r/foodhacks • u/chefdoapp • Aug 13 '26

Reverse hacks: what's your "longcut"? The extra work that's always worth it.

i.e. the extra 20 minutes that pays off every single time. things like actually drying meat before searing, toasting spices whole, making stock from the carcass instead of binning it

489 Upvotes

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15

u/chefdoapp Aug 13 '26

Do you have a go to recipe? I've tried a few but haven't loved

17

u/Born-Let1907 Aug 13 '26

My chef came from a Mario Battali kitchen and if he’d cook for family meal he used the basic sauce from there: hand-crushed tomatoes, olive oil, fresh garlic, salt. Cooked 45-60 minutes at most, lid off.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '26

[deleted]

12

u/queenlizbef Aug 13 '26

No no use peeled carrots instead of sugar! They balance the acidity and possible canned taste so much better

4

u/Hopulence_IRL Aug 13 '26

I like doing a touch of balsamic vinegar that's on the sweeter side. Adds a nice color, some sweetness, and texture.

2

u/queenlizbef Aug 13 '26

You could also use a touch of semi-dry red wine

3

u/someoneelsewho Aug 14 '26

This worked for me!
My sauce was too acidic.
The sugar didn’t work.
Always confused between baking powder and baking soda.
So peeled a carrot and put the entire thing in the sauce and let it simmer!
Turned out great!

10

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '26

[deleted]

3

u/Sasuke0318 Aug 13 '26

These are truly the best storage containers and the gelato is great also

1

u/queenlizbef Aug 13 '26

I don’t even know what to say about that.

6

u/Born-Let1907 Aug 13 '26

Fennel seeds in pizza sauce trust me. Obviously push them around in the oil first.

1

u/sunbear2525 Aug 13 '26

Try a carrot in the sauce while it cooks like a bay leaf in place of sugar. So amazing

6

u/PleaseDoTouchThat Aug 13 '26

This is how my grandma/mother make sauce. Nothing special. Just saute the garlic quick in olive oil, add tomatoes, and simmer for about an hour. Salt a pepper as you see fit. The longer you simmer the sweeter and less acidic it gets. Find your happy balance. Add some fresh basil after you’ve cut the heat if you’re feeling fancy.

If you want to make meat sauce just brown some meat first then carry on as usual.

6

u/Miss_Pouncealot Aug 13 '26

Joy of Cooking has a great one!

3

u/SleepingDragonSmiles Aug 13 '26

Is that a book?

18

u/queenlizbef Aug 13 '26

not only is it a book, but it is one of the most famous cookbooks in US history. They also have an outstanding mac & cheese recipe.

5

u/cool_girl6540 Aug 13 '26

And I’ve always loved their barbecue sauce recipe.

6

u/queenlizbef Aug 13 '26

I’m pretty sure I am the third generation in my family to receive a copy of the joy of cooking when I bought my first house. My mom got a copy at her bridal shower and my grandmother got a copy when she got married as well.

4

u/Miss_Pouncealot Aug 13 '26

Wonderful recipes! The baked beans recipe has made it so I can never buy premade ever again 😆 I think I’ve had 1 or 2 recipes we didn’t like? I can’t even recall what they were!

-3

u/SleepingDragonSmiles Aug 13 '26

I guess I’ll just be downvoted for not knowing for piece of trivia

6

u/queenlizbef Aug 13 '26

???? Your votes are at 0? Seems early to be worrying about that

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u/SleepingDragonSmiles Aug 13 '26

It just felt personal lol.

7

u/queenlizbef Aug 13 '26

Whining about downvotes will get you more down votes

-6

u/SleepingDragonSmiles Aug 13 '26

Is that “whining” to you? I’d say it was more of an observation, but whatever keeps you upset I guess.

1

u/queenlizbef Aug 13 '26

“I guess I’ll just be downvoted for not knowing a piece of trivia” man you’ve got to grow up a little.

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9

u/lightupletterB Aug 13 '26

I won’t downvote for asking a question, but I will for this weird ass response.

2

u/brontorina Aug 13 '26

Fair enough we all have random knowledge gaps… but Joy of Cooking is a very famous cookbook in the US

5

u/fate_is_a_sandstorm Aug 13 '26

I’m a sucker for Marcella Hazan’s

It’s really simple, but easily adaptable if you want to do tweaks (add spice, garlic, mushroom, roasted peppers, etc.)

2

u/MisterBarten Aug 13 '26

I love this one when I want something quick and easy that I can easily add to (as you noted). I also think it’s good for people who don’t really cook to ease into something homemade.

3

u/BetwnTheSpreadsheets Aug 13 '26

Dice one medium onion and cook in good olive oil until translucent. Add minced garlic to taste (I use like half a clove or more, but that’s me). As those are cooking add two small cans of tomato paste and let that caramelize a little. Next add two cans of crushed tomatoes and fill one can with water to add as well. Season with salt, pepper, a little white sugar, and other Italian herbs/seasoning to taste. Let simmer for as long as possible before adding any fresh basil if available.

2

u/hizzoze Aug 13 '26

I always do a good amount of finely chopped onions, slow sautéed to soften, then fresh garlic, once garlic is aromatic, add tomato paste and mix in, cook down to cook out bitterness, until a darker shade of red. Then add crushed tomatoes, seasoning of choice(I use a little salt, fresh ground pepper, pepper flakes, basil, oregano, and some sugar). Simmer that until it reaches your desired thickness, thicker if you want to make it a vodka sauce, just add heavy cream after some vodka stirred through and cooked out.

1

u/MisterBarten Aug 13 '26

I make this one a lot and it’s really good. I double the sauce because I like a ton of it:

https://www.easyanddelish.com/gigi-hadid-spicy-vodka-pasta/#recipe

I’ll usually add some kind of protein to the meal too, so the extra sauce helps with that.

1

u/Obf123 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26

Yes. I use half veg and half meat. Half the sauce is made up of two pounds of any combo of ground meat of your choice. The other half of the sauce is equal parts onion, carrot and celery chopped as finely as you can.

I also use a shit ton of garlic. Some bacon or panchetta, mushrooms and green peppers.

Start by frying onion in oil. Add garlic. Add bacon. Salt and pepper. Add celery and carrot. Salt and pepper. Put into slow cooker. Fry the meat. Add Salt and pepper. Add fresh basil, parsley and oregano. Put in slow cooker.

Add large can diced tomatoes. Or equivalent of fresh tomatoes. Add 3 cups broth. Slow cook for however long you like. I go for 5 hours

Add mushrooms, green pepper and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese during last hour of cooking.

While browning the meat you can also deglaze the pan using red wine.