French onion soup

Meridian Dog has a couple that he's posted.

soupe à oignon gratinée

Made this all the time at a brasserie back on the day...

Onions
Demi-glace
Beef stock
Sherry
Clarified butter
Salt
Pepper
Sachet garni (edited to add this)


Fill any pot 3/4 up with juilienne onions & cook on high heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are well caramelized. (1-2 hours)

Add Sherry & reduce au sec. The volume of Sherry should be 1/5 the total volume of soup before reduction. That would be about 24oz per gallon. Reserve some of the Sherry for flavoring the soup later.

Add enough demi-glace to raise the liquid level to 1/2 the total volume of the pot then add enough brown veal stock until the liquid level is 2" below the rim of the pot. Drop in sachet.

Simmer, skimming frequently until liquid reduces by 2", 1(-2 hours).

Add reserved Sherry & simmer 10 minutes.

Ladle soup into a bowl, top with 2, 1/2" baguette slices, sliced Gruyére, & melt under broiler.

This is a restaurant recipe where we made our own veal stock, espagnole, demi-glace, & glace.

You can substitute beef broth or better than bouillon but it will not be as rich & silky as the above.

The key to a wonderful French Onion Soup is a rich heavy broth.

I like to make my own broth with oxtails in a pressure cooker. This makes a beef broth that has incredible body, similar to jello water.

3olive3's recipe sounds good, with the emphasis on good beef broth. I simmer a bay leaf in mine for a while. The darker the onions, the better the broth, and good wine in the soup and on the table all go together to make this soup a winner.

I can't reference that thread anymore without getting infuriated with how TD manages images.