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French onion soup is a classic, and one of my absolute favorite meals. Yes, I called it a meal because that’s how we serve it at home; nothing this good should be sidelined. You may notice this recipe has a rather simple list of ingredients, but there is a lengthy introduction. This is because making French onion soup is more about the method than the ingredients them selves.

Lets start by clearing something up. French onion soup is NOT SALTY. I’ve spoke to many people who claim to dislike French onion soup because they didn’t like the saltiness. Honestly, there is no reason French onion soup should be salty but I’ll explain why. First, the problem comes from the fact that French onion soup takes a long time to make. Especially when making large batches, you will find that it takes hours to caramelize onions. To speed up the process salt is added. Salt extracts the moisture from the onions instead of slowly sweating out the water with heat. In addition, salt is a preservative and processed soups most likely have additional salt added for that very reason alone.

Absurd amounts of salt found in store bought or chain restaurants’ French onion soups: 1560mg  (chain restaurant), 1800mg (popular canned soup), 850mg (premium canned soup) all per 8oz. This is not food! I’ve left out company names, but you can see for yourself where these values came from.

Making good French onion takes patients, but the reward is worth it. A good batch of soup should be slightly sweet but savory, rich in flavor and smooth in texture. Oddly enough onion haters should give French onion soup a try because the final result is nothing close to the pungent flavor of raw onions.

WHAT TO BUY:
The ingredient list for French onion soup is pretty basic. You’ll need onions (obviously), thyme, bay, and a stock (chicken / beef / vegetable). You can be creative and use yellow, red or mixed variations of onion but I find white to give the most robust flavor. Fresh thyme is a plus, it’s flavors are more subtle than dried therefore it’s easier to avoid over seasoning. The standard dry bay leaf will work just fine.

Stock, the body of the soup. The stock can play a major role in the flavor of the soup. Beef, chicken and vegetable stock are all acceptable to use. I’ll be using a 2:1 ratio of beef to chicken stock for this recipe, but a completely vegetarian vegetable stock will work well too. Home made stock would be ideal, but to be honest, home made beef stock around our home is a rare find. So when buying stock, keep these two rules in mind; don’t pinch pennies, and buy low sodium. If you follow those rules you won’t be disappointed.

TOOLS REQUIRED:
There aren’t any specialty items for this recipe. A large stock pot will be needed for simmering down a big batch of onions. Some oven friendly serving bowls are helpful if you want to finish the dish with a quick bake to melt the cheese.

INGREDIENTS:
This recipe is for a large batch serving about 8-10. You may cut the recipe in half.
1/2 stick of unsalted butter
3lbs of white onions, sliced vertically
1 cup sherry wine
6 sprigs of fresh thyme (about 2 tsp dried)
2 bay leaves
16oz beef stock (low sodium)
8oz chicken stock (low sodium)
water
2 tsp Worcestershire (or A1 steak sauce )
pepper
kosher salt
2tbsp onion powder
baguette (or plain croutons)
gruyere cheese (or provolone)
paprika

TECHNIQUE:

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Thinly slice the onions vertically.
2. Add butter to a large stock pot and melt on medium-low heat.
3. Add sliced onions to the pot and sprinkle lightly with salt.
4. Simmer the onions on medium-low stirring occasionally. This process can take between 1 to 2 hours depending on the type of onions. Bringing up the temperature could cause the onions to burn, so try not to rush things.
5. After most of the moisture cooks off, the onions will begin to brown and caramelize. As they begin to caramelize you will need to stir frequently. You will know the onions are finished when the onions become a rich brown in color and start to smell sweet and nutty.
6. At this point increase the heat to medium-high while adding in the sherry wine. Stir and scrape until all of the brown bits have been removed from the bottom of the pot and allow the sherry to reduce by half.
7. Add all of the stock, thyme, bay leaves, Worcestershire and onion powder to the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat back to low and simmer for 1 hour.
8. Adjust the soup by adding salt and pepper until you reach the desired taste.
9. To serve; preheat the oven to 400’F. Ladle soup in to bowls, on top place baguette then cover with cheese and a pinch of paprika. Place the bowls in the oven and allow them to bake until the cheese melts and becomes bubbly. If you are comfortable using your broiler or a large toaster oven these are also good alternatives.

As with any soup or stew allowing it will be better the next day. Allowing the soup to set overnight in the refrigerator will bring the flavors together. If you can, prepare the soup ahead of time and serve the following day.
Below are additional images of the caramelization process (start, 1 hour, 2 hours):