First time, I sautéed and “blonded” them. Second time, it worked and they are delicious.
I like onion, whichever way to eat them. I eat them raw, mixed in with salad, onion soup, or whatever. Last time I had a steak, I added caramelized onion on top and it was excellent. Then I thought, “How hard can it be to make it myself?” A bit Googling and I experienced my first defeat. It was greasy, flavorless, and overall a bad experience.
First of all, non-stick frying pan was a mistake. The key to caramelized onion is to continuously develop those fond (those brown substance stuck to the pan) and deglaze (add liquid and scrape those fond off). A non-stick pan completely defeat the purpose. With that concept, the rest is really simply about patience.
Chop sufficient onion to fill the pan, add some oil, turn the heat low, and wait. Slowly, the onion turns brown. Slowly, they started to stick to the pan and that’s when the fond started to develop. Once in a while, add liquid, scrap off those fond, turn the onion, and wait some more.
Yes, the trick, if there is any, is to control the heat to not burn the onion and just caramelize them. Oil is less important than the repetition of liquid and deglazing. At the end, sprinkle some salts to enhance the flavor.
That’s pretty much it. I got the added appreciation to this dish, or condiment. It takes a long time and lots of attention to make.