayonnaise into a serving bowl. Add the caramelized onions into the serving bowl and mix well. Refrigerate for at least one hour and then season to taste with salt and pepper. This dip will get better as it gets older, so make it a day ahead if you can.
I made some fresh potato chips to go with the dip.
