Brian Lagerstrom's French Onion Soup is a classic comfort food that brings warmth and satisfaction to any meal. Brian is a profesional Chef and operates a successful Youtube Channel. His approach to cooking is very straight forward and repeatable in that he and his wife make a concscious effort to present his show in an easy to follow manner. Check him out! He also provide product recommendations that he uses during his cooking demonstrations.

The French Onion Soup recipe assumes you have started with some braised meats, but to simplify I also include a Beef Stock Soup and Pressure Cooker Alternative which is a great option for those who want a less time consuming yet flavorful alternative.

Brian Lagerstrom French Onion Soup

A kitchen digital scale is required for this recipe. It is the only way to get the measurements right. The recipe is very simple, but it is important to follow the steps:

Here's the Meat Included Option:

FOR THE STOCK (This stock recipe makes 2x what you'll need for this soup recipe. I use 1/2 for the soup and freeze the other half. Nice store bought stock also works)

Lay out all meat products on sheet trays and roast in a 450°F/232°C oven for 20 minutes. After bones are roasted in the oven, add them into a large pressure cooker (making sure to include all juice and fond from the sheet trays), add water to the fill line of your pressure cooker, and pressure cook on low for 2 hours. If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can make this stock on the stovetop by simmering for 4-6 hours. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain stock into a large container and skim off some of the fat.

Preparing the Onions for the French Onion Soup (Oven Method):

Preheat oven to 400°F/204°C. Peel and chop onions, pole to pole. Into a large heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven, add in olive oil, chopped onions, butter, and salt. Load into a 400°F/204°C degree oven, covered, for 1 hour. After 1 hour, stir onions, making sure to scrape brown bits off bottom and sides. Cook for another 1hr 45min to 2 hours, with lid cracked, making sure to stir once half way through.

Remove pot from oven and deglaze with 50g or 1/2 cup of water, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom and sides. Transfer pot to the stovetop to finish soup by caramelizing onions over high heat, stirring often. After 3-5 minutes or when the bottom of the pot begins to get brown and caramelize again, deglaze for a 2nd time with 50g or 1/2 cup of water, scraping the brown bits off the bottom and sides of the pot. When the onions begin to caramelize and brown on the bottom of the pot, this time deglaze for the 3rd and final time with Sherry. Scrape bottom and sides again to incorporate the brown caramelized onion and cook off alcohol then add in Worcestershire, followed by salt, pepper, bay, thyme, and 2000g/2L of beef stock. Stir and cover, turn heat to low and simmer for about 25-30 minutes.

Ladle finished soup into crock, top with croutons, a generous portion of shredded gruyere and a slice of provolone and broil on high for 20-40 seconds until the cheese is golden and bubbling.

If you want to skip the meat and just make the soup, here is the ingredient list for the soup itself. You can use store bought beef stock or make your own using the recipe above.

Preparing the Onions for the French Onion Soup (Pressure Cooker Method) with no Meats:

Peel and chop onions, pole to pole. Add the chopped onions to a large pressure cooker. Fill 3/4 of the way with water. Seal the lid and pressure cook on high for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, release the pressure and open the lid.

Note: My Pressure Cooker takes 20 minutes to heat up and then another 20 minutes to pressure cook.

After the Onions have cooked, and the pressure released, put the Beef stock, and the rest of the ingredients in a in another pot and simmer for 25-30 minutes. I like to bring the soup to a gentle boil first, then reduce the heat and let it simmer. This reduces the alcohol content of the Dry Sherry and leaves the flavorful bits behind.

Once the brothe is complete, add the Onions to the broth and cook and simmer for 5-10 minutes to let the flavors marry together.

If you plan on keeping the soup in the fridge, skip the broiling step. Honestly, this soup tastes best after a day or two in the fridge. Garnish and serve.

More from Brian Lagerstrom and family

Return to Seriously: Food