What secret/special ingredient do you add to certain food/dishes?

tessie_bear

its not secret as such but i put tom puree in all mince dishes as u get a nice brown colour and no greyness iykwim

Aril

A dash of Worcester sauce to baked beans. Chopped chives to scrambled eggs. I always use vanilla extract rather than essence in icing
Aril

Akom

Aril wrote: »

A dash of Worcester sauce to baked beans. Chopped chives to scrambled eggs. I always use vanilla extract rather than essence in icing
Aril

Ooooo, that reminds me. Try adding fresh Sage to omelette. It's fantastic and really works. Would go with scrambled eggs too.

Butterfly_Brain

I use All purpose seasoning on a joint of beef and I coat chicken drumsticks in it - lovely in a beef stew too.
Hp sauce in cottage pie, Balsamic vinegar in Spag Bol and Soda Water or Beer to batter mix.

on_a_money_mission

Tomato ketchup in bolog and other 'mince' sauces;
'Maggi' sauce in stir fries (similar to Soy sauce) - it's also good to add a meaty taste to grilled meat;
Vinegar when cooking tough old meat;
Something raw like chopped spring onions or tomato as a final last minute ingredient in stir fries to freshen it up;
Freshly ground nutmeg in pureed parsnips;
Paprika and marigold vegetable stock powder on homemade oven chips;
In baking:
A splash of orange juice on the apples when cooking in apple pie/crumble; and finally
soya milk makes cakes much lighter than ordinary milk

Bettyboop

Wow what fabulous tips.... have to say when I try making more family dinners I will definitely by trying splashes of this and that.

Well done everyone.

daska

A splash of Balsamic vinegar in the mayo for coleslaw (my mum uses a mix of mayo and salad cream which is harsher but still works well.)
A layer of extra mature cheddar under the pastry in a minced beef and veg or chilli con carne pie(we call it 'cow pie').
A handful of oats to 400g mince in chilli or bolognese (spreads it cheaply and makes the sauce stick to the pasta).

Reverbe

my mum used to use Marmite and peppercorns on steak

kazd

Ok here is my recipe for Chilli (mind you I don't use kidney beans as I don't like them)

800g Steak Mince
Tin Chopped Tomatoes
A good tbsp of tomato puree
Couple of carrots finely chopped.
Onion, halved and chopped on the half moon (its my ocd bit, onions have to be chopped certain ways for different dishes)
Mixed Herbs
Salt and pepper
Chopped garlic
Hot Chilli Powder - to taste - I usually use a large heaped tsp - more if its for just me and hubby.
1pt Beef Stock

I cook this for three hours or so on very low light, then remove lid and reduce, at the end I add my secret ingredient. A large tablespoon of treacle.

Let me know if you try it and like it.

PS I can sometimes cook this for up to six hours, not very moneysaving on the stovetop but its fabulous and I am always asked to make it.

stardrops42

Bettyboop wrote: »

What great tips so far. So far everything mentioned I never thought to try. Someone told me to baste pork chops in mustard and that tasted awful.

I've just mixed 2tsp worcestershire sauce, 2tsp dijon mustard and 3tbsp of tomato ketchup together and brushed it on pork chops and grilled them and it was delicious:D everyone said how nice they tasted:D