french onion bourbon soup
Beyond me why no one (or at least no one I’ve seen) has ever thought to add bourbon to French onion soup.
So, consider me the innovator, fuckers.
I’m not motivated this week. My imagination has been trailing in other directions and for some reason my cooking is not the direction my energy is aiming. So, as I do when this shit happens, I think of ingredients I always like to use – bourbon being the victim this time around.
I have a French restaurant nearby that serves a pretty mean French onion soup. If you’ve never enjoyed a crock before, the broth boasts a very rich beef-based flavor, with a hint of herbiness and of course the trademark sweet caramelized onions. Each serving comes in a ramekin or crock with a cap of gruyere-covered bread broiled atop. In other words, it’s all sorts of gooey, homey, and comforting.
Most versions contain sherry, brandy, or wine as a flavoring agent, but today we’re coupling a dry white with a hit of bourbon for a unique undertone. You’ll see why I enjoy this riff so much once you dish yourself a bowl.
While you’ll see many recipes calling for multiple hours of cook time, I condensed my version into about an hour start to finish – but keep in mind you can caramelize the onions and simmer the soup for longer, if you desire. Either way, you’ll want to return for seconds.
Simmer the Fuck Down
Caramelized onions, when done real proper, usually take an hour plus. My quicker method involves slightly higher heat, a dab of brown sugar, and an interval workout of wine pourage.
First, melt down a good amount of butter in a large soup pot or Dutch oven, then stir in lots of thinly sliced yellow onions. Hit with some salt and pepper and cook for about 15 minutes. Then, throw in some fragrant garlic, sage, and thyme.
Pour in the wine 1/4 cup at a time, simmering 5 minutes before you add the next 1/4 cup, for a total of 1 cup. I like a dry pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc, whatever doesn’t taste like ass to you. If you hate white wines, you’re shitfucked, yo. At this point, your onions should have a nice, deep golden hue.
Next up: brown sugar and bourbon. The brown sugar colorizes the onions a bit more and brings out the sweetness of the bourbon. Let it bubble down for a couple minutes, then pour in lots of beef broth. I use a vegetarian beef broth, but you can use regular if you prefer.
Heat the soup on a gentle simmer for at least 10 minutes, but really, you can go as long as you fucken want. Still plenty of yum if you’re in a bit more of a pinch, though, and need to do the minimum.
Groo-yay
At some point in your process, you’ll have to toast up some bread slices. I usually do this while the onions caramelize so I can start my timer for the same amount of time (10 minutes), but crisping your bread can happen whenever you feel most comfortable integrating it.
I just lay out slices on a baking sheet and warm em up in the oven until lightly golden. You don’t want to put raw bread slices on your soup because they will disintegrate – the toasting gives them a little more structure.
Once your soup and toasts are ready, assemble your crocks. Any smaller vessel will do so long as it holds up under a broiler. Ladle in some soup, then lay a couple bread slabs atop. Sprinkle with lots of shredded gruyere cheese (Swiss is a fine substitute if you can’t find gruyere or don’t want to spend the dough).
Pop under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Enjoy that supple gooeyness immediately, with some fresh thyme or oregano if you please.
If you have leftover soup, you can store it sans the bread and cheese, and just add those latter two components when you’re ready to heat them up. Pro tip – if you need to toast bread at this stage, a good ole counter toaster is just swell. I would not recommend refrigerating fully assembled soup. The bread will get very soggy.
Quite simple, but very luxurious, and stupendously comforting for cooler days and chillier souls.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Soup is soul food:
Creamy Herb Roasted Mushroom Wild Rice Soup
Beer Cheese Broccoli Noodle Soup
Creamy “Bacon” and Gnocchi Vegetable Soup
french onion bourbon soup
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 4-6 cups vegetarian beef broth (or regular)
- 12 slices French bread
- 2 cups gruyere cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast for 8-10 minutes until golden. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Stir in the onions and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Stir in the garlic, thyme, and sage until fragrant.
- In 1/4 cup intervals, pour in the white wine. Simmer each 1/4 cup interval for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the whole cup of wine is used. Then, pour in the bourbon and brown sugar and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Switch the oven to broil. Transfer the soup into oven-safe ramekins or crocks and top with 2-3 bread slices apiece. Sprinkle the cheese overtop. Broil for 3-5 minutes until the cheese melts, bubbles, and turns golden in spots. Serve hot with fresh herbs, as desired.
