Prepare Unmixed Super Bomb Onion Sauce
Bringing chips and gravy to an outdoor dining-focused dining room might seem like a bit of an excuse, but if you make the dish yourself, you can become the unofficial monarch of picnic snacks.
For some reason, onion sauce is one of those things that most people just don’t think of doing from scratch (see also: whipped cream). Maybe it’s because it’s so strongly associated with powdered mixes strewn with chunks of dehydrated onions, or maybe it’s because jars and tubs of ready-made foods are so convenient, but I’m here to tell you it’s possible – and definitely must be done without a doubt.
For your basic – for example, “easy”, not “bitch” – you really only need six things:
- Onion
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Salt
- 8 ounces FULL fat sour cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and chop the onion. Place all onion pieces in a skillet and season with salt. Stir the whole thing to make sure everything is covered in oil, and leave it alone for a while. When the onion is translucent, reduce the heat slightly and let it caramelize, resisting the temptation to stir more often than every ten minutes or so.
When they are as dark as you like, pour the onion and the rest of the ingredients into a bowl and stir, stir, stir. Ideally, store the sauce in the refrigerator overnight to allow the flavors to mix, but you can also start dipping right away.
Once you get comfortable with it, you can start experimenting adding tons of fun. Here are a few of my favorite variations:
- Horseradish Onion Sauce: A tablespoon of the finished product adds spice.
- Garlic Onion: Caramelize a couple of cloves with the onion.
- Everybody Bagel Onion Sauce: Buy everything except bagel dressing at Trader Joe’s . Sprinkle generously.
- Ramen Onion Sauce: I wouldn’t make a whole bag of ramen seasoning so you don’t overwhelm the onion flavor, but if you want monosodium glutamate in your sauce, this is a cheap and easy way to get it.
You can also add bacon if you like. I’ve never done this, but I bet it would be good. (I mean, obviously.)