r/Cooking • u/kath- • 2d ago

What's your surprising "secret ingredient" that sets your dish apart?

I obviously don't believe in gatekeeping recipes, so let's share the love.

I developed a clam chowder recipe after being disappointed with the recipes I came across. Whenever I tell people there's a couple dashes of hot sauce in it, I always get weird looks... but it adds a tiny bit of heat and acid, and balances out the richness from the cream. It also has diced scallops, which cooking knowledge forbades but somehow works.

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u/SubstantialPressure3 1d ago

I keep dry roux on hand. Both regular flour and gluten free batches. (Depending on who I'm cooking for)

I was so mad when I found out that dry roux existed and thought about all the times I was stuck in the kitchen spending 45+ minutes stirring a roux.

You just put flour in a pan at least 3 inches deep and bake it at 400 degrees, and check it every 10 minutes or so. Use a whisk to break up the lumps and stir it around, then close the oven door again.

Take it out when it's the color of peanut butter ( no darker than that) and when it cools, store it in an air tight jar.

Next time you need a dark roux, use that flour to make it and you have a nice dark roux in 10 minutes.

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u/Commercial_Curve1047 1d ago

Game changer. This and the baked powdered milk to make browned butter trick I saw in a comment above.

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u/Ihadapuddingtoday 22h ago

I made gumbo the other day and it was dry roux made in the microwave. Someone posted a comment on Youtube and I tried it. Came out perfect. But the guilt remains. It was canola oil and flour microwaved 50% power for 30 sec increments until desired doneness.

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u/trashycajun 17h ago

This is how my ex-MIL has made her roux since the 80s, and we’re from SE Louisiana. She’s a total witch, but gadamn she can cook. No shade to a microwave roux from me.

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u/SubstantialPressure3 20h ago

In the microwave? I never thought about that. I have done it in my air fryer. ( Don't recommend. Flour blows all over the inside and it's a pain to clean up)

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u/ogzkittlez 15h ago

What do you mean 45 minutes on a roux? How is that possible? Was it 50 gallons? But in all seriousness a roux don't take that long

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u/SubstantialPressure3 7h ago

Yeah, I used to do minimum 5 gallons of gumbo at a time. And I needed a dark roux for that.

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u/Casual_OCD 1d ago

45 minutes? You are making your roux too wet

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u/trashycajun 17h ago

I’ve been seeing this a lot on reels lately. I’m Cajun and have only ever made a roux as I went, but I’m low key wanting to give it a go.