Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Abita Root Beer Caramelized Onions

Last month I made my quarterly jaunt to Louisiana for work and went to Charcoal’s Gourmet Burger Bar with my cousin Primo.  Charcoal’s has a pretty awesome menu; they specialize in exotic meat burgers and some pretty fun topping/cheese options.  I got an antelope burger with arugula, Midnight Moon gouda, tomato, jalapeno, praline bacon, and Abita  root beer caramelized onions. 

burger

My tall order.

The burger was so-so—a little lean and dry, even with 30% pork mixed into the blend.  C’est la vie.  But the combination of the jalapenos and the caramelized onions was fantastic.  The praline bacon was fairly tasty too, though Primo & I are both fairly sure we can create a better version (stay tuned)…

So when I got back home, I definitely wanted to take a whack at the caramelized onions.  Again, we were grilling (we have a surplus of brats in the house as we got a great deal on a case from our food distributor) and I wanted something a little different to go on top. Like…root beer onions!!!

 

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INGREDIENTS:

1/2 bottle Abita root beer (if you don’t have Abita, you can absolutely try it with a different brand)

salt & pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 onion, sliced into thin rings

 

DIRECTIONS:

Pretty simple.  Heat your sauce pan over medium-high & add onions.  Season lightly with salt & pepper.  Then add the root beer.  Stir occasionally & cook for 10-15 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated.

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And you’ll end up with these beauties!

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Serve over brats, burgers, steak, grilled portabellas—whatever floats your fancy.  They’re deliciously sweet, so pair with something that has a little bite to it—spicy mustard, jalapenos, or a tart cheese like goat, blue, or feta.

Oh…and use the rest of that Abita root beer to make yourself a float!!!

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