The Leftover Oil That Gives Caramelized Onions An Extra Burst Of Flavor

While we use a neutral avocado oil like this one from Amazon Fresh in our recipe for foolproof caramelized onions, butter and olive oil are also popular fats you can use to slowly saute onions until they reach a decadently sweet and aromatic caramelized state. Both offer flavorful complements that bring additional richness to caramelized onions. But the leftover oil that gives caramelized onions an extra burst of flavor is anchovy oil.

For insight into the creative ways to use anchovy oil, Tasting Table checked in with Marcos Campos, Group Executive Chef and Partner of the Chicago-based Bonhomme Hospitality group known for building design-forward Spanish culinary concepts in prestigious Chicago restaurants like Beatnik, Mama Delia, and Michelin-starred Porto. Caramelized onions were among Campos' many ingenious uses for anchovy oil. "We discovered that the balance between sweet onion and the slightly salty umami flavor of anchovy oil is the perfect garnish for wood-fired grilled steak," he says.

Anchovy oil is the fat in which tinned anchovies are often packed. The umami-rich saltiness that anchovies are known for seeps into the packing oil, which is usually olive oil or sunflower oil. So you get a trifecta of savory and salty flavor to harmonize with the sweetness of the onions. Plus, it's a great way to repurpose anchovy oil that you might otherwise discard. Depending on how many onions you caramelize, you can always use a blend of anchovy oil and butter or supplement the anchovy oil with more olive oil.

The recommendation from chef Marcos Campos to use caramelized onions made with anchovy oil as a garnish for wood-fried steak is an elegant and tasty pairing that doubles up on umami flavors. That said, there are plenty of other wonderful pairings for anchovy oil caramelized onions. If a cut of steak isn't on the menu, you can certainly add anchovy oil caramelized onions to this decadent French onion burger recipe. The salty burst from anchovy oil caramelized onions would enhance the saltiness of the feta in this caramelized onion dip with feta, spinach, and walnuts. Anchovies are a key ingredient in Worcestershire sauce, like this classic Lea & Perrins bottle. So, a dash of Worcestershire sauce found in this luxe caramelized onion dip with mascarpone will enhance the umami notes from the anchovy oil you used to caramelize the onions.

Anchovies are often the mysteriously delicious flavor agent in pasta sauces, so anchovy oil is the perfect frying vessel for this simple caramelized onion pasta recipe. Perhaps the most obvious and traditional use of anchovy oil caramelized onions is on a provencal French onion and anchovy tart called Pissaladiere, which combines sweet caramelized onions with salty anchovies and olives over pastry crust. Since this recipe calls for oil-cured anchovy filets like this tin of Roland filets of anchovies in olive oil, you can simply use the oil from the tin to caramelize the onions.