Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup: The Ultimate Comfort Food There's nothing quite like a bowl of classic French onion soup to warm you up on a cold winter day. This savory stew, all sweet, jammy onions in healthy chicken broth with its slice of crusty bread and winy blanket of bubbly melted cheese. It's a bowl full of comfort. For many it seems liked a difficult task. In the quest for that deep, round flavor, recording a drop of sweat drips into a bubbling pan of onions may be required essence not everyone can afford. But wouldn't you rather do it easier? Enter the slow cooker, your most trusted kitchen assistant. Natural French onion soup flavor with none of the labor. These tasty results can be made just as well in your at-home kitchen. We'll tell you all there is to know about becoming a scenic master. What makes the most delicious meaty onion? Soup Why Using Your Slow Cooker is Perfect for French Onion Soup Turning traditional classics into convenient slow cooker meals—the flavor difference is obvious. Letting onions stew in low-slow heat like this allows them to transform from boyhood humility into womanhood splendor.

The magic of slow caramelization

At the heart and soul of any great French Onion Soup is caramelized onions. This process involves slowly cooking onions to break down their complex carbohydrates into simple sugars. The result is a rich brown for the ever-intensifying sweetness with deep flavor that has come from long-established hot-weather fields of the South. On the stove This process of course demands hourly vigilance. At this stage zuccheros are still net open to the Christian influence which would eventually encourage a process called diastolic prepetropollich phase: the sugar-cured body decomposes even further, disintegrating in a slow and controlled fashion. It’s all in the heart of the range. Effectively, yours is one long labor of love with easily seen pitfalls.

With a slow cooker, you can remove this source of stress from your life.Once you have set the onions to slow cook on their lowest heat setting for several hours securely in the knowledge that without any undue scorching each hour coaxes out ever more of their intrinsic sweetness the onions' natural juices are released they are reduced to a kind of sweet confection that goes exceptionally well with savories--whether you combine them with sour cream or cream cheese or just spread some on bread and butter. This no-fuss approach means that you'll have perfect caramelized onions every time, forming the ideal base for your soup.

A Deeper, More Flavorful Broth

After the onions have reached a smooth and caramelized state, the slow cooker continues its magic in producing the broth. As the soup gently simmers for hours, flavors slowly meld together: the beef broth, wine, herbs, and caramelized onions This calm, long soak allows all the ingredients to combine. The result is a broth with rich flavor, complex taste, and which is immensely satisfying. The soup tastes as if it has been cooking for days rather than hours. Put this on your list of top comfort food recipes!

Convenience You Can 'Set It and Forget it'

Although it takes some initial preparation, it requires no further supervision and you can turn the slow cooker on whenever is convenient for you.

This makes it such a perfect recipe for a busy day.

The ingredients are assembled in the morning, and when you come home in the evening, you are greeted by the fragrance of an authentic French bistro meal.

It's a grand meal, one that's special enough for company but easy enough to make on any evening.

Crafting the Perfect Slow Cooker French Onion Soup: A Step-by-Step Guide

This quick and easy French Onion soup will become a staple at your house. Just follow these nine simple steps, and in no time you will have a dish which is heralded as one of the most unforgettable in history.

Stuff you'll need:

Onions: yellow onions (3lbs), thinly sliced

Butter: unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)

Sugar: granulated sugar, optional; it helps get the caramelization started (1 tablespoon)

Garlic cloves: minced (3)

Dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc or vintage Italian Pinot Grigio: 50mls (about 1/2 cup)

All-purpose flour, a white flour or a mix: 2 tablespoons

Beef broth from a can or a plastic container, about 1 quart: 6 cups

Fresh thyme sprigs: 4 sprigs

Bay leaf: 1

Salt and black pepper

Baguette loaf: 1, sliced diagonally certain inches thick

2 cups of Gruyere or Gruyere combined with another cheese like Emmenthaler or Swiss - shredded

Step 1: Caramelize the Onions to Perfection

This is the most important step of all, and virtually impossible to get wrong in a slow cooker.

Slice your onions thinly. A inexpensive mandoline makes this task quick and uniform, though a sharp knife works fine too. Don't worry too much about the sheer volume, as they will cook down dramatically.

Put the sliced onions, butter and optional sugar into the slow cooker's dish. Stir these around together as well as you can.

The crockery heat onion soup 8-10 hours are ready in 4-5 hours, if possible, stirring once or twice.

The onions should be very dark brown, soft, and almost jam-like. They will have released a ton of liquid that is pure concentrated onion flavor. This is the perfect necessary base for an amazing broth.

