Peeling Boiler Onions

The Quickest Method of Peeling Boiler Onions

Boiler onions are great in stews and soups. You usually find them in bags along the end caps in the produce isles at the grocery store, but sometimes you can buy them in bulk like other onions. They're between 1-3" in diameter. I like the smaller ones because they make a good one-bite mouthful.

You can prep boiler onions up to one day ahead. This technique is a great basic and is so quick you’ll thank me for teaching you. You will never hand peel a dozen or so boiler onions the old way - one at a time with a knife and tears. It really is no-more-tears! Oh and this technique also works for peeling pearl and cipollini (those little Italian onions) onions, as well as peeling tomatoes and tomatillos.


Start with a bag of your basic boiler onions:

Boiler onions to cook with an un-corned beef brisket.

Wash the unpeeled boiler onions. Go ahead and dry them to prevent any knife mishaps!

Cut the ends off the onions.

Drop them into water for about a minute or until you remember to get ‘em out.

Drain them.

Squish the peel off of them. The peel will come right off.

But be careful, they’re explosive and like to escape!

Now throw some plastic over the bowl and throw them into the fridge until you’re ready to cook!

And you're done! Cooking the onions is the next step. See how easy that was? It took maybe five minutes?

Susie T's Notes: Boiler Onions work great in soups, stews and pot roasts. They're also make a great stand-alone side dish especially when you glaze them in butter or caramelize them in butter and finish with a bit of fresh thyme, rosemary and sea salt or truffle salt. Wowza!

Recipes in which you might like to use boiler onions:

Un-Corned Beef Brisket

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