Post your favorite "chef's secrets"


 
S

Scott Smith

TVWBB Pro
I'm looking for any and all cooking techniques that are economical/quick/safe/effective/healthy/delicious, but not something you would necessarily want the diners to see you do.

Here are a few ideas for starters:

Superglue for cuts on hands
Cinnamon in chili (Cincinnati style)
Nasty hamburgers into chili (Wendy's)
Mayo on the outside of grilled cheese
Frozen off-cuts of vegetables into stock
Cake mix (they sell this stuff in giant sacks)
Stale bread into stuffing, pudding, or bread crumbs
Cheap wine to sangria
 
Haha. Cool thread. I've done most of those. I keep Superglue (or Gorilla Glue) on "hand". (Sorry). I've not done the bottom 3 on that list, but I've used cake mix in a deep fry cook.
 
Leftover bones from roast chicken (even store bought) into the afore mentioned stock.
Not only cinnamon, but cocoa (Mexican mole classic flavor.) Oh,and bloom the spices in the hot pan & oil before you start to add the other liquids (old Indian curry cooking technique.)
Season individual cuts of meat before vacuum sealing for straight to a sous vide bath cooking.
Make big batches of soups, sauces and stocks, then freeze in mini-loaf pans, and vacuum freeze for easy use later.
Keep your knives SHARP SHARP SHARP. A dull knife is a dangerous knife (yes, I know, I'm probably inciting to riot with that one.)
Patronize your commercial food supply, for both good to high quality pans, vessels, knives, etc., along with some foodstuffs. I'm actually rather surprised at the dearth of those in the Twin Cities metro, outside of Restaurant Depot, that will allow the public inside. Shoot, Rochester has *TWO*.
Sheet pans. I have them in half, quarter and eighth size, and they ALL get used. And pre-cut parchment pan liners.

Okay, I'm fine with pretty much everybody else knowing those.
 
My garage door opener on the wall of the garage flashes the time and temperature. When I need to and I can (usually around Christmas here), I will store, cool, or defrost food right on the steps in the garage.
 
Scott Smith said:
My garage door opener on the wall of the garage flashes the time and temperature. When I need to and I can (usually around Christmas here), I will store, cool, or defrost food right on the steps in the garage.
Click to expand...
I use my garage and my deck a lot in the winter
 
xanthan gum as a thickener in a pinch
Innumerable uses for the microwave
I also wash and save containers from caterers and put my own food in there
 
Stale bread can be "made fresh" in a covered sauce pot with a folded up wet paper towel on the bottom...Low heat for however long it takes to steam the bread.
You can also recover stale chips by placing them in the toaster oven/oven at 350F to steam off the water that made them stale

I pre-cook my pepperonis for homemade pizza to get rid of most of the grease. Plus side is crispy pepperoni and the top of the pizza isn't wet.
Oh and accordion fold the aluminum foil so the grease falls in the channels. DO this for anything you don't want to bathe in grease when you heat it.

Red wine in the water when you make pasta. Great flavor

microwave a lemon for 15 seconds before squeezing it into a recipe...WAY more juice.
 
Need to thaw frozen butter (or bring cold butter to room temp) fast and *someone* didn't refill the dish? (You do keep extra butter around in your freezer, yes?) Take it out of the metallic foil, and put it in the microwave at 10% power level....usually at least 5 minutes to start, then check and repeat at 10% numerous times...it will thaw without melting.

Reheat your pizza in a frying pan....crust is as good as the 1st time! You may need to cover while cooking to get it all nice and hot!

Have stone counter tops? Use them to thaw frozen steaks (and other items)....place frozen things on a stone counter and they will thaw quickly...
 
GrantT said:
Have stone counter tops? Use them to thaw frozen steaks (and other items)....place frozen things on a stone counter and they will thaw quickly...
Click to expand...
Aluminum sheet pans also work for this. The "magic thawing plates" as seen on TV are nothing more than extruded aluminum channels.
 
Scott Smith said:
The 1950's were a long time ago. Many people will be thrilled by a jello mold if you know how to make it nice.
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Whew!! These kids aboard this ship won’t know what you’re talking about as my mom had all the copper colored molds lined up hanging on the build down above the upper kitchen cabinets. Memories pressed between the pages of my mind…..if you know that one.
 
Mike - LA said:
Whew!! These kids aboard this ship won’t know what you’re talking about as my mom had all the copper colored molds lined up hanging on the build down above the upper kitchen cabinets. Memories pressed between the pages of my mind…..if you know that one.
Click to expand...
"misty, water colored memories..."

Edit - Oops, I think I conflated 2 songs. :rolleyes:
 
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