We all have them: our secret ingredients that transform recipes into one-of-a-kind creations that are to die for.
This is what keeps food exciting at the dinner table and makes it unique to us. Although these Top 10 of mine officially won’t be a ‘secret’ anymore, I am happy to share them with you.
• Blueberry jam – beef or other red meats, such as lamb or various game meats will always benefit from a little something bold and sweet.
Blueberry jam is my go to ingredient for burger patties, chili and stew. It will not only compliment in flavour, but also the sweetness will help counteract any acidity in the recipe. Blackberry jam is good too, but the seeds aren’t pleasant.
• Peanut butter – although with the increasing number of peanut allergies in our society, peanut butter should never be secretive. However, it is wonderful for using as a base for any peanut dressings, dips (like for chicken satay for example), or stir-fry sauces. A dollop of peanut butter in a pot of chili is great, too.
• Sambal Oelek – every chef knows about the “sambal.” This is a liquid/paste crushed chili pepper product that can be purchased in small jars from the imported foods aisle of almost any major grocery store. Dried chilis always need time for rehydration, so this product is a perfect replacement as it is instant heat. I add a little (about 1/2 teaspoon or so) to spaghetti sauces, soups, and stews, not to make them spicy, just an extra dimension of flavour. If you want your food spicy, then add more.
• Soy sauce – if a dish requires extra seasoning, try adding soy sauce instead of salt. It will not only season your finished dish, but also provide extra flavour and colour.
• Canned anchovies – we all know this ingredient from Caesar dressings, but this is another salty ingredient that will do wonders for seasoning and bringing out flavours in many of your recipes. Add a couple of small filets to the beginning of the cooking process so that they break down into more of a paste. They will add such a different dimension of flavour that it will keep your dinner guests guessing.
• Wine, beer, juice or broth – Water has no flavour or colour. When a recipe calls for a small amount of water to be added, I always replace with a different liquid that will be appropriate in flavour and colour to the dish I am making.
• Whipping cream – Not whipped cream, but whipping cream from a carton. This high fat content cream (usually 33 per cent to 35 per cent milk fat) is great to have on hand to add a little richness. Plus because it is so high in milk fat, it will not split when reducing down in a sauce, even if the sauce is acidic.
• Butter – Obviously for health reasons both cream and butter should be used in moderation, but a small pat of butter to finish a sauce is wonderfully delicious. Simply pull your finished sauce off the heat and just before serving, stir in a small amount until melted. Melting a pat of butter over a grilled steak is also great. Oh, and for the record, I always use salted butter.
• Fennel seed – not from the same plant as the fennel bulb we see in the produce department, these do have a similar taste of black licorice. Fennel seed is a traditional ingredient in Italian sausage, but I always throw in a couple teaspoons of these seeds to my tomato pasta sauces.
• Charcoal – although not an ingredient like the others listed here, cooking with this natural fuel of carbonized wood adds such a depth of flavour to everything from burgers to desserts. We even cook sauces, soups, stews over charcoal as well as many baked goods, and of course traditional barbecue.
I am not talking manufactured square-shaped ‘briquettes’ here. I am talking about lump charcoal: chunks of wood that have been heated with very little to no oxygen, so they naturally carbonize.
According to archeological expeditions, we as humans have been cooking with this fuel for thousands of years, so this is the oldest known form of fuel to humankind.
– Chef Dez is a Chef, Writer, & Host. Visit him at chefdez.com