One of the first purchases we made when moving to the South was the cult-esqe Southern staple, Big Green Egg Smoker. And while I’ll admit to being a tad skeptical at first, now I can’t imagine cooking without it. Everything just seems to be better with a little bit of smoke behind it: pizza, vegetables, fruits, Thanksgiving turkey, and today’s recipe, Smoked French Onion Soup. French Onion Soup has always been one of my absolute favorite cold weather treats and I’ve been perfecting my recipe, incorporating bits and pieces from many different recipes, for years now. I love how Tyler Florence chooses red wine over white and Martha Stewart calls for Gruyere rather than a combination of Swiss and Parmesan. For my recipe I’ve subbed the beef stock for vegetable, making the dish completely vegetarian. I’ve also chosen Southern, sweet Vidalia onions instead of yellow onions and smoked them to elevate and really bring the flavors to a whole other level of comfort. Enjoy! Truly, MKR
*Photography, Kathryn McCrary
**Gold Silverware, One Kings Lane (old, similar HERE) || Soup Crock, (old, similar HERE & HERE) || Vintage Pizza Paddle, (similar HERE)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4-5 large vidalia onions (if you can’t find vidalia, yellow onions will work just as well)
- 4 garlic cloves chopped
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 quarts vegetable broth
- 1 medium-large baguette, sliced
- 1 pound smoked Gruyere, sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 4-6 sprigs of thyme, plus additional for garnish
- Salt and pepper to taste
- *If you don’t have a smoker simply skip to step 4*
- In a large bowl add 3-4 large handfuls of mesquite or hickory wood chips, cover with water and let soak for 1 hour.
- While the chips are soaking, preheat smoker to 500 degrees. When ready, add chips to the smoker, bringing the temperature down to the desired heat of 150 degrees. Cut the tops and bottoms off of the onions and remove their outer layer of skin. Place the onions directly on the grate of your smoker, on indirect heat for approximately 1 hour, no more than 2, (you want to smoke the onions, not cook them).
- Cut the baguette into 1″ inch thick slices and place on a cookie sheet. Toast in the oven at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes or until golden brown. You can also do this step the night before to save time.
- Once the onions are smoked, slice and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium/high heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, four sprigs of thyme, salt and pepper to taste, and cook until the onions are soft and caramelized, stirring constantly. It should take about 20-25 minutes to properly caramelize, however smoked onions will likely take less time to soften and caramelize.
- Add the red wine to the caramelized onion mixture and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to a steady simmer until the wine evaporates, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs and on a low heat add the flour, stirring to fully coat all of the onions. Continue to cook on low for about 8-10 minutes then add the vegetable broth and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and place baguette slices on top and cover with sliced Gruyere. You may need to use more than one slice of cheese depending on how big your bowls are. Place the bowls onto a cookie sheet to catch any spills as your soup will likely bubble over, and broil until the cheese is fully melted and begins to turn a golden brown.
- Sprinkle with additional thyme leaves, and enjoy.
Oh this sounds divine! Especially for this time of year.
So glad I have discovered this wonderful ideas and recipes. Keep me posted.