Shallots vs red onion, or the great shallot takedown!

Shallot mignonette on the left, red onion on the right

We’ve been eating a lot of oysters recently, which means a lot of mignonette. Traditionally mignonette is made with shallots which are hard to find in our area and expensive when you do find them—typically $10 a pound vs $2 or less for look-alike red onions.

Shallots vs red onion: the raw product.

So the thought occurred to us: what if we just use red onions for the damn mignonette? Of course we had to set up a taste test so more shallots had to be procured, then they were chopped and mixed with rice vinegar and ground black pepper in identical proportions for the two alliums.

Cooking comparison: the shallots, on the right, break down more than red onions on the left.

Our tasters preferred the red onion mignonette for, logically, a more pronounced allium flavor. This is a benefit because it balances the tart rice vinegar, which we use without sugar. The shallot mignonette had a very similar flavor profile—which would have been quite different if we’d used garlic or white or yellow onions—just milder.

In the final form, the shallots and red onion look and taste identical.

So the question arises: why go to the trouble and expense to use shallots in the first place? This Bon Appetit article claims they are “hands-down the best allium that ever existed” and cites the way they break down in cooking so they disappear within the finished dish and their flavor permeates the preparation. That, of course, demanded another test so we cooked up equal amounts of sliced shallot and red onions in a cast iron skillet, taking care to keep heat and stirring consistent.

The shallots did tend to break down more at the start of cooking, suggesting a weaker cell structure. But by the time we were done, the near-caramelized batches were identical in appearance and, more important, tasted exactly the same. Shallots, you’re outta here!

P.S. Before we leave this topic, a word about mignonette. Do a search and you’re going to find a lot of mignonette recipe variations, many of which include sugar. The feature picture for this post is of the “hogwash” we experienced at the Hog Island counter in Ferry Plaza last week. This sauce is made with cilantro and jalapeño–and shallots. It’s delicious, but it completely overpowers those sublime bivalves. You should try it, but use it for something else like dipping fries or fish and chips–and make it with red onion, not shallot!