I felt a recipe for Burger Van Onions was definitely in order after coming across the biggest pan of onions I have ever seen, at the Gourmet Ostrich Burger Tent at Cropredy Folk Festival 2016. If you have been lucky enough to be served onions in a field somewhere that have been sat on a worm griddle for an hour you’ll know they are something else. You don't need a giant Paella pan for yours though, a saucepan in just fine. These onions are sooo tasty you may want to cook up a few extra, they can be reheated so are great to make up in advance and go really well in a bacon butty!
Link to measurement conversion chart
The ingredients below make enough for 6 servings at ½ a medium onion per serving, if you want more onions volume up the butter and oil a little but not in proportion to the increase in onions
Ingredients
- 3 onions peeled and thickly sliced
- 25g Butter
- Splash of oil
You will also need
- a large saucepan
Method
- Warm the pan on a high heat, then add the butter
- Heat through until the butter has melted, add a splash of oil
- Add the onions and toss in the buttery oil mixture then leave for a couple of mins to allow them to start to char but not burn
- Turn the heat down low and slowly cook the onions for 10 – 15 minutes stirring occasionally
- You should end up with soft gooey onions that have crispy brown bits
- Eat and enjoy!
Serving suggestions and variations
- Fried onions are a great side dish to most grilled, fried or baked meats but are a must with a burger, hot dog, most traditional English sausages and in a bacon buttie.
- Great if left in the pan, reheated on and served from a BBQ
- Add a tablespoon of brown sugar to the cooking onions for a sweeter flavour
- Spice them up a bit by stirring in a dollop of Worcestershire, BBQ, chilli or brown sauce just as the onions soften
Acknowledgements
I give the credit to Burger van onions to Bailey Farr jnr, who employed Simon to work the burger van for a season. I hadn’t really thought about it much before then but Simon was chief in charge of onion chopping at the time. He told us that the secret of good burger onions was the size of the chop and the length of time left on the griddle. Having worked many events myself I came to identify the difference between onions that had just been thrown on and fried and those that have sat on a low griddle for a while and I know which ones I like best. Thanks Bailey.
You might like to try some other recipes from our collection;
- If you have the onions then you need to go for a burger with the lot to eat with them
- Having a BBQ with friends then try our Mama's Salad as a side dish
- Round off a great meal with Louise's Lemon Meringue Pie and you will have done a great job.
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Happy eating!