Pro Tip: For a deeper, more soup-like flavor, though, start the onions in a large skillet on the stove. In butter, over medium heat, sauté them for at least 15-20 minutes until they are softened and beginning to brown before transferring them to slow-cooker. There the rest of the caramelizing can occur. This first coat gives them a head start developing color as well as taste.

Step 2: Develop a Flavourful Broth

When the onions are a luscious brown, sweet and completely caramelized, you are ready to proceed with the soup.

In your slow cookers, sprinkle in your little minced garlic and slow cook (on high) for another.A half-hour more at least needs to land your high-powered culinary expertise down on this complex dish that you cannot precook in order to stall.

If your slow cooker has a removable insert that's stovetop-safe, then please go ahead and proceed on the stove. If not, carefully transfer the onions and their liquids to a big pot or Dutch oven.

Evenly sprinkle the past around on top of onions. Now we shall stir continuously for about one minute and let the paste brown as necessary in order that it can help to thicken our soup later.

Add wine and deglaze the skillet, stirring everything well to obtund the sharp vinegar flavor. Allow the wine to cook 2-3 minutes until raw

Gradually add beef broth to onions and stirring continuously until well mixed. Fresh thyme sprigs are thrown in with the bay leaf. Bring mixture to the boil.

Pour the soup mixture carefully back into the slow cooker basin. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and cook on LOW for another 4-6 hours, or on HIGH for 2-3 hours. In this way, all of the flavors marry together into a harmonious and delicious broth.

Step 3: Prepare for Cheesy Perfection

However, it is the final step that is the essence of this awfully delicious soup: that cheesy, crunchy topping.

Preheat your oven broiler.

While the broiler is heating, toast baguette slices. You can do this in the oven on a baking sheet for a few minutes or in the toaster until they're golden and firm. When the bread is toasted, gently rub it with a raw garlic clove for yet another subtle layer of flavor.

Ladle the hot soup into oven-safe bowls or crocks.

Place one or two pieces of toasted baguette bread on top so it fits the bowl around the soup in each bowl.

Generously heap grated cheese on bread. The traditional choice is gruyère; its nutty, salty flavor and great melting properties make it what you want here. A mixture of gruyère and provolone or even a bit of swiss would also be tasty.

Place the bowls carefully on a sturdy tray and then place the tray under the broiler. Keep a close eye on things! This will only take 2-4 minutes. In order to consume at its best, you want the cheese to be melted, bubbling and attractively browned in parts.

Tips for Success with Your Easy French Onion Soup Recipe

Choose the Right Onions: Yellow onions are the best choice. They have a balanced flavor that becomes perfectly sweet and savory when caramelized. Sweet onions such as Vidalias can get too sweet, while red onions may give an odd color.

Don't be in a rush over the onions. Whether you cook the onions from start to finish in a slow cooker, or begin cooking on the stovetop (only to finish them off in said slow cooker) so they can get those rich dark colors-adhere strictly to these principles.

This is where they develop all the flavors.

Use Quality Broth: Because broth is nearly always part of the recipe, you should try to use the best-quality commercially available beef broth whenever you can. If possible, substitute good homemade stock for it.

Choose the Right Cheese: For good reason, Gruyère is the classic choice. It melts beautifully and has a complex flavor that blends well with the sweetness of the onions. If you can’t find it, then Comté, Emmental, or even some good Jarlsberg will serveas a adequate replacements. Grating your own cheese from a block will always give you a creamier melt than using preshredded types.

Use Oven-Safe Bowls: If you want to get that great cheese crust, you need to have bowls that go under the broiler. If you don’t have any, you can make "croutons". To do this, place cheese on top and toast it in an oven without preheating the broiler.

Final Baking and Serving of Your Soup

Bring the soup up from under the broiler and service it right away. But be sure to inform your family and guests that the soup bowls are burning hot. To help the are easier handle, put them on a plate or watch.

When dropped into the slow cooker, the onion soup grabs a bus and goes out. This may thus be stored for as long as five days(without adding on the top of crusty bread and cheese). The flavors are matured and strengthened in cold air. If you've got it on the day, just methodically reheat in the pot or the microwave. Set bowls into ovenproof containers, give them a warming glow on the boiler and top bread and cheese before serving. The soup can also be frozen for up to three months.

This is more than a mere meal; it's an experience. It’s the ideal accompaniment for a chilly evening, a special event, or if you simply feel like pure comfort food.

We'd love to hear how you soup turns out! Why not try this simple French onion soup recipe and share with us tell us in the comments section below? Do post if any of these are the case: you have any questions, or do you have special techniques which will make a good classic dish even better than it otherwise would had been. Good luck!