Roast Beef Panini with Guinness Caramelized Onions

There are days when I crave stuff that isn’t chocolate (I know, right?!  How is that possible???).  I was craving caramelized onions in the worst way.  Which is odd considering up to a year ago I would rather cut off my own arm that put an onion in my mouth!  LOL  Now I love ’em.  Well Mr. Fantabulous had been on my case to make him a batch of my Triple Boozy Brownies. Now these things are probably the best brownie I make but they are also the hardest ones I make.  They are a true labor of love to say the least.  They take almost 12 hours to make from start to finish.  Yes, 12 hours (and yes this includes chilling time as well).  Well in making them I had some Guinness left over and since I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate beer I had to use it in cooking.  As I was saying I wanted caramelized onions.  So I started them in the pan and as they got soft I decided to do a slow reduction of the beer with them.

As they cooked down and got all caramelized and luscious I then had to figure out what to do with them.  Since I had just gone to the butcher’s shop and picked up some of the most amazing fresh roast beef that they make in house a panini was in order.  As this was grilling in the panini press the sounds of the butter sizzling and the juices from the onions and beef were hissing on the grill. The cheese got all ooey gooey and the bread super crispy and yummy.

Now the hardest part for me in all of this was waiting a 2 minutes to cut it (I didn’t want all of the cheese oozing out).  I swear it was hours I had to wait!  LOL Finally it was time and OH MY GOD!!! That first bite was pure bliss!  I mean absolute perfection!  I would not change a single thing with this panini – no bacon (I know!), no fries, no pickles, no nothing.  It was perfect!

Roast Beef Panini with Guinness Caramelized Onions

• Author: The Kitchen Whisperer

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Ingredients

• 2 large yellow onions, sliced in 1/4” rings
• 6 Tbl butter, unsalted
• 1 14.9 ounce can Guinness Draught
• 1 heaping tsp sugar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire
• 4 6”” Chewy hoagie rolls (I used wheat), cut length wise (going all the way through)
• 16 slices Colby jack cheese
• 16 slices sliced roast beef, sliced thin and warmed

Instructions

1. In a large sauce pan add the onions and 2 Tbl butter over medium heat.
2. Sauté until tender; about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add 1/4th of the Guinness to the onions and reduce the heat to medium-low.
4. Allow the liquid to reduce until almost evaporated
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4, three more times.
6. Remove from heat and add in the Worcestershire sauce and mix.
7. Set aside and heat up your Panini press. If you don’t have one heat up a cast iron pan over medium heat.
8. While the press is heating up, grab a 6” roll and evenly divide 1 Tbl of butter covering the outside of the roll.
9. Repeat for the remaining 3 rolls.
10. Create an assembly line where you have the roast beef, onions and cheese in that order.
11. When your press it to temperature, open it up and lay the bottom of the roll buttered side down.
12. Place 2 slices of roast beef down, 2 slices of cheese, 2 heaping Tbl of the onions followed by 2 slices of cheese, 2 slices of roast beef and the top of the roll, buttered side up.
13. Close the press.
14. If using a cast iron pan, follow steps 11 and 12.
15. In the press cook for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown and the bread is crispy and cheesy melted.
16. In a cast iron pan, cook for 3-5 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown and crispy.
17. Using a spatula, carefully flip and press down with the spatula to flatten. You can always use a foil covered brick as well (set on top).
18. Cook for 3 minutes and check for doneness (golden brown and crispy).
19. Whether you’re using a press or cast iron pan, when the bread is golden brown crispy and the cheese is melty, remove from the press/pan and plate.
20. Serve with a cold glass of Guinness and a pickle spear on the side.

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