People Reveal Their Cooking Secrets (20 pics)

1

If I cook anything that requires breadcrumbs, I use chicken flavored StoveTop stuffing. I also use them as mini croutons in my salad.

2

I worked at Jimmy John's for a while and they had us use a little soy sauce in the tuna salad. I've been making it that way ever since (10 years).

3

My mashed potato gravy is butter, flour, water and a Ramen packet. Usually beef, chicken, or creamy chicken depending on the protein.

4

When making homemade mac and cheese, i season with the secret ingredient = dry mustard!

5

You have to brown the butter, no one ever takes the time to brown the butter.

6

Jello vanilla pudding powder substitutes half of my sugar in cookies! It keeps them super soft for days and gives them almost a cake interior. Shhhh...

7

I pan fry my bagels in salted butter to get an awesome golden brown crust on the cut side. That golden crust happens at the same time the butter is browning. Let the bagel cool for just a bit, spread on some cream cheese and dab some fruit preserves on top and it's pure heavenly delight.

8

Brown sugar is the superior sugar.

9

Cooking a chicken breast in Italian dressing. The dressing will reduce down to a glaze. Super simple and the taste is delicious. This is one of my favorite ways to cook chicken.

10

I've never been the type to have a secret like this, but if people knew how much cinnamon I used they might have questions. I add it to a lot of dishes to add some earthiness and depth, but not in amounts where you can actually taste cinnamon.

11

My snickerdoodle recipe. Brother in law LOVES them, more than his mother's (from scratch). Mine are chunks of Pillsbury sugar cookie dough, rolled in cinnamon and sugar. Stupid easy. I will never tell.

12

If you deep fry wings and you want them to be really crispy, let them sit for 4 or 5 minutes after you take them out of the oil. After that, then sauce them and serve.

13

MSG powder: a sprinkling can really elevate a dish. But people can be so afraid of it because they've been fed misinformation about its health effects. So unless a guest specifically mentions an allergy, I'll keep adding MSG to my food without telling anyone.

14

If I boil dry beans to rehydrate and cook them, I'll throw in a marrow bone at the very beginning. The beans soak up the fat and have a luxurious, creamy texture.

15

Only one I can really think of is adding pickle juice to tuna or chicken salad. Adds just the right amount of tartness. I do tell though. Spread the knowledge!

16

Try putting a decent amount of butter in a red sauce. It will taste twice as good and no one will be able to guess the secret.

17

I use vanilla or plain full fat yogurt in my bathing mixture for French toast, instead of milk. It turns out perfectly every time. Just follow the recipe. Sometimes it really is that simple.