Serves: 5
The onion is the hardest working vegetable in the world. Selflessly, it adds flavor, body, and texture to sauces, entrées, soups, and more. And yet…no other food has caused more tears to be shed when called into service.
Well, that's just a matter of sulfurous compounds released when an onion is sliced. Many throughout the years have tried to figure out how to crack the code on cutting onions without getting weepy-with little or no success. While you may not be able to completely stop those tears from falling, you can at least shorten your cutting time by using a simple wagon wheel-shaped device called an apple corer-slicer (a.k.a. wedger). Center the ring of the corer-slicer over the root end and push down. You'll end up with nested wedges. Cut them in half crosswise, separate the leaves, and you have perfect kabob-sized pieces. Or keep cutting to get the dice size you want.
Onions come in white, red, yellow, and green varieties. White onions can be harsh, so they're best in stews and soups, where the liquid dilutes their punch. Red onions are so mild and sweet they can be enjoyed raw when thinly sliced--in salads, on burgers, with lox, or simply marinated. (But if left too long in the bin or refrigerator, even red onions can become quite pungent.) Yellow and Spanish onions are milder varieties. The delicate yellow Vidalia (named after the city in east-central Georgia that originally cultivated them) is actually rather sweet. Same with Maui onions, which get their trademark sweetness from the rich volcanic soil of their home island. Spanish onions have a mild yellow flesh and can weigh a pound or more. Hollowed and stuffed with cooked sausage and bread crumbs and grilled over Indirect heat, they can make a nice starter.
Grilled onions are one of life's simple pleasures. Because the sugars caramelize on the surface as the onion flesh becomes tender and milder, grilled onions add special flavor to mashed potatoes, soups, stews, fajitas, burgers, sandwiches--anywhere you want a slightly sweet effect. There is a simple art to getting them right:
TO GRILL BULB ONIONS, slice them crosswise 1/2 inch thick. Oil and salt them, and place them over Direct Medium heat. Grill the slices for 10 to 12 minutes, turning them once halfway through grilling time. For the most tender grilled onions, rotate them a half-turn a couple of minutes before and after flipping them. (In drier climates, you may need to brush them again with oil at this point.)
NOTE: Before grilling, some cooks like to run a skewer crosswise through the slices to keep them from falling apart during turning, but if you use a wide spatula and a deft wrist, you can forego the hassle.
Green onions, or scallions, are young plants harvested before the bulb is formed. Use these slender beauties thinly sliced as garnishes or whole on relish trays. They're mild enough to eat raw with a pinch of salt. Grilled, they make a delicious addition to grilled steak or a vegetable platter.
TO GRILL GREEN ONIONS, trim both ends, peel off the outermost layer, and rinse well to remove any dirt. Oil and salt them, then place them over Direct Medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once halfway through grilling time. Perfect!
From Weber’s Big Book of Grilling. Copyright © 2001 Weber-Stephen Products Co. All rights reserved. First published by Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, California.
This _The Noble Onion: Tearful Homage recipe is from the Weber's Big Book of Grilling Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
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