Your secret ingredients.

[Biggirl]

In a thread that I cannot find a doper (I think it was Athena but since I cannot find the thread I can't be sure) said that her homemade chicken stock is the secret ingredient that makes many of her dishes special. I, too, have secret ingredients that elevate a few of my dishes.

The first I learned from mi abuela. Recaito. Also called sofrito when cooked. This aromatic from Puerto Rico is put in a lot of stuffs. Kinda like Louisiana's holy trinity, it goes into almost everything. The basic recaito recipe is recao (or culantro-- cilantro's stronger tasting cousin), garlic, sweet chiles and green peppers. All of it goes into a blender. P.S., bell peppers are not the taste you're going for in recaito. Cubanelle's, sweet Italians, ajies dulce-- that'll rev it up. And if you can't find recao, cilantro will do just fine. Just add more.

My second secret ingredient is my homemade chili powder. But not any homemade chili powder. My super secret smoked homemade chili powder. Chiles guajillo, ancho and, for a bit of heat, arbol go into the cast iron skillet. Let the chiles start smoking before pulling them out. Roast some cumin and coriander seeds too. If I knew how to make my own smoked paprika, and powder my own garlic and onions, I'd try that too but since I can't, it's store bought. And just like mi abuela, into the pilon it goes. I like a mortar and pestle because it's better a little bit coarse. A food processor or blender would make it too powdery for me.

I make other chili powder but this powder is the base for bbq rubs, kidney beans and, of course, chile. It goes great in curry and beef stew. I love this stuff.

Now let me steal from you. Tell me about your secret ingredient.

[Balance]

My secret ingredient is a very simple one: summer savory.

It isn't very strongly flavored itself, but it enhances the flavor of meat dishes wonderfully, especially beef dishes, and it's a small but critical component of the bastes I use for grilling. I also use a touch in combination with stronger flavors in my herb breads, especially rosemary bread.

Very few people seem to know about it around here.

[not what you'd expect]

Horse radish adds a nice zing to the spread we make for our rueben sandwich. Just a little bit though.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Vegemite! In sauces, chowders, soups, on sandwiches. Well, some sandwiches.

Or Jalepeno summer sausage. Grind it and add to ground beef or pork.

Smoked paprika.

[SnakesCatLady]

I use Dr. Pepper when I'm making sausage, peppers and onions. Slice the sausage on the diagonal, add to fry pan with a touch of oil and brown (I like mine well browned). When the sausage is almost browned enough, add some coase grained mustard and a dash of steak sauce and stir it 'round. Add about 3/4 cup of Dr. Pepper and the cut up veggies - the moisture from the Dr. Pepper steams the veggies and it caramelizes the sausage. Stir until veggies are done to your liking and serve.

[Biggirl]

Hey! I forgot the onions in the recaito! Onions are mandatory.

[silenus]

Tiger Sauce.

[blondebear]

My secret ingredient for guacamole: a drop of liquid smoke.

[Doctor Who]

Originally Posted by blondebear

My secret ingredient for guacamole: a drop of liquid smoke.

Try a dash of Worcestershire. Gives it a subtle "Ooh mommy!"

[FriarTed]

Originally Posted by not what you'd expect

Horse radish adds a nice zing to the spread we make for our rueben sandwich. Just a little bit though.

For years, I heard that McDonald's Big Mac secret sauce was basically ketchup & Thousand Island dressing...

and that may be true, as long as you add a bit of horseradish.

[JimmyFlair]

Montreal Steak spice gives lots of non meat dishes a "meaty" savoriness. I give a little shake into mashed potatoes or lentil soup in lieu or regular salt (that stuff tends toward hella salty so I use it sparingly).

[jnglmassiv]

Pomegranate molasses. Sweet, sour, exotic. Very hard to place and quite tasty.

[Hockey Monkey]

Duke's mayonnaise

[MikeG]

Oyster sauce.

Vinegar of several varieties can work wonders.

[RandMcnally]

Love.

Laced with LSD.

The only thing I do is I add more vanilla than necessary. I don't think that counts as a "secret ingredient" though.

[Sage Rat]

Black mustard seeds are a pretty good secret ingredient. Fry some up (like popcorn) and they make a great addition to fried rice. Mix them into a stew and they add more flavor than black pepper, with no fear of making it too spicy.

[kbear]

Originally Posted by Balance

My secret ingredient is a very simple one: summer savory.

It isn't very strongly flavored itself, but it enhances the flavor of meat dishes wonderfully, especially beef dishes, and it's a small but critical component of the bastes I use for grilling. I also use a touch in combination with stronger flavors in my herb breads, especially rosemary bread.

Very few people seem to know about it around here.

Summer savoury is my family's go-to ingredient for turkey stuffing.

[pulykamell]

MSG. I'm not kidding. You wouldn't believe how much people love the taste of this stuff. Now, I don't use it that regularly (my little bottle of Accent has lasted me over two years now), but when I'm making meals for a wider audience, MSG just delivers the kick the typical American palate desires. It does wonders, and I personally don't think it's the bete noire people think it is.

In lieu of MSG, I'm more likely to use fish sauce, which performs about the same function. Used sparingly, it amplifies the flavors and adds umami like MSG does, without imparting a particularly fishy flavor to the dish. It's great in stews, soups, even a dash or two over steak before you grill.

[picker]

Old Bay. Amazing in seafood, especially crabs, of course. But it's equally awesome in eggs, potatoes, barbecue, marinades...almost everything. And of course, sprinkled on fries and the like.

[Athena]

Originally Posted by Biggirl

In a thread that I cannot find a doper (I think it was Athena but since I cannot find the thread I can't be sure) said that her homemade chicken stock is the secret ingredient that makes many of her dishes special.

That sounds like something I'd say, so I'll take credit though I can't find the thread either.

Another secret ingredient - fresh lime/lemon juice. Acid is like salt, a bit at the end can really make the flavor pop. I keep limes/lemons in the fridge the same way I keep milk and eggs and all the other basics. It's become such second nature to me that I'm always surprised when I'm cooking at other people's houses and they go when I ask for a lemon.

[kayaker]

Jerk rub.

Chicken rinsed, patted dry, then massaged with dry jerk rub. Put into a ziplock, then into a cooler which is filled with beer and ice. When the beer supply goes to 1/2 original and the sun begins to set, drop anchor and fire up the grill.

[Sigmagirl]

Powdered horseradish from Penzeys.

[MrDibble]

Sugar - I take my cue from medieval cooking and use sugar as a spice, mostly in a poudre douce, but I add a spoonful to most everything.
Teriyaki - I make my own, with sherry rather than mirin.
Fish sauce - I use it in non-Asian cooking all the time. If garum was good enough for the Romans, it's good enough for me. Try roasted peaches with a sauce/basting of cumin, white pepper, fish sauce and honey...

[Dorjän]

For meats, garam masala. Rub some on your pork chops with pepper and salt before cooking, it's awesome. Goes great with beef as well.

[kaylasdad99]

Uhhhh, I put a drop of green food coloring in my green Jell-O^TM salad to make it extra green!

Not really, but I do use cinnamon and dried cranberries in my carrot-and-raisin salad.

[August West]

Secret ingredient in chili con carne is : a healthy spoon of Beef-flavored "Better then Bouillon", especially in venison chili

Secret ingredient in gazpacho is: Melon!

Secret ingredient in BBQ dry rub is: Achiote, pulsed into a powder instead of made into a paste.

General secret ingredient used in everything is Huy Fong Chili Garlic paste

[Chefguy]

I can think of a couple, depending on what I'm making.

Baked beans: a tablespoon of instant coffee.

Biscuits and pancakes: full fat buttermilk, non of that low-fat crap. Also White Lilly flour.

Also for pancakes, Penzey's Baking Spice.

Scrambled eggs for breakfast burritos: a glob of cream cheese added at the end and mixed in. Also chili spices cooked with the bacon.

[Drain Bead]

The "green stuff," a rub recipe I got from my Brazilian great-aunt. It is a mixture of blended white onions, parsley, chives, and garlic, mixed with kosher salt until it gets the consistency of wet sand. It's the only seasoning I use in meatloaf, and it's great on any kind of grilled meat, especially beef.

[TruCelt]

A tiny touch of cardamom in anything baked. It really sets off the vanilla or almond extracts. It should be just a scrid, not identifiable, just a whisp of an accent you can't put your finger on.

TruLime in almost anything with fresh tomatoes, but espaecially salsa.

A drop of dark sesame oil in soups and stews.

[Hero From Sector 7G]

I don't know if it is secret, or if other people use it frequently, but Celery Salt is something I consider vital to my kitchen. I use it in place of regular salt on dishes that are otherwise lightly seasoned.

Do any of you use it, or am I alone?

[VOW]

I learned from my mother, at a very tender age:

Vanilla goes into anything sweet.

Garlic goes in everything else.

I've come to use many seasonings and flavors over the years, but for a general rule of cooking, Momma knew best.


~VOW

[tomcar]

Bragg's Liquid Aminos

Just a little bit adds a subtle umami taste to vegetarian dishes.

[NGC2024]

I use smoked paprika in my egg salad. Hence, it rules.

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by August West

Secret ingredient in chili con carne is : a healthy spoon of Beef-flavored "Better then Bouillon", especially in venison chili

That pretty much works in any type of stew. Even with regular bouillon cubes. Both high sources of glutamates. I believe it was in Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential where he talks about sneaking chicken bouillon into his stock-making classes at culinary school and receiving astonished praise and high marks for his skills in extracting all that flavor out of chicken bones & veggies. Now, these cubes, do give the food a somehow "sharper" taste, but used sparingly, they work well to amp up soups and stews.

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

Originally Posted by Chefguy

Biscuits and pancakes: full fat buttermilk, non of that low-fat crap. Also White Lilly flour.

Yes on the buttermilk! Pancakes, waffles, and biscuits without buttermilk just aren't as delicious. As for flour, we go for King Arthur, although I hear good stuff about White Lilly.

Scrambled eggs for breakfast burritos: a glob of cream cheese added at the end and mixed in. Also chili spices cooked with the bacon.

Another place cream cheese is excellent is in pimiento cheese. Especially if you think you hate pimiento cheese, as I did before I discovered this way of making it:
-Sharp cheddar, coarsely chopped.
-A clove of chopped garlic
-A dash of cayenne
-A glob of cream cheese
-A spoonful of mayo
-Chopped pimientos.

The cream cheese replaces some of the mayonnaise and makes it thicker and more amazing.

[kayaker]

Originally Posted by Hero From Sector 7G

I don't know if it is secret, or if other people use it frequently, but Celery Salt is something I consider vital to my kitchen. I use it in place of regular salt on dishes that are otherwise lightly seasoned.

Do any of you use it, or am I alone?

I refuse to drink a Bloody Mary without it. Absolutely refuse.

[jnglmassiv]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

That pretty much works in any type of stew. Even with regular bouillon cubes. Both high sources of glutamates.

That reminds me of two more that I sneak into stuff:

Stews & soups
Vegeta

Tacos & burgers
Goya's Coriander & Annatto Sazon

[Chefguy]

Originally Posted by Left Hand of Dorkness

Yes on the buttermilk! Pancakes, waffles, and biscuits without buttermilk just aren't as delicious. As for flour, we go for King Arthur, although I hear good stuff about White Lilly.

White Lilly is made from soft winter wheat. If you live in the South, you get it at the corner store. If you're a damn Yankee, like me, you order it from Amazon, because it's just not available up north.