How-To Guides about Food Hacks

Difficulty: Novice Time: 2-60 minutes per recipe Cost: Free with meal plan to $6 per serving

Picture this: you're scrolling through TikTok when suddenly your feed is flooded with the same mesmerizing video—someone calmly assembling what looks like deconstructed sushi in a bowl. Welcome to the Emily Mariko phenomenon. In 2021, a TikToker named Emily Mariko whipped up a salmon rice bowl that would become the internet's latest obsession. Her simple leftover makeover has garnered over 40 million views and spawned countless recreations, transforming how millions think about leftovers. The...

We like our Egg McMuffins around here, albeit homemade with our preferred ingredients: whole wheat (or homemade sourdough) English muffins, a slice of thick Tillamook cheddar cheese, a meat, perhaps, like Canadian bacon, and finally — that perfectly-fried, perfectly-shaped egg.

There's an ongoing debate about whether or not it's safe or even desirable to rinse meat before cooking it. Many fall into the anti-rinsing camp, saying that it's not effective at dislodging bacteria, especially on poultry, as we've discussed before. Meanwhile, some argue that rinsing certain meats, like bacon, can rinse away excess surface salt and may reduce shrinkage — though evidence is strictly anecdotal.

People will go to amazing lengths to make a grilled cheese sandwich. They'll use irons, waffle makers, or whatever appliance gets hot enough to marry golden, crisp bread with oozy, molten cheese.

Want to show all your foodie friends that you're really in the know? Then it's time to master the art of making edible dirt. Chefs are finding ways to dry, char, and combine various foodstuffs to give the appearance of actual dirt — only with a rich, savory taste.

Skip the drive-thru — you can fry up KFC-style Nashville Hot Chicken at home in less time than it takes to find out whether it's still on the menu.

We're all familiar with the sinking feeling that happens when you cruise through a recipe, only to arrive at an instruction that calls for a tool you don't have. Some of the best food hacks (and my personal favorites) exist to combat that problem. Why spend money on a kitchen tool — or worse, avoid a recipe altogether — when you could find a new way to achieve the same result?

Many lazy cooks skip rinsing their grains before cooking them, but that's a big mistake for several reasons. Some grains have coatings you should rinse off to cook properly and taste good.

Lasagna, that layered, creamy baked pasta dish, is a lovely comfort food that's great for a crowd. But if you've ever made it, you know you're usually left with some leftover lasagna noodles. (Although that's always better than the frustration of running out of noodles while you're still making a traditional lasagna.) Still, what do you do when you're left with a bowlful of the wide ribbons?

By now, you've stuffed yourself with enough cranberry-soaked turkey to last you until next year. Still, there's a formidable amount of leftovers, and you're kidding yourself if you think you won't be craving them when you wake up tomorrow with a food coma/hangover.

To some people, Thanksgiving is merely quality time with family and friends that they can't get throughout the rest of the year. To others, it's that one time when it's okay to be a greedy hog and get hammered all weekend long.

Roasting turkey is a topic that inspires endless debate among cooks. How do you get the perfect mixture of juicy meat, crispy skin, and flavor? Everyone has a favorite technique, whether it's brining the bird or spatchcocking it. However, if you're ready to move onto Ph.D. levels of turkey cooking, you might just want to look beyond these methods and get genuinely wild.

Sometimes when non-Asians go to ramen bars, they're mildly weirded out by watching the patrons eat. To the uninitiated, the eating behaviors can seem kind of extreme. Why are people hovering over their bowls like animals at a feeding trough? Why do they let endless lengths of noodles dangle from their maw as they slurp—very, very loudly—over their bowls of broth?

These cake eggs are a gorgeous treat that also makes a delicious April Fool's Day prank. Getting a fairly humdrum breakfast of boiled eggs and fruit and discovering that it's cake instead is an eggcellent surprise, isn't it? If you want to make these for Easter instead, then they're an Instagram-worthy dessert to grace your brunch spread. This might be the only dessert that is appropriate for both April Fool's Day and Easter.

Perhaps the best part about Easter is the fact that, even after the day is over, there's usually still a lot of candy left. Jelly beans, gummy bears, Cadbury eggs, peanut butter cups, marshmallow peeps — there's no end to the sugary goodness in your awesome Easter basket. Yet as much as I love stuffing my face with brightly colored candies, it's easy to get sick of them halfway through the basket.

A fire snake, