Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond's Top Cooking Tips
Ree Drummond is not your average blogger. The mother of four started out her career by writing recipes for her culinary blog, The Pioneer Woman. Her cooking tips were so great that, before long, her posts were attracting upwards of 20 million viewers per month.
A few major blogging awards later, Drummond published a cookbook titled "The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl." Her recipes were so mouthwatering that they pushed the cookbook to the top of The New York Times Best Sellers list. These days, you can find Drummond starring in the Food Network Show "The Pioneer Woman," where she shares her wisdom with home cooks.
Wisdom is something that Drummond is full of. Whether you are looking to elevate your home-cooked dinners or try out a new dessert, Drummond's advice can seriously help you level up your culinary skills. From the secret ingredient that she mixes into her dipping sauce, to the fun flavors she uses in her cheesecake crust, Drummond has some nifty tricks that can help transform your favorite homemade eats.
Add maple syrup to your popcorn chicken dip
Some home cooks swear that popcorn chicken tastes best when dipped into something great. This makes sense to us. The hot, oily, crispiness of fried chicken pairs wonderfully with cool flavors, such as blue cheese or ranch. However, there is another unique element that can seriously amp up your popcorn chicken — and it's Ree Drummond's secret ingredient. In an episode of "The Pioneer Woman" (via YouTube), Drummond revealed that she adds maple syrup to her dipping sauce, putting a twist on classic honey mustard.
To prepare this creative combination, Drummond combines five simple ingredients: mustard, mayonnaise, paprika, maple syrup, and salt. The creaminess of the mayo balances out the pungency of the mustard, leaving the sauce with a slight kick. The maple syrup is the curveball ingredient, bringing a dash of sugar and some burnt caramel tones to the overall blend. Unlike honey, which is thick and viscous, maple syrup has a runny consistency. This allows it to mix more easily into the remainder of the ingredients.
Drummond's dipping sauce is especially wonderful to enjoy in the fall. The maple syrup provides those rich, homey flavors that so many people appreciate when the weather cools down.
Pour wine directly into your soup
It's not unusual to enjoy a glass of wine with some soup. However, Ree Drummond has a method that totally shakes up this combination. She believes that you can elevate your soup by using white wine as a key ingredient, as shown in her creamy chicken and wild rice soup recipe (via Today). To use this tip, cook your ingredients in a Dutch oven as usual. Then go ahead and pour in some wine, followed by some broth. The results can be fantastic.
While this approach might sound unusual, there's a reason why it works. If you are preparing a heavier soup, the alcohol from the wine tenderizes your meat, giving you a soft and succulent result (via Science Meets Food). Cooks making lighter, vegetable-based soups might find that a dollop of white wine can help draw the flavor out of their veggies. Because the chemical components of wine are what's most important for cooking, you don't need to buy the fancy stuff to make your soup taste great.
For a great steak sandwich, cook your meat in the sauce
There's nothing like digging into a juicy steak sandwich — especially when the meat has been well-seasoned. To achieve this kind of flavor-filled first bite, Ree Drummond suggests cooking your steak in a pan full of sauces. Speaking on her show, "The Pioneer Woman" (via YouTube), Drummond revealed that she throws three different kinds of flavoring directly into the frying pan where she cooks up her steaks: Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and butter.
This method will give you meat that's not just juicy, but loaded with flavor. As the steak heats up on the frying pan, it will expel some fat, giving it a chance to soak up your condiments. Meanwhile, the fat will mingle with the rest of the sauce, infusing it with a rich and meaty flavor.
For the best results, add liberal quantities of your chosen sauces to your frying pan. As Drummond advised on her show, "This is a really savory rich sandwich, and you want to have quite a bit of liquid." This ensures that your steak will actually be able to simmer in the sauces and slowly absorb their flavors.
Chill your hard-boiled eggs with ice
Ree Drummond enjoys a nice batch of hard-boiled eggs. According to the food celebrity, this ingredient is especially delightful when mixed into a rich potato salad. She said so herself on her Food Network television show (via YouTube). Unfortunately, hard-boiled eggs can be difficult to work with, especially if you are planning to add them to a mayo-infused salad. Because eggshells tend to stick to their whites, they can be tricky and time-consuming to peel. The shells can also end up in your salad, giving it an unintentional crunch.
The good news is that Drummond has an easy solution for this common problem. As soon as you pull your hard-boiled eggs from the stove, Drummond says to dump the hot water from your cooking pot into the sink. Next, she recommends adding ice to the pot so that it piles on top of the eggs. This will help your eggs cool down. It will also cause the whites to solidify, making your eggs easy to peel and preventing those pesky shells from infiltrating your supper.
Remember that ground beef can be a crowd-pleaser
As a mother of five, Ree Drummond understands how difficult it can be to dream up a recipe that everyone will love. Because of this, the celebrity blogger suggests making meals that use large quantities of ground beef.
In an episode of "The Pioneer Woman" (via YouTube), Drummond shared that she loves this ingredient. She praises it for being delicious, filling, and relatively affordable: "I think ground beef is one of the best proteins when it comes to budget-friendly cooking. If you have teenagers to cook for — or a big family — you can buy packs of ground beef and it doesn't break the bank."
To put Drummond's advice to the test, try using this key ingredient in a soup or a casserole. For a satisfying ground beef dinner that's also full of nutritious ingredients — like squash, pumpkin, and tomatoes — try whipping up a batch of this pumpkin chili with moonshine sour cream. Here, the sweet earthiness of the pumpkin adds richness and depth to the red meat. If you are particularly rushed for time, you could instead try making this impossibly easy cheeseburger pie. It's not only filling, but it will also likely be a crowd-pleaser.
Use iceberg lettuce in heavier salads
Ree Drummond is known for making a mean layered salad. However, there is a secret ingredient that the celebrity blogger uses to keep the whole thing together: iceberg lettuce. As Drummond shared on an episode of "The Pioneer Woman" (via YouTube), iceberg lettuce is thicker than other types of lettuces, meaning that it can hold the weight of heavier salad toppings. The television host explained: "I'm starting with iceberg lettuce, partly because it's really, really sturdy, and it makes a good foundation for the rest of the ingredients."
You could try using iceberg lettuce as the foundation for mayonnaise-based salads, such as crab salad Louis. Alternatively, you can use this vegetable as the bottom layer for a hearty dinner salad full of hard-boiled eggs, grilled chicken, celery, and tomatoes. Drummond warns not to make a flimsy salad with just a few pieces of lettuce. Instead, she says to put a generous layer on the bottom of your bowl. This will prevent your salad topping from seeping through the base, saving you from inadvertently creating a mushy mess.
For extra flavorful gravy, prepare it on top of fried sausages
When home cooks make their own gravy, they typically start out by frying up some chicken giblets or sausage. Next, most people remove these rich ingredients from the pan, using the leftover grease to make their savory sauce. While Ree Drummond has nothing against this method, she prefers to cook her gravy with the sausage still in the pan. Speaking on her show, "The Pioneer Woman," Drummond confessed: "A lot of the times when I make sausage gravy, I'll fry patties of sausage, take it out of the skillet. But I love this method. You just keep it all in the skillet and it's a lot less work" (via YouTube).
To make Drummond-style gravy, start out by frying your ground sausage. Then, go ahead to sprinkle some flour over the top. Afterward, pour in a generous portion of milk to give your sauce a thick and creamy texture.
Beyond creating less mess than the traditional gravy-making method, Drummond's strategy works because it allows the flavor of the sausage to seep into the sauce. As your meat renders fat in response to the heat of the stove, your gravy absorbs this flavorful substance. This adds a rich boost of flavor to your final creation.
Mix three kinds of cheese into your baked ziti
When it comes to choosing which kind of cheese for baked ziti, many home cooks are at a loss. For Ree Drummond, the best solution is to add multiple types of cheese. In an episode of "The Pioneer Woman" (via YouTube), Drummond spilled the not-so-secret ingredients that go into her baked ziti. According to the celebrity blogger, she starts out by adding a combination of mozzarella, parmesan, and ricotta to a bowl. She then proceeds to mix in two eggs, some herbs, and some seasoning. In the end, this combination leaves her with a gooey cheese sauce that will make her ziti shine.
The reason that this combination is so spectacular is that each of the cheeses adds a unique flavor to the blend. The ricotta is mild and creamy, giving your sauce a thick consistency and a buttery taste. The sour taste of the mozzarella will give the mix some tangy undertones. When it comes to adding a punch to your dish, parmesan takes the cake. Thanks to its sharp, salty flavor profile, this cheese will ultimately increase the complexity of your ziti.
