Grilling Season is Now! {Recipe: Marinated Grilled Sweet Onions} (2024)

FAQs

What are the best onions for grilling? ›

Best Onion for Grilling

You can cook any onion you prefer on a grill, but my personal preference is a large, sweet onion like the Vidalia onion. These taste amazing when grilled, and they stay sweet and crisp with an added caramelization when grilled. If you can't get a Vidalia onion, any other sweet onion will do.

Grilled shallots are a great side dish or garnish to prepare alongside your protein or immediately after you have removed your meat to let it rest.

Caramelized onions are not synonymous with grilled onions. Both have their place and grilled onions can be delicious, but grilling is about high heat and caramelization happens slowly over low heat.

Yellow onions are your go-to cooking onions. This onion has yellow skin and a strong flavor due to its high sulphur content, which mellows out during cooking, becoming sweet and flavorful.

You can caramelize any kind of onion, but yellow or Spanish onions tend to offer the most balanced-sweet-savory flavor profile and are the most versatile for different dishes. Sweet onions, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla work too, but keep in mind that their flavor will become even sweeter once caramelized.

Worried about onions falling apart or having trouble turning them? Try these ideas: Cover the grill grates with tinfoil and poke small holes in the foil to allow heat through. Run wooden or metal skewers through each slice or wedge.

Trim off the top and peel (standing the shallots in boiling water for a minute or two after trimming makes peeling easier), then finely slice or chop. If you're using banana shallots, their longer size means you can use the same method to chop as you'd use for onions, as follows: Cut in half from top to bottom.

In particular, shallots contain a higher amount of fiber and are rich in vitamin B6, manganese, copper, folate, and vitamin C. While onions are lower in calories, shallots contain a higher amount of several vitamins and minerals.

Why do chefs use shallots instead of onions? Some chefs favor shallots because their subtle allium flavor doesn't as easily overpower other flavors in a dish. That said, both onions and shallots are commonly used in professional kitchens, often even in conjunction.

By Dana Beninati for Food Network Kitchen

But sometimes, the onion makes all the difference. Here's our rule of thumb: use white onions raw, yellow onions for cooking and red onions for pickling or grilling.

Which onions taste best caramelized? ›

You can caramelize any kind of onion, but yellow or Spanish onions tend to offer the most balanced-sweet-savory flavor profile and are the most versatile for different dishes. Sweet onions, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla work too, but keep in mind that their flavor will become even sweeter once caramelized.

Grilled yellow onion. Sliced, diced, cut into slivers or wedges, onions are perfect for all grilling occasions. When chargrilled until tender, onions are the favorite accompaniment to a burger, brat, or other proteins.

Heat spurs a range of chemical reactions that all interact with the fundamental make-up of the onion. The longer the cooking time, the more mild and savory an onion becomes. Caramelizing or sauteing onions on low or moderate heat causes a reaction between the sugars and the proteins.