Many burger recipes hardly specify which onion you should use; it only says add onion. You can use almost any onion for your burger, but using the correct one for your specific type of burger will make it taste better. Here we will consider the best onions for hamburgers.
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What is the Best Onion for Burgers?
It may seem like an easy thing to do but with so many styles and onions to add to burgers, picking the best one is not a walk in the park. Below are some of the popular onions you should consider and the flavor to expect.
TIP: I called a chef friend of mine who makes burgers on a daily basis. He recommends sauteing the onion with water, brown sugar, and red wine vinegar. Reduce this until it thickens into a nice glaze.
Enjoy our onion list, and through trial and error discover your personal best onion for burgers.
Yellow Onions
Yellow onions are also called brown onions because of their outer skin, and they are all-purpose onions.
You can use it when preparing almost all dishes, but they work best for more prolonged cooking.
These onions have a strident taste in their raw state, but it mellows out when cooked since they contain plenty of sugar.
This makes it most ideal as a topper for burgers. If you want that delicious caramel onion taste in your burger, use the yellow onions.
White Onions
White onions are also all around as you can use them in many dishes, just like the yellow onions. These types of onions are popularly used when preparing Mexican cuisines.
They have a tart flavor and thinner papery skin. White onions are crunchy due to their high water content.
Although they are pungent, these onions have little aftertaste making them the best when preparing raw dishes like the Mexican burger.
However, to enjoy that savory taste with every bite of your burger, fry the onions.
Sweet Onions
These onions are available in a wide variety; however, the common sweet onions type is the Mauis. They are the best onions to buy when you want to prepare burgers, but you are not sure how you will cook them.
Sweet onions have thick layers, which give lovely rings when sliced. It also has a less sharp spicy flavor making it ideal to use raw onions on your burger.
Sweet onions are also excellent for grilling and frying, and due to their high sugar contents, they give the best caramelized onions. In whatever way you prefer to cook your burger, the sweet onion will work.
Red Onions
The red onions are unique due to their deep purple skin and mild flavor. If you want to add a little color to your burger, this is the onion to use.
It also has a mild taste with no pungent smell, making it suitable to use raw on your burger.
You can opt to use it as sliced and pickled or when diced and combined with guacamole for burgers. You can also grill the red onions, but their flavor will not be as strong as raw.
Shallot Onions
If you are looking for a unique taste in your homemade burger with less onion flavor, consider buying shallot onions.
They are small with a bulb-like shape and come with a mild and garlic-like flavor. They are perfect when you add them raw to your burger as they are crunchy with no pungent smell.
Green Onions
The green onions or scallions have a sweet, mild taste when you use the long white and green stalks.
The white ends have a more robust flavor than the green parts. The green leaves can work well, either cooked or raw.
Scallions are ideal toppings for a burger since the white and green ends bring a mild oniony but delicious flavor.
Summary
Were you surprised to find shallots and scallions on a list of the best onions for burgers? Neither is common, but both are delicious!
Now you know the different best onions for burgers. Use the ones you like most or try several to find your favorite.