Cook your pot roast low and slow
Ree Drummond is now known for her culinary skills, but she wasn't always a whiz in the kitchen. In an episode of "The Pioneer Woman" (via YouTube), the celebrity cooking expert confessed that she didn't always make the best pot roast: "I had to make a lot of really bad pot roasts before I finally figured it out." Apparently one of Drummond's biggest initial struggles was that her meat kept coming out tough. She revealed, "I thought erroneously that I was cooking the pot roast too long. So it was sort of a vicious cycle. The next time I'd make one, I'd cook it a little less."
Eventually, Drummond realized that the way to make the perfect pot roast is to cook it "for a long, long period of time over low heat, in order to dissolve the tough connective tissues in the meat."
This works because chuck steak — the cut often used for a roast — is full of enzymes. When these enzymes are exposed to heat, they start tenderizing the steak's collagen, softening it until it grows tender. That being said, in order for these enzymes to be effective, they need a lot of time. As a result, you should cook your chuck low and slow, giving the meat time to become delicious and juicy.
Make homemade pasta sauce with just three ingredients
The idea of whipping up a batch of homemade pasta sauce might be intimidating for some home cooks. However, Ree Drummond makes it simple. In an episode of "The Pioneer Woman" (via YouTube), the celebrity blogger shared a creamy sauce recipe that involves just three ingredients: wine, broth, and heavy cream.
To prepare this fabulous blend, Drummond says to start out by pouring some wine and broth into a hot skillet. Then, let these ingredients reduce. This particular combination will add a tangy-yet-earthy flavor to your sauce.
To balance out the pungency of your reduction, add your heavy cream. According to Drummond, this ingredient is key to giving your pasta a full, round flavor. And, she says to be sure to use heavy cream. Do not substitute this ingredient for whole milk or half-and-half. The fattiness of the heavy cream gives your sauce a rich, buttery taste that pairs so well with silky-smooth spaghetti.
Let your cinnamon rolls rise in a Dutch oven
Waiting for the dough to rise can be one of the most tedious parts of making cinnamon rolls. On top of being a slow process, it can be a messy one — involving plenty of wet cheese cloths and dough overflow. But Ree Drummond has a strategy for keeping this simple. In a video (via YouTube), fellow food celebrity Joy Wilson noted the uniqueness of Drummond's method: "Ree uses a technique I've never tried before. She mixes all her ingredients in a Dutch oven and uses that for proofing ... [or] when you allow the yeasted dough to rise."
Of course, it's essential to note that Drummond puts the lid on top of her dough while she waits for it to rise. This prevents oxygen from working its way into the dough and drying it out. Meanwhile, the space within the pot should be deep enough to still allow the dough plenty of room to expand. The result should be a fluffy, yeast-filled dough that's airy and light, perfect for cinnamon rolls.
Use coconut oil to make chocolate curls
There may be no dessert garnish as delightful as chocolate curls. These rich, bitter-sweet bits aren't just tasty. They are also gorgeous to look at. Unlike your classic chocolate chips, chocolate curls majorly amp up the presentation of your dinner thanks to their eye-catching shape. The only problem is that, when attempting to make these garnishes, home cooks often struggle to achieve the perfect curves.
The good news is that Ree Drummond has a creative solution for this common issue. In an episode of "The Pioneer Woman" (via YouTube), Drummond says to melt your chocolate down with coconut oil. Then, drizzle it onto a baking sheet and freeze it. Finally, scrape it off to form the curls. In this process, the coconut oil plays a key role in preventing your chocolate from breaking off into misshaped chunks. As Drummond explained, coconut oil "helps keep it nice and smooth. And then when you go to make the curls, it actually curls, instead of breaks."
Blend vanilla wafers and pecans to make a cheesecake crust
Most cheesecake recipes call for bakers to use graham crackers in the crust. But Ree Drummond prefers using another type of cookie in her version. As she divulged in an episode of "The Pioneer Woman" (via YouTube), Drummond is all about using vanilla wafers in her cheesecake crust. She says that these cookies taste sweeter and more satisfying than graham crackers.
The celebrity blogger blends vanilla wafers and pecans together in a food processor, creating a grainy mixture. The vanilla wafers are sweet, while the pecans taste woodsy and savory. This combines to make a satisfying, savory-and-sweet crust. The fattiness of the pecans also adds depth to the light carbohydrates in the wafers. This makes your crust more complex than the typical crushed graham cracker blend. When combined with the heavy creaminess of freshly-baked cheesecake, this crust forms the perfect finish.