“Dill Pickle Juice”: 20 People Share Their ‘I’ll Never Tell’ Cooking Secrets

11,

Butter is way better than mayo for grilled cheese. Who cares if the browning is even, I want it to taste good.

12,

I bring baked good to work quite often and I’ll print out stack of the recipes, and what I’ve changed, so people can make it at home and know exactly what the ingredients are.

There are way too many food allergies and I don’t want to accidentally k**l my coworkers.

13,

I like to blend up some charred jalapeno and fresh cilantro and add it to my homemade corn tortilla dough.

Also, I love adding roasted poblano peppers to my pinto beans (and often actually go for peruano beans instead of pinto too).

14,

Add very thinly sliced garlic fried in oil to your pastas or fried rice. It gives it so much flavor and a really nice crunch. Also, the secret to never burning your garlic is to keep the heat consistent and add garlic to the pan while it’s still cold. First add it with the oil, then turn the heat on medium and keep it on the same level of heat. That way, the flavor slowly infuses in the oil and makes it fragrant. Once it’s starting to get nice and golden you can take it off the heat – it’ll continue to fry up since the oil is still hot. Literally everyone obsesses over how I make my fried garlic, but it’s very easy :).

15,

Key lime juice instead of lemon in hummus. People always ask me my secret, and that’s the only change I make. (Have had a key lime tree out back for years.).

16,

A dash or two of soy sauce in a meat gravy is never amiss.

17,

I entered a chili cookoff last year, but I didn’t have a good recipe up my sleeve since it’s not something I ever make. After delving into a ton of research about the secret ingredients people use, I eventually threw my hands up and ended up putting in practically ALL of them. We’re talking 10 different types of chiles, ground espresso, dark cherries, fish sauce, masa harina, cocoa powder, steak, pork butt, bacon, pumpkin beer, tomato paste, beans, shallots, sweet potatoes, worchestershire sauce, msg, coriander, Mexican oregano, galanghal, smoked paprika, cloves…

If someone wanted the recipe, there’s no way I could have even come close to piecing it together. It was certainly unlike any chili I had ever eaten, but to my great astonishment, it actually won the grand prize!

18,

I always save and use the flavoured oil in jars of preserves like marinated feta or artichokes. Especially in blended soups like pumpkin or carrot. Also a bit of chocolate in many savoury dishes like curry or thick soup. Just a square of dark chocolate.