Article created by: Denis Tymulis
Every person who finds themselves in a kitchen every now and then has a cooking secret. Or two, or tons, if you ask experienced chefs.
Think of a splash of OJ in banana bread, lemon zest in garlic butter, a chicken stock cube to the pasta as it cooks, the tricks are endless. And although some may sound pretty bizarre at first, we gotta remind you that cooking is an adventure. There’s no strict instruction to follow and the more you experiment, the better the outcome will be (which translates into sighs, empty plates, asking for another one and endless compliments).
I don’t think it’s weird but I save all the scraps of my vegetables — onions, garlic, bell peppers, carrots, celery, herb stems, tomatoes, mushrooms — and collect them in a freezer bag and when it’s full I turn it into stock and then use that stock to replace the water while cooking rice, quinoa, lentils, etc.
Okay, people call me crazy, they call me nuts, they laugh at me, and they downvote me every time I bring this up. But...
The microwave is extremely useful for potatoes in a pinch to speed up the whole process.
For baked potatoes, I microwave in plastic wrap for 5 minutes, then throw them in the oven for 15. Perfect baked potatoes in 20 minutes instead of 60, can’t complain.
Even better, for frying up crispy potatoes for breakfast or dinner, chop up and toss with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, then microwave with a lid for 5 minutes, then straight into a cast iron pan to get them crispy. You can oven roast from there too, 10m at 425 or so.
It just speeds everything up and they come out delicious.
Lemon zest in garlic butter, specifically for garlic bread. It's an absolute game changer, even just a little bit.
If you're making a messy sandwich (such as sloppy joes), forget hamburger buns: Hot dog buns make the mess easier to control. Instead of giving the sauce multiple escape vectors, the worst it can do is move down the length of the bun.
Cutting hot peppers and don't want an unfortunate accident in the bathroom (peeing, changing contacts, etc) later? When done, rub a little neutral oil (canola, vegetable) on your hands, then wash with a little dish soap. The capsaicin (spicy chemical in the peppers) essentially binds with the oil, then the dish soap takes care of the oil on your hands.
I never tried mixing butter and soy sauce in the same dish until I was in my late twenties, but once I tried it, it quickly became one of my favorite flavor combinations. It's excellent in just about any savory dish. It works especially well with mushrooms.
I keep parmesan rinds in my freezer for stock, sauces, and stews. I just throw it in after everything else to simmer. It makes a remarkable difference especially in tomato sauces. Almost every benefits from a little alchohol. Wine, whiskey, bourbon, ect depending on what makes sense with your flavor profile.
Adding a splash of orange juice to pumpkin or banana bread. The acidity really adds some brightness against the spices
A lot of great endorsements or kitchen shears/scissors as a cutting utensil in this thread.
Just an advisory, make sure if you’re going to do this that you buy a pair that can be taken apart because otherwise harmful bacteria can get trapped in between the blades or in the rivet where they’re attached.
Keep ginger in the freezer. Use a micro plane or grater to grate the frozen ginger into sauces, fried rice, etc.
Edit: Lots of people asking; No, you don't have to peel it first. You can if you want. I don't, just wash the skin.
I use olive brine/pickle brine to add flavour a lot of dishes like casseroles, stews, etc. It adds a nice depth of flavour.
Steaks make their own sauces.
That stuff on the bottom of your pan? Deglaze it with some stock.
Now stop eating t-bones with ketchup.
-Butcher.
I don’t think anyone will see this but if you have bread that’s close to going stale, put it in the freezer and use it for garlic bread, bread crumbs, French toast, and other things.
When roasting meat, add your herbs and spices in order of coarse to fine.
I noticed that when I didn't pay attention to the order of things, I'd cut into a nice piece of chicken or pork and half the seasonings would fall off onto the plate.
Now I'll do something like thyme, then coarse black pepper, then cayenne, then garlic powder, and everything sticks to the meat far, far better.
When making biscuits or pie dough or anything that requires "Cutting in" you can instead just take a frozen stick of butter and grate it on the coarse side of a cheese grater. It makes perfect pea sized pieces in like 1/10 the amount of time.
I like to use a heavy glass ash tray as a spoon rest. Super easy to clean and multiple resting spots are great for the stirring spoon, tasting spoon, etc.
Got it from my mom who was never a smoker. But keeps things clean next to the stove and they're widely available in second hand shops.
People always look at me weird when I use scissors to cut things, but I’ll be dammed if they don’t cut pizza better than a pizza cutter could ever hope to
chopsticks: the hitchhiker’s towel of the kitchen. went on a long camping trip and needed to travel light, opted for chopsticks instead of carrying multiple utensils both for cooking and eating, discovered how versatile they are. now i continue to use them all over the kitchen even though i have plenty of other utensils handy. i have a caddy full of wooden chopsticks that i reach for constantly while cooking. (they’re easier to clean than a whisk/tongs too!)
• use in place of tongs (flip stuff, move stuff around)
• use in place of a whisk when making a thin batter/sauce
• scrambled eggs: use to whisk, and to stir while cooking
• (specifically for wooden chopsticks) testing temperature of hot oil: put chopsticks in the oil, if tiny bubbles form around the chopsticks the oil is hot enough for frying!
Stop cutting the ends off of things before cutting them. Use the end as a handle
Toss noodles in toasted sesame oil after they’ve drained. Takes them to another level.
When you're cutting broccoli or cauliflower, turn it upside down. Then rotate it as you cut the stem part. SO MUCH CLEANER than cutting through the flowery part from the top, and you get really nice florets
When I bake, I grease my pans, but instead of using flour to coat it, I use granulated sugar. It makes the edges sweet and crunchy, and saves me from needing to use icing or frosting.
Pre-toast flour for roux. Spread flour in a thin layer on a baking sheet and bake at 400F, stirring often, until it’s toasty. Cool and store, and use it as the flour in any roux to dramatically speed up the process. If you have toasted flour on hand you’re basically halfway to gumbo at any moment, and it’s a nice flavor boost for other kinds of flour-based sauces and gravies!
For easy minced garlic anytime, blend up a bunch of peeled garlic with a little olive oil. Pour into a freezer ziplock, squeeze out excess air, and freeze flat. Snap off a chunk anytime you need. I’m too lazy to actually peel and mince garlic in the middle of cooking a weeknight dinner.
Used to buy so many of those frozen garlic cubes from Trader Joe’s (seriously like 8 packs at a time) before doing this.
A splash of vinegar in the water to boil potatoes for either potato salad or for roasting after boiling
