How To Peel An Onion
In most cases, you may need to peel the onions if you're using cut onions, as the skin is not used. However, if you're roasting halved onions, you can leave the peel on, as it helps defend the onion from burning.
Similarly, when making stock, you can pass peeling the onion since you'll be discarding it after cooking, anyway.
Peeling an onion may appear easy—you just remove the outer layer, right? But what precisely constitutes the peel? What if the skin is simply too tight to grasp, and how much of the outer layers should you simply take away? Let’s examine the proper way to peel an onion.
Step 1: Cut the Onion In Half
If the root end of the onion is dirty, trim it simply enough to clean it and wipe your knife. Then, cut off the sharp tip from the other end of the onion and throw it away. Place the onion cut side down and slice it lengthwise from the root end to the other end, cutting it in half.
Step 2: Peel the Onion
Even if you only need half of the onion, peeling both halves will make chopping easier later on. To peel it, start by gripping a corner of the papery outer layer at the flat end and pulling it off firmly. If you have trouble gripping it, use a paring knife to help lift the layer.
Be careful not to remove any of the larger onion layers beneath. If any skin remains near the tip, trim that part off.