Guinness French Onion Soup

I love French Onion Soup and have tried many different variations and even tried it at many different restaurants. Over time I have resolved that there are certain things that I prefer. Like toasted bread instead of fresh, I also like to cut it into cubes and place it in the bottom instead of floating a slice on top. My cheese of choice is Monterrey Jack. I do have some ideas that I would like to try once I have a fancy cheese outlet.

Ingredients:

Guinness Beer – most of one bottle
Onions, sliced or julian which ever makes you happy
cloves of garlic – 4 cloves chopped, pressed which ever is easier
Salt & Pepper to taste
reduced sodium beef broth and chicken broth, for this batch 3-4 small cans work well
Monterrey Jack cheese – shredded
French bread – cubed and toasted
Worcestershire – just a couple dashes, adds a smokey flavor
Pinch of oregano – 1/2 teaspoon (or to taste)
Canadian Steak Seasoning – 1/2 teaspoon (do to lack of other spices)
1-2 bay leaves
butter and oil for cooking onions
1 tablespoon of flour for thickening

So start by cubing up your bread and tossing it in the oven to toast. My tip is to leave the oven door open to help you keep an eye on the bread and avoid burning them.

Now for the onions, I really enjoy using different types. White, yellow and sweet are the varieties available today. Stay away from the red onions, they turn a very funky color and are not very appealing to the eye.

Slice, julian or what ever you like with the onions. Toss them, garlic, 1 tbl of butter and 1 tbl of olive oil, salt, pepper, and steak seasoning into a stock pot and cook until they are caramelized. Be sure to get those brown bits off the bottom of the pan they are the flavor! Once caramelized, stir in flour until absorbed by oil and butter then add 1/2 – 3/4 of a Guinness Beer. I have tried this with more and it is a very strong beer taste, reducing the amount of beer seems a bit better. This will help deglaze the pan, let this cook for a few minutes until bubbly.

Now add your broths, bay leaf, Worcestershire and taste. You may need to add salt and pepper at this point.

Here are our bowls ready and our cheese grated.

Assemble your goodness into an oven safe bowl (I am not sure that the ones here are so they were only briefly under the broiler therefore they were not that golden). Place them on a broiler safe sheet and place under the broiler until bubbly and golden brown.

Now grab a spoon and enjoy!