Best French Onion soup recipe

[KidWalleye]

The best I've had is Champps. Does anyone know their recipe or one close? I tried a recipe from food network. Was ok, but they had me put too much Red wine in it. Also I don't think I sauted the onions long enough to burn off the wine. Either way I can tell it wouldn't have had enough flavor. I made it in a non stick pot. I've heard a dutch oven is the best pot to use. I don't have one YET. If anyone knows of the best one on the market that could be helpful. I've been looking at the Le Creuset (sp?) one. Looks good quality.

Thanks, and have a safe holiday season. Jeremy

[Heartman]

Try this:

8 cans Campbell's Double-Strength Beef Broth

10 Large Vidalia Onions

Good(!) Swiss Cheese

Good(!) Garlic croutons

Put the soup in a large pot - quarter/slice onions and place in pot - bring to boil, then simmer for an hour. Serve in ceramic bowls - have the sliced cheese and bowl full of croutons on table.

Drink cold beer.

Sleep.

Wake up and do it again.

[delcecchi]

Here are a couple of recipes from cook's illustrated. I have found their recipes to be good and reliable. Neither has any red wine. One has a little white and the other a little sherry.

Serves 6. Published January 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated.

Sweet onions, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, will make this recipe overly sweet. Be patient when caramelizing the onions in step 2; the entire process takes 45 to 60 minutes. Use broiler-safe crocks and keep the rim of the bowls 4 to 5 inches from the heating element to obtain a proper gratinée of melted, bubbly cheese. If using ordinary soup bowls, sprinkle the toasted bread slices with Gruyère and return them to the broiler until the cheese melts, then float them on top of the soup. We prefer Swanson Certified Organic Free Range Chicken Broth and Pacific Beef Broth. For the best flavor, make the soup a day or 2 in advance. Alternatively, the onions can be prepared through step 1, cooled in the pot, and refrigerated for up to 3 days before proceeding with the recipe.

Ingredients

Soup

3 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 3 pieces

6 large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices (see illustration below)

Table salt

2 cups water , plus extra for deglazing

1/2 cup dry sherry

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (see note)

2 cups beef broth (see note)

6 sprigs fresh thyme , tied with kitchen twine

1 bay leaf

Ground black pepper

Cheese Croutons

1 small baguette , cut into 1/2-inch slices

8 ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)

Instructions

1. For the soup: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place butter in pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.

2. Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.) Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

4. For the croutons: While soup simmers, arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

5. To serve: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

---------------------------------

Serves 6. Published February 1, 2005.

Ingredients

3 pounds yellow onions

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon table salt , plus more as needed

1 pinch sugar

8 cups water , plus more as needed

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 sprig fresh thyme

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 baguette , crusty

8 ounces Gruyère cheese (or Swiss), grated

Instructions

1. Cut the tips off the onions and slice them in half lengthwise pole to pole. Peel off the outer layer of the skin and cut each half in half lengthwise. Slice each quarter crosswise into 1/8th inch slices. As you get close to the root flip each piece onto the other flat side and continue slicing. Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Once it has stopped foaming add the onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and sugar. Toss to evenly coat. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Remove cover, and cook stirring frequently until the onions begin to brown lightly, about 90 minutes longer. Now stir every 5 minutes and add a couple tablespoons of water whenever the bottom of the pan crusts over with dark colored fond. Continue to cook as directed until the onions are an even dark walnut color, an additional 45 minutes longer. (Cooking times are only approximate.)

2. Add the flour and stir for two minutes. Add 8 cups water and thyme to the onions and bring to a boil. Lower heat to maintain a lively simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Add white wine and simmer 10 minutes longer. Taste for seasoning adding salt as needed. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 325 degrees and adjust a rack to the upper middle position. Cut the baguette into 3/4 inch slices and arrange on a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake until the bread is dry, crisp and very lightly colored at the edges, about 10 minutes. Remove bread slices and set aside.

3. Heat broiler and place 6 heatproof bowls in a baking sheet. Fill each bowl with about 2 cups soup. Top each with two baguette slices and evenly distribute grated cheese over the bread. Broil until well browned and bubbly, about ten minutes. Cool for five minutes before serving.