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When I make chicken salad, I poach the chicken (chicken in pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, lower to simmer, cover pot, it's done in 8-10 minutes)... in pickle juice. Yes, the liquid that's left over in the pickle jar. It makes for very moist and flavorful chicken. (Like brining on the spot.) The chicken doesn't taste like pickles but there's a something-something to it from the garlic, peppercorns, etc. in the kosher full-sour dill pickle juice.
I made some chicken salad this weekend but didn't have any leftover pickle juice. I only had an unopened new jar of pickles. Hmmm. I took one pickle out, sliced it, threw the slices in the water that I'd covered the chicken with, and put 3-4 spoonfuls of the pickle juice into the pot too. Almost as good as if I'd boiled it only in pickle liquid.
I'm going to try this. I've read that Chick Fil A marinates their chicken for their chicken sandwiches in pickle juice, and I love their chicken sandwiches. Sometimes I'll just get the chicken sandwich and only eat the chicken. I'll start saving my pickle juice. Thanks
One secret we use is grinding dried porcini mushrooms in the spice grinder to make a powder. A little bit of this powder in a mushroom based dish just gives a great umami kick.
For steaks, have any of you folks tried the reverse sear method? I have a BGE and use this method over lump hardwood charcoal. I get the butcher to cut a 3" boneless rib-eye. The only seasonings are S&P. I bring the Egg to 250F, with the plate setter in place and cook the steak until the internal temp is 10F below my desired target temp. I pull it and loosely tent it to rest. While the steak rests, I remove the plate setter from the Egg and crank the temp up to 600F (the BGE can get to 900F). When it hits 600F, the steak goes back on for searing. This is a very quick sear, 30 seconds, turn 30 seconds, flip 30 seconds turn 30 seconds and done. I wish I could post pictures at this time.
You mention citrus, OP. I would say that's one of my "secrets."
I add fresh lemon juice to many dishes, and it just livens them up: soups; stews; poultry; seafood of all kinds, including tuna and salmon salad (my kids LOVE it); casseroles, desserts, etc. In fact, I think there are few things fresh lemon juice would NOT pair well with.
One secret we use is grinding dried porcini mushrooms in the spice grinder to make a powder. A little bit of this powder in a mushroom based dish just gives a great umami kick.
Wow, what a great idea! I'm thinking this could work with any type of dried mushroom, I think I have a bag of dried ****akes in the pantry right now. I'd like to try adding a spoonful to brown gravy for mashed potatoes too.
Here's another one of mine: a spoonful of half and half to smooth out cole slaw or mac salad dressing.
I ususally have a bag of dried forest mushrooms, I strain the liquid to rehydrate them and use it to cook beans and such.
I save my bean water too, either add it to thin soups for extra nutrition and body, or give it to the dogs.
A friend of mine had just brought me a packet of dried powdered mushrooms (it was Japanese) and it's awesome for adding umami flavor to dishes!
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It's not really a secret. I mean, you can SEE it. But I thought that I'd share the deliciousness anyway:
On homemade pizza, I add already-sauteed thinly sliced red pepper and -- this is the good one -- oil-cured olives. Yeah, the ones at the olive bar that look all shiny and shriveled. I peel the olive "meat" off the pit of a few of them and scatter the pieces on the pizza before baking. The flavor! Oh my!
I always add those oil-cured olives to a charcuterie plate but then, when I had some left over, I added them to pizza. That ended up being a good idea.
great minds think alike Dawn, or 'water seeks it's own level' lol
I put those on my 'scarole pizza last night.
I squeeze the pit out of them,* between my thumb and index finger, then cut them in half..
The oil imparts a nice extra nuance to the olive oil on the pie.
I had to laugh when I read this. I did not think I really had any secrets, but I do make an effort to make sauces for use throughout the week to add some splash to my meals. This week, I made tzatziki and I already had a bit of chimichurri and a vinaigrette dressing/marinade on hand. I'm always looking for good sauce recipes!
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