The Best Ever Grilled Onions

These are the best ever grilled onions!  Learn how to make perfectly grilled onions that everyone will rave about!

I usually hesitate to use the “best ever” title when naming my recipes.  Partially because it it is setting really high expectations, and also it’s a little braggy.  I never share anything on the blog unless I think it is really great, but I still avoid claiming best ever – most of the time. There are a few recipes in my repertoire, however, that I really, firmly believe are the best ever.  These grilled onions are one of them.

This recipe for grilled onions is one we have been working on for several years, tweaking until we had it down to a science.  A few years ago, my husband and I lived in Arizona.  Because Arizona is at least as hot as hell, we started grilling anything and everything rather than turning on our oven and straining our AC.  Being that my husband is an engineer, he is constantly trying to improve things, so  even though the grilled onions that we were making were pretty good, he knew they could be better.

We developed this recipe to create tender, sweet, golden grilled onions that wouldn’t slip through the grates or cook unevenly.   There are a few crucial components that make this recipe a true “best ever”.

1. Use sweet onions such as Walla Walla or Vidalia.  The sugars in the onion caramelize perfectly.
2. Use wooden skewers.  They can be cut to fit the onion, so each onion is skewerd individually.
3. Running the skewer through the center of the onion will keep the tender, middle part of the onion (the best part!) from falling out through the grates.
4.  Cook low and slow.  If you use high heat the outside of the onion will burn while the inside will be underdone.
5. Slice onions into even slices to ensure even cooking.

We developed this based on a recipe from Alton Brown, but one major change is that we use wooden skewers so that we can cut the skewers to fit the onion.  That was each onion is individually skewered and can be moved around the grill as they fit.  I also brush them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  This will give you beautiful golden onions instead of onions that are dry and floppy.

These perfectly grilled onions are always a hit at our BBQs.  We have people raving about them, even years later.  Served as a side for a  perfectly grilled ribeye or on top of a juicy burger and you will be a happy camper.

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Best Ever Grilled Onions

Prep 10 mins

Cook 30 mins

Total 40 mins

Author Meghan

Yield 4 Servings

Ingredients

1. 2 sweet onions, such as Walla Walla or Vidalia

1 tablespoon olive oil

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

Instructions

Hold the onion on a cutting board, with the root end facing sideways.  About 3/4 of an inch in from the root, drive a wooden skewer through the center of the onion.  Push the skewer all the way through, so that the flat end of the skewer is next to the onion and the pointy end is as far away from the onion as possible.

On one side of the skewer, slice the root end off of the onion.  On the other side of the skewer, leaving about 3/4 inch of onion, slice the onion so that the skewer is going through the center of the slice.

Use a knife to cut the part of the skewer that is sticking out of the onion.  Repeat until both onions have been sliced into even slices, about 3/4 inch thick.  Trim the skewers so that there is not excess sticking out of the onion.

Brush the slices on both sides with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.

On a charcoal grill:

Make a two zone fire - coals on one side and no coals on the other.

Place the onions on the cool side of the grill and flip and roate every 10 to 15 minutes until they are golden brown.  The total time will depend on how hot your coals are and how close they are to the fire, but is usually 25-40 minutes. Onions are done when golden and tender.

On a gas grill:

Heat the grill for 5-10 minutes.

Lower the burners to low and cook the onions on the low burner, flipping every 10 minutes until golden brown, about 25-40 minutes. Onions are done when golden and tender.

Notes

1. Use sweet onions such as Walla Walla or Vidalia.  The sugars in the onion caramelize perfectly.
2. Use wooden skewers.  They can be cut to fit the onion, so each onion is skewerd individually.
3. Running the skewer through the center of the onion will keep the tender, middle part of the onion (the best part!) from falling out through the grates.
4.  Cook low and slow.  If you use high heat the outside of the onion will burn while the inside will be underdone.
5. Slice onions into even slices to ensure even cooking.

Courses Side

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