Sarah's Onion Soup

I usually like to cut mine up if I’m not camping, because then it’s a little less trouble to eat. I forgot to take a picture of that, though.

Many, many years ago, I was camped at Flipside with a lady named Sarah. This particular year at Flipside was a little crazy, because the theme camp next to ours didn’t believe in being neighborly. They blared their music so loud that no one in my camp could hear conversations that weren’t shouted while sitting or standing right next to the person you were trying to talk to, and certainly no one got to sleep for 3 days. It was so bad that one campmate finally lost his mind and went to tell that camp’s DJ that he would be pouring sugar syrup all over the equipment if that’s what it took to make it stop. We told him not to (even though we still kind of hoped he would), and after 3 days without sleep, people get a little psycho. Thus, the DJ believed him, turned down the house music, and no property was damaged.

I didn’t know her after this trip, but she will forever hold a place of honor and affection in my mind for the onion soup she made. I don’t know that I’ve made this while camping since (probably), but I know that this really is perfect camping food, and it’s also amazing when you aren’t camping. I like soup a lot, but I like soups that are no work to prepare the most! Thank you, Sarah, from everyone who makes this and knows the joys of your recipe! This soup kind of saved me during that trip, because it helped me catch my snap during an extremely frustrating and ear-splitting experience. My other experiences at Flipside had always lovely, but this one was only lovely on account of this soup.

This recipe is basically an easy, no fuss, breadless version of French onion soup. I prefer that soup without the bread anyway, so for me this is gold. Y’all can stick some bread on yours if you’d like. This also one I particularly love when I’m feeling sick. I feel sick often, due to November being the only month where Houston isn’t in the throes of The Pollening. I picked tree pollen out of my hair today, which helps explain to me why I can’t breathe anymore ever.

Here’s what you’ll need

4 large onions (yellow or white), peeled, with the root end trimmed and the core hollowed out two thirds of the way down the onion
4 beef bouillon cubes (or veggie cubes, for you vegetarians out there)
4 tablespoons butter
water as needed

Here’s what you’ll do

Once your onions are hollowed out, insert a bouillon cube in the bottom, top with a tablespoon of butter and fill the remainder of the cavity of each onion with water. I’m really not pulling y’all’s leg: this is the prep for these yums, other than to wrap in foil completely (you want this pretty well sealed to help it grill or bake up correctly). So… yeah, wrap with foil once the divots are full. You can also put a bit of onion back on top of the hole, if you really want to. I don’t usually, but sometimes yes. I do always toss all the bits of core in the foil so they don’t get wasted, though.

See? All snug in their beds…

Then, grill over high heat (with the grill closed) for one hour. This can also be done in the oven at 400-450F, which is how I do it at home. Open bundles after they’ve done their hot time, and sprinkle top of cavity with cheese if you like cheese and want some in there. Leave it out if you don’t!

Sometimes, I also consider putting tiny bits of dried veggies in the cavity as well, but to date have not done it. If y’all try out extra mods for this, please tell us about them in the comments!

I leave it like this if I’m camping. I use a bowl like above if I’m not.