If I need to amp up a weak stock, and I don’t have any glace de viande around, I will often resort to Dashida-brand beef soup stock. The MSG does some of the trick with all of its umami goodness. I tend to avoid bouillon cubes and powdered stocks in my cooking, but a little bit of Dashida goes a long way.
[QUOTE=cmyk]
Dood. I thought that was our secret?!
[/QUOTE]
cowers under the fear of the Brotherhood killing me
I add cloves to pork chops. Mmmm.
[QUOTE=Athena]
Glace, primarily Veal.
I sometimes make my own, but mostly buy it frozen from here.
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This sounds amazing, but it seems to come in awfully large quantities. How long is it good for and how quickly do you go through it? Also, which of the glaces do you buy–is the veal good on just about anything?
Anywhere you would normally use a splash of red wine you can use sweet vermouth too for extra complex and unidentified flavors. Really does a number on marinara sauce.
[QUOTE=cmyk]
I’m no chef. I can barely make ice. But yesterday I made some Mac + Cheese and added a hit of Chili Powder. It was Mac + Cheese times awesome!
What weird or secret ingredient do you add to ordinary dishes to make them taste like magical rainbows?
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Turmeric is a nice addition to macaroni & cheese,not just in flavour,but also the deepening of yellow.I use maybe 1 tsp. per pound of pasta.
Kashmiri Masala which is basically a spicy Indian garlic paste. In recipes where I would normally use fresh minced garlic I sometimes substitute Kashmiri Masala. Mind you I use lots of similar things: Podina (Indian mint chutney) instead of mint, salsas for tomato, pesto for basil, aeoli for garlic.
Asafoetida.
Worcestershire Sauce or anchovies, both excellent sources of natural MSG (same as dried wild mushrooms or mushroom ketchup) - really makes meaty dishes more meaty.
Salt is a secret ingredient? Wow.
[QUOTE=iwakura43]
This sounds amazing, but it seems to come in awfully large quantities. How long is it good for and how quickly do you go through it? Also, which of the glaces do you buy–is the veal good on just about anything?
[/QUOTE]
Hmm, they’ve raised their prices since I bought. But still, it’s worth it. I went for the 5 bars of 1 lb glace. You might be able to find them in other places in smaller quantities.
That said, you don’t use very much at a time, and they keep just fine in the freezer. I bought my 5# maybe a year ago, and I think I’ve gone through 1 complete bar.
I got a variety, but if I had to choose, I’d choose just veal. Veal glace is wonderfully versatile and relatively mild. It’s good for sauces of all kinds, and will enhance most soups/stews.
The bars are pretty big - maybe a foot or more long, but thin. You can cut pieces off while it’s still frozen no problem. For a sauce for two people, I might cut a half inch piece off and throw in the skillet, along with wine/herbs/mustard/etc.
If you make your own stock, you can make your own glace. All it is is ultra-reduced stock. Just make stock like normal, leave out the salt (you don’t want ultra-reduced SALTY stock), and let it simmer until it’s anywhere from 1/7 to 1/10th it’s previous volume. It turns to gelatin, which is what you want.
Veal stock is the best to use because of its aforementioned neutral quality, but veal bones aren’t exactly easy to come across. Beef glace is good, if a bit stronger. Just go easy on the seasonings.
Onion salt.
I just grilled out some burgers last night. I’ll never understand people who put A-1, or steak seasoning, or rosemary, or blue cheese, or other crazy stuff on their burgers. A burger should taste like a burger, not a steak. I made my patties and gave each side a dose of black pepper and onion salt. That’s all a truly good burger needs. And man, they were fantastic.
[QUOTE=Trunk]
Asafoetida.
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Outside of Indian dishes, what do you use this for?
[QUOTE=WILLASS]
Worcestershire Sauce or anchovies, both excellent sources of natural MSG (same as dried wild mushrooms or mushroom ketchup) - really makes meaty dishes more meaty.
Salt is a secret ingredient? Wow.
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Ah, that reminds me, I’ll often use fish sauce to accent a dish.
[QUOTE=Max Torque]
I just grilled out some burgers last night. I’ll never understand people who put A-1, or steak seasoning, or rosemary, or blue cheese, or other crazy stuff on their burgers. A burger should taste like a burger, not a steak. I made my patties and gave each side a dose of black pepper and onion salt. That’s all a truly good burger needs. And man, they were fantastic.
[/QUOTE]
While it’s certainly possible to make truly excellent burgers in just this fashion, it is possible to do more elaborate things to burgers that make them even better. I baste my homemade burgers with a special concoction of olive oil and certain seasonings (in which fresh black pepper features largely, it’s true). I also work a bit of the spicy mixture into the meat as I make the patties. The ambrosia that results can make strong men weep and vegans declare the cow to be a fruit. 
[QUOTE=pulykamell]
Outside of Indian dishes, what do you use this for?
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Not much, but I make a lot of indian type dishes, or at least use curries, chilis, cumin seeds to season some dishes.
Like, iI’ll do chicken in a pan, then move it to the over to finish with broth, and toss the asa in some ghee, and add it to the broth.
I add it to lentils, beans, typical Indian stuff there. You can add it to a soup, like if you’re making a spicy pumpkin, or squash soup.
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas]
Toasted sesame seeds and dark sesame oil makes all sorts of things taste better.
[/QUOTE]
Wow, I was going to say the exact same thing.
Any sort of meat or tofu always tastes better when cooked with a little sesame oil and then sprinkled with seeds.
[QUOTE=Trunk]
Not much, but I make a lot of indian type dishes, or at least use curries, chilis, cumin seeds to season some dishes.
Like, iI’ll do chicken in a pan, then move it to the over to finish with broth, and toss the asa in some ghee, and add it to the broth.
I add it to lentils, beans, typical Indian stuff there. You can add it to a soup, like if you’re making a spicy pumpkin, or squash soup.
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Have you ever tried using fenugreek (methi) leaves? Those are yummy for finishing some curries and even the dried form have a lovely, celery-ish kind of taste to them. I’ve kind of become addicted to it lately.
Gorgonzola crumbles.
I had to buy some for a recipe recently, but only ended up needing a couple of tablespoons out of a half pound. But a few crumbles of Gorgonzola on a grilled cheese sandwich (with mozzarella or colby/jack being most of the cheese) is marvelous. Or, put the cheese mixture on top of some turkey and bread and heat that just till the cheese is melty.
[QUOTE=pulykamell]
Have you ever tried using fenugreek (methi) leaves? Those are yummy for finishing some curries and even the dried form have a lovely, celery-ish kind of taste to them. I’ve kind of become addicted to it lately.
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Not really, isn’t is an “anise-type” flavor like fennel, though?
I use a bit of fennel (the herb and the bulb).
Also, note, I never just add asafoetida to stuff. I add it to butter/ghee, and then pour that whole thing into whatever I’m adding it to.
[QUOTE=Trunk]
Not really, isn’t is an “anise-type” flavor like fennel, though?
[/QUOTE]
No, it’s not one of those anise-y flavored herbs like tarragon or fennel or anything. It’s more towards celery leaves or maybe even lovage.