How to take the bitterness out from an onion in chilli?

Question

Made chilli, didnt sample the onion first, had just bought it the night before. Had done a stellar fine chopping job, so the onions are throughout the batch.

Need this for a pot luck tomorrow lunch,and cant get to the store again tonight. Any tips for adding something to get the bitterness out?

Answer 1

You can try adding a touch of sugar, but generally speaking the sugar will enhance the bitterness of the onions as only the juice would be sweetened. It might work if you can cook it for a long period of time, like simmer for a couple of hours. I would make it a 'spicy hot' chili at this point. The 'heat' will not only cover the bitterness but will blend the bitterness out some. .. Try adding some crushed red peppers or something along those lines. I would not make it overly hot, but just enough to take care of the bitterness.
Hope this helps and good luck.

To prevent bitterness in the future; cook or at least sweat your onions before you do anything else. The smell alone; as they start sweating; will tell you if you need to 'fix' the onions before continuing with the rest of your recipe. This works for any recipe you are using onions that will be cooked in.

Answer 2

If the onion is cooked into it, bitterness should be gone.

If the onion is chopped and just stirred in, I'm afraid you're out of luck. Next time buy a Texas 1015 or Vidalia to have a sweet onion flavor.

You may try adding a teaspoon of sugar to the whole batch and see if that cuts it.

Answer 3

sure!

one way to take the bitterness out of an onion is to cook it (in a very small amt. of vegetable oil) for about 3-5 minutes...cooking carmelizes the onion, giving it a sweet taste that will be perfect for your chili.

Answer 4

Don't know how long you have cooked your chili, but onions tend to sweeten the more you cook them. If there is any way you can cook all night in a crockpot, it is worth a try.

Answer 5

little bit of brown sugar!!!