Home-canned French Onion Soup Recipe

Are you one of those people who just love French Onion soup? I mean really, really looooove it? As in go to any lengths for a steaming bowl of hearty, aromatic soupe a l’oignon?

Yes? Then read on.
The operative phrase here is “go to any lengths;” this recipe is not for the time-pressed or timid. Rich, home made beef is a project unto itself. And patiently stirring up a few hillocks of caramelized onions will also occupy a nice little chunk of time. The coup de grâce of course is the processing time in a pressure canner (40 minutes once you’ve brought it up to the required pressure).
The results? Excellent. The real pay-off: having a small trove of home-canned jars tucked away in the larder, ready to go a moment’s notice.

A note on the cheese topping: The familiar soup-crock-entombed-under-cheese-blob has its appeal but this homey treatment is far more satisfying. Crisp croutons of sliced baguette topped with bubbling Emmentaler floating atop the soup add an elegant cheesy crunch.

Note: The 40 minutes pressure canner processing time is based on the Cooperative Extension of the University of Georgia guidelines from for canning onions 1″ in diameter.  The required processing time for meat broth is 20 minutes. For more home canning advice I recommend Eugenia Bone’s Well-Preserved: Recipes and Techniques for Putting Up Small Batches of Seasonal Foods.

This recipe makes four 1 pint jars — at least one of which you’ll consumer immediately of course.

FRENCH ONION SOUP
Recipe for home canning

Make the meat stock:

3 lbs. short ribs, meat cut from bones and saved for another use
2 lbs. ox tails
1 1/2 lb. chicken drumstickes
2 carrots, peeled and cut into quarters
1 large leek, well washed, cut in 4″ lengths
5 bay leaves
5 sprigs parsley

1. Brown beef bones and oxtails in a 400° oven for 30 minutes.

2. Remove the bones to a large stock pot. Pour off the grease from the roasting pan, deglaze with water and add the scraped up brown bits to the stock pot. Add the chicken and cover the meat and bones with two quarts of water.

3. Add the vegetables, bay leaves and parsley and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to a low, low simmer and cook for six hours with the lid ajar. Add water as needed to keep everything submerged. (Click to view the simmering stock).

4. Remove from heat. Strain out all the solids. Let cool completely, covered, and refrigerate until the stock congeals and the fat forms a solid layer on top. Skim off congealed fat and discard. Measure stock and reduce or add a bit more water to reach 6 – 8 cups. Taste for salt.

Congratulations, now it’s time to do the onions.

Caramelized Onions
Recipe 

6 large onions peeled and cut into thin slices (a mandolin is a great tool for this)
2 T. butter, 2 T. olive oil

1. Working with half of the onions at a time, melt 1 T. butter and 1 T. olive in a wide saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until the onions begin to brown.

2. Reduce heat to low and cook the onions stirring gently for 45 minutes until well caramelized.  Be sure to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan as you go. 

Makes 4 c. caramelized onions

To can French Onion Soup
These guidelines for home canning from USDA provide comprehensive instructions and safety information for pressure canning. 

4 quarts homemade meat stock
4 c. caramelized onions
1/2 t. thyme
1/4 c. dry sherry
salt and pepper

Wash 4 pint jars, lids and bands in warm soapy water. Sterilize the jars, lids and bands in boiling water.

Combine the stock and the onions in a pot.  Add the thyme and sherry. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.  Bring to a low boil for 5 minutes.

Place the sterilized jars on a clean dish cloth. Using clean tongs and canning funnel evenly divide the onions in the soup among the four jars.  Ladle in the hot stock to within 1″ of the top of the jar. Top each jar with a sterilized lid and screw on the band just to firmly close. Do not screw it down super tight.

Place the jars of hot soup into a pressure canner fitted with a rack.  Check the manufacturer’s instructions; most call for 2″ of water into the bottom of the pot . Bring the water to the a high boil and let the steam vent for 10 minutes. Close the vent and bring the pressure up to 11 psi (at sea level; for higher altitudes consult the USDA guidelines mentioned above). Adjust the heat to ensure a steady pressure level.

Begin timing once the canner has reached full pressure. Process for 40 minutes. If at any time the pressure drops below 11 psi. bring it back up to required pressure and begin timing anew.

After 40 minutes of continuous 11 psi cooking, remove the canner from heat and let it cool at room temperature. Once the pressure is released, remove the jars from the pot and let sit until fully cool, about 12 hours. Remove bands, check seals.

To Serve:

Make cheese toasts:

Slice a baguette on the diagonal into 1/2″ pieces.  Toast in a hot oven until evenly browned.  Top each toast with 2 T. grated Emmentaler cheese and broil until bubbly and brown.

Heat the soup to a low boil.

Serve each bowl of soup with a couple of cheese toasts.

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