Pearl onions are the darlings of holiday
buffets. Creamed onions are as traditional at Thanksgiving as are cranberries,
and as traditional at Christmas as is eggnog. Braised, glazed, creamed,
roasted, grilled, added to soups and stews, any way you enjoy them, they are
delicious, but many people forego dealing with them because the peeling seems
so daunting. If you're a pearl onion rookie, here is the best and easiest way
to peel them. Start to finish it only consumes about fifteen minutes of your
time, and is well worth it for the fresh taste.
This mixed assortment from Melissa's Produce is by far my favorite. Not only is the variety
of sizes and colors visually appealing, but the combination of tastes is
unsurpassed.
Now, let's get started. First of all, bring a
large pot of water to a boil. While you're waiting, cut the stem end (the end
OPPOSITE of the root end) off of each onion. It may seem tedious, but you can
develop a rhythm and knock them out in no time.
Discard the tips and put the onions in a small
bowl. When the water reaches a full, rolling boil, dump the onions in all at
once. Allow the water to return to a boil and boil them for three minutes.
While they are boiling, fill the empty onion bowl with ice water and set a
strainer over the sink.
When the three minutes of boiling time are up,
strain the onions and immediately dump them into the bowl of ice water.
Allow them a couple of minutes to cool and then,
one by one, squeeze the root end, and out will pop your peeled onion! Yes,
there will be a tiny bit of waste, but nothing beats this method for speed, and
aren't we all busy cooks? In some cases the root end may remain attached so
either pinch it off or cut it off. That's it!
Minimal waste, maximum speed. Perfect for busy
cooks!
