Strange ingredients?
 

Do you have any secret ingredients that you use that people don't know about and may consider it strange? What's your secret weapon?

I've really bought into "umami" and starting to use ingredients that boost savory flavor. Like a couple finely chopped anchovies in beef stew or porcini powder in sauces and on steaks.

Apple juice and heroin.

Together or separately?

piss and vinegar

Together or separately?

Depends on the meat.

Worchester.

or soy sauce. in everything.

never together.

Both are great for adding depth! :thumb:

I use Worcestershire sauce a lot in meat, especially ground beef. I generally stay away from soy just because of the sodium (and the low sodium tastes like ass), but it's a great addition.

Ginger infused Shoyu sauce to marinate pork.

I pee just a little in to every dish I make. Not enough to tip off my secret, but just enough to give it some deprh

Not sure if it's secret or all the odd but I use cocoa powder in my homemade chili seasoning. Gives it a nice mole flavor.

I've had gonzos heroin burgers. They're amazing.

You need to have ChiefsNow show you how to add vinegar to your recipes.

I've heard they're addicting.

And I use chili powder in my meth

Curry powder, especially on chicken. Love that shit

I've seen this before. Also seen peanut butter, and if you're into Cinci-style chili (yuck!), there's also cinnamon, allspice, and clove in addition to the cocoa.

I've also done coffee in steak rubs and pretty much anything with chocolate (especially brownies).

Chilli P.

Those all sound like stripper names.

Curry powder in chicken soup.

Arby's horsey sauce in deviled eggs.

Try the amino acids fake soy sauce. My wife likes it but I'm not a fan of any soy. Tou can get it at smiths/fred meyer.

I honestly don't know what umami is so I'll start with that. I think it just means unique flavors. And the most unique ingredients are in Asian food. I don't really know what I'm doing yet, but I've experimented with some of these ingredients you'd find interesting.

For staples, miso paste, Korean red pepper paste, dashi/bonito flakes. For spices, Chinese five-spice, Korean red pepper, anise all have really unique properties.

Lots of interesting dried ingredients at an Asian grocery store. Dried mushrooms of every kind. Dried shrimp.

Vegetables, I started putting perilla in lots of things. Gives a different bite to everything.

Finally, food substitutes. Fish sauce for salt. Sesame oil for olive oil. Kimchi for sauerkraut or relish.

Old Bay on everything.

I was just watching a show where the chef was using goldfish in his chicken parmesan.

that sounds.....

....intriguing!!!
will try it the next time I make these. thanks!!

RIP, Inmem.

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Also, instead of using sugar for a marinade, try an Asian pear. A lot of Asian marinades will use that as a food substitute

I actually worked for a cook who used crushed up corn flakes for breading on Chicken Kiev and Chicken Cordon Bleu.

It actually tasted really good.

Umami is savoriness. It's a major component of Asian food, but not strictly Asian by any means. Foods that boost umami are high in glutamates, so a lot of what you listed are umami bombs.

Until I started her using Panko crumb and Parmesan cheese as a coating base, my mother used to use corn flakes as a shake-and-bake substitute.

Since you brought up the whole umami deal...

Yeah, I cheat...

MSG.

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Corn Flakes are legit.

I don't know if it is strange or just uncommon, but when I make Danish Christmas treats, the traditional recipes call for cardamom. I add other stuff to make it more appealing to my taste, like ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and sometimes anise seed.

My family makes traditional Icelandic Christmas cookies, we picked up the recipe when we were living there. They are basic spiced sugar cookies with the secret ingredient of black and white pepper.

Know how I know you worked at McDonalds or orange Julius in your life?

Interesting may give this a try.

I always have poured a little coffee leftover from the pot into my chili. It probably add nothing but to me it seems to taste better.

Oh careful you are going to set off the black licorice haters here.

Brown Sugar opposite anything hot. (peppers, hot sauce, black pepper, chili powder, etc...) one teaspoon of it leaves people saying "that was awesome, a little spicy yet a little sweet". They beg for the recipe every time because of one addictive teaspoon. Its like crack.

Not really but I have been known to slip a little curry into any savory dish. I have also been using vinegar more and more over just the last couple of years, works very well.

Nice. The acid you're adding is refreshing, keeps people coming back for more. I do the same with lemon.

White pepper in with cheese dishes such as fettuccine Alfredo or Boursin cheese grits. Really sets it off.

Nutmeg to cream-mushroom-chicken dishes.

Then I shouldn't mention that a buddy shipped me FIVE pounds of black licorice wheels! :drool:

I have two pounds of star anise in my freezer. I've had it for about 8 years, and I think I've used two.

I use horseradish sometimes in my red sauce for pasta. Just a few tablespoons, nothing too crazy.

I started using vinegar in my holiday ham glaze/dipping sauce a few years ago. I always start with stone ground mustard and brown sugar but have been leaning towards more dill and vinegar and it's great.

Also should add compound butters. So tasty.

I'll have to give that a try. For Mac and cheese, I find that ground ginger adds a nice punch.

With runs like that JC can keep his title as best running back NFL ever better average per carry than Jim Brown.

Ha oops wrong thread

And now he's hurt. :(

LOOK WHAT YOU DID!!!

I'm into how matter flows especially liquid states, so I use Xanthan gum.

I also use wheat substitutes and no can tell the difference.

Tablespoons? That's a lot.

:sulk:

habanero and pineapple

Not for about 2 quarts of sauce. i make homemade sauce for many meals, not just once for the pasta I'm cooking.

Unflavored gelatin in soups and stews. It's an ATK trick to improve texture, making it feel more like a homemade broth.

I use Worcestershire in ground beef in just about every recipe. I have some Soy Sauce, but use it sparingly.

Worcestershire sauce is awesome! I love it with beef, either for chili, tacos, burgers, or on steaks. I use it in marinades and with dishes I use beer in as well. I use it with my chicken fajita marinade, too, but have key lime juice and cider vinegar mixed in.

Most people overuse Worcestershire sauce and Soy sauce to the point that's all you can taste...

A Chiefs win.

Great combo. Have you tried Wilbur's Revenge?

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