Smoked French Onion Soup
Soup season is upon us. It’s officially starting to get cold in Toronto, so now is the time I bring out my favourite soup recipes. My Smoked French Onion Soup is the fall recipe you want to try. French onion soup on its own is the best; crusty bread and melted cheese, caramelized onions and rich beef broth... but, how I prepare my onions kicks it up even further. The first step to making these onions is to add in fresh garlic and herbed butter (just whip butter with garlic, rosemary and lemon zest) and pop it into the smoker for about an hour. By smoking your onions first, your soup will have the usual rich taste of French onion soup, with a hit of smoke, and it is just absolutely insane. It also doesn’t stop there. After the onions are smoked, they go onto the plancha and are drizzled with some bourbon, then with more melted butter and sage. That all cooks together and reduces and gets put back into your cast iron pan with beef broth. The trick here is to also add in the beef broth a bit at a time, let it cook and reduce, and then add in more broth over the hour or two that you let it cook. If you find you’re missing some liquid at the end, you can always add in more beef broth, but I do recommend this process of adding in the liquid slowly.
The layer of bread and cheese topping is what makes French onion soup so different and decadent. Your spoon has to break through a gooey cheese layer and broth-soaked bread to reach the delicious onions underneath, and then you get the perfect mouthful of salty, rich, savoury goodness. In this case, add a bit of smokiness to that list, and you can imagine how good my Smoked French Onion Soup recipe is. I used shredded Edam cheese and thinly sliced baguette on the plancha to get that cheese melted, then transferred it on top of my soup, covered it and let the cheese get even more melted. Serve up the soup in individual bowls, making sure to keep the cheese as the top layer, then the baguette, then the onions. Top it all off with fresh chives and you have one epic bowl of soup. Keep reading to find out how to make my Smoked French Onion Soup or jump to the full recipe.
Preheat your smoker 325F. Finely chop your shallots and onions and add to a large cast iron pan.
Chop your fresh garlic and add to the pan with the onions. Add the herbed butter. Place in the smoker for 45 minutes to an hour, remove once the onions have softened and started to caramelize.
Melt your half cup of butter and add in your chopped fresh sage. Stir.
Once the onions have been removed from the smoker, using tongs, transfer them straight onto the plancha. Drizzle with the bourbon and allow to cook and reduce. Then, drizzle with the melted butter and sage and keep cooking, about 5-10 minutes.
Once the onions are nicely caramelized, transfer back into the cast iron pan. Keep your pan on the plancha. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon over the onions and stir.
Slowly ladle in your beef broth, one at a time, so the onions are just covered. Stir and allow to cook and reduce. Once the liquid has reduced, ladle in about another cup of beef broth and continue to cook and reduce. Continue this process of reducing and adding more broth, for between 1-2 hours, so the flavours have melded. If you find there isn’t enough broth toward the end, you can ladle in a bit more.
During the last half hour of your soup cooking, prepare the topping by thinly slicing your baguette into rounds. Grate your Edam cheese. Drizzle your plancha with canola oil and place your sliced baguette down to toast. Flip to toast the other side and arrange the pieces of baguette together as best you can, to be about the size to cover the top of your cast iron pan. Once the baguette is lightly toasted, cover with the shredded cheese and allow to melt slightly.
Finely chop your chives. Set aside to use for garnish.
Once the cheese on your baguette is starting to melt, using two large spatulas, transfer them on top of your onion soup in the cast iron pan. Make sure the baguette is sitting in the soup and the cheese is on top. Cover and let everything cook together and the cheese to melt.
Once the cheese is melted, remove from the plancha and you’re ready to serve. Spoon the soup into a bowl, making sure your cheesy baguette pieces cover your broth. Garnish with the chopped chives.
And now for the full recipe...
Smoked French Onion Soup
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Yield: 4-6 people
Ingredients:
3 shallots
2 Spanish onions
2 white onions
3 garlic cloves
1/3 cup herbed butter (garlic, rosemary, lemon zest)
2oz Bourbon
½ cup butter, melted
1 tbsp finely chopped sage
1L Beef broth
½ large baguette
Canola oil
2 cups Edam cheese, grated
½ lemon
Salt
Pepper
Small bunch chives, finely chopped
How to Make Smoked French Onion Soup
Preheat your smoker 325F.
Finely chop your shallots and onions and add to a large cast iron pan. Chop your fresh garlic and add to the pan with the onions. Add the herbed butter. Place in the smoker for 45 minutes to an hour, remove once the onions have softened and started to caramelize.
Melt your half cup of butter and add in your chopped fresh sage. Stir. Once the onions have been removed from the smoker, using tongs, transfer them straight onto the plancha. Drizzle with the bourbon and allow to cook and reduce. Then, drizzle with the melted butter and sage and keep cooking, about 5-10 minutes. Once the onions are nicely caramelized, transfer back into the cast iron pan. Keep your pan on the plancha. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon over the onions and stir.
Slowly ladle in your beef broth, one at a time, so the onions are just covered. Stir and allow to cook and reduce. Once the liquid has reduced, ladle in about another cup of beef broth and continue to cook and reduce. Continue this process of reducing and adding more broth, for between 1-2 hours, so the flavours have melded. If you find there isn’t enough broth toward the end, you can ladle in a bit more.
During the last half hour of your soup cooking, prepare the topping by thinly slicing your baguette into rounds. Grate your Edam cheese. Drizzle your plancha with canola oil and place your sliced baguette down to toast. Flip to toast the other side and arrange the pieces of baguette together as best you can, to be about the size to cover the top of your cast iron pan. Once the baguette is lightly toasted, cover with the shredded cheese and allow to melt slightly.
Finely chop your chives.
Once the cheese on your baguette is starting to melt, using two large spatulas, transfer them on top of your onion soup in the cast iron pan. Make sure the baguette is sitting in the soup and the cheese is on top. Cover and let everything cook together and the cheese to melt.
Once the cheese is melted, remove from the plancha and you’re ready to serve. Spoon the soup into a bowl, making sure your cheesy baguette pieces cover your broth. Garnish with the chopped chives.
