Whats your secret ingredient?

[DougE]

I use file' in gumbo, but never tried it elsewhere.

 

[TNJAKE]

Never heard of it, but what does this New Yourkeer know...lol

It's ground sassafras. A slight spice and earthy. Delicious

 

[DougE]

Slight thread hijack, but what else are y'all using file' in?

 

[pc farmer]

I maybe missed it but I used coffee in rubs before. Pretty good

 

[TNJAKE]

Slight thread hijack, but what else are y'all using file' in?

Jambalaya, red beans and rice, beans in general, sauces, chilli, etc

 

[DougE]

Jambalaya, red beans and rice, beans in general, sauces, chilli, etc

Huh, never thought about using it in chili.

 

[TNJAKE]

Huh, never thought about using it in chili.

Yep use it with the cumin and add in some coriander and boom

 

[indaswamp]

It's ground sassafras.

.....leaves.

They use sassafras root to make root beer. That is where the flavor comes from. The leaves have a slight hint of root beer flavor. But it is really hard to describe.

Great in rib rubs.....FYI.....

 

[DougE]

They use sassafras root to make root beer.

And tea. Sassafras tea is delicious.

 

[bill1]

I’ll go with espresso and cocoa, another great thread Brian!

I agree with the coffee & cocoa dual vote, and the secret with both is to not use enough that you can detect them.
And I agree Brian had a great idea with this thread!

And this maybe counts as another vinegar vote, but let's just say I don't throw out the brine from either dill pickles, green olives, nor (for mild heat) sliced jalapenos.

ADDENDUM: the problem with some of the spices mentioned is that I'm scared of anything with which I've had unpredictable results.

 

[zwiller]

Great stuff already. Cool part about my secret ingredient is it's basically free: time. First noticed it running ribs. I smoke then grill but not same day. Seemed like the flavor improved when I waited a few days before grilling. I started sticking stuff like hunks of smoked loin in the freezer and trying it later and found it was much better than before. Also with dry brining. I dry brine stuff like a week and it shows. Salt and flavor penetration much better than overnight and infinitely better than rubbed before throwing on smoker. If you look for it Cen Tex brisky guys are rubbing ahead of the smoke (dry brining). They obfuscate the specifics by talking about volume of meat they go through/how much product they move but they do it. I don't recall who said it but remember hearing 7-10 days. I dry brine rib roasts 2 weeks.

Here's another tip that's free. Remember you an always sprinkle a little stuff on just your serving when playing with secret ingredient type stuff. No need to risk the whole batch. I do this especially playing with sausage formulas. Learned TONS doing that.

radioguy Tried that Tajin on tomatoes last night. New fave!

 

[zwiller]

Maggi was a staple in my German grand mothers house, used it in gravies and most of all her chicken rice soup that has not been duplicated in 50 years since...

Key to finding stuff like online that is using the german words for it. Hühner-Reissuppe.
If your grandmother was anything like mine, she made stock for it. Easy peasy in a IP. I do chicken back, wings, and thighs in enough water to just submerge 2hrs. One day I made stock in the AM and a few hours later bread dumplings and it smelled EXACTLY like I was in my grandmothers house. LOL You probably already know this but, pfeffer/pepper used german cooking is typically WHITE not black. Good luck!

https://www.quick-german-recipes.com/chicken-rice-soup.html

https://www.gutekueche.at/reissuppe-mit-huhn-rezept-23213

 

[noboundaries]

I use a smidge of Prague Powder #1 in my water-based turkey and chicken brines. What's a smidge? Like 1/10th the amount required to actually cure the meat. The addition adds a slight hammy flavor to the meat that goes so well with smoke but still tastes like turkey or chicken.

 

[flatbroke]

I maybe missed it but I used coffee in rubs before. Pretty good

Ever tried Kopi Luwak?

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

A little bit of this and a little bit of that.

 

[noboundaries]

Ever tried Kopi Luwak?

Yep. Three lifelong coffee lovers agreed it was a total waste of money.

 

[fltsfshr]

coffee beans picked out of civet cat sh*t.

 

[bill1]

Is it cheating to include personal mixes? I always have a shaker handy with equal parts of

• black pepper (fine)
• garlic powder (fine)
• onion powder
• taco seasoning (Lawry's or Schillings)

Had to cheat and go foreign on the acronym...I call it TOPA...where garlic becomes the Spanish "ajo".
Except for a bit of salt in the taco seasoning, it's salt-free and flavor-full.

That's my go-to dry mix. For sauce, hat tip to Noboundaries Ray and his blended bean&pepper hot sauce.

 

[SmokyMose]

I've been using Accent (MSG) in a lot of things lately, especially sausage.

 

[lyw111]

I always like to put a little lemon juice and peel when cooking any meat. I think it can really add fragrance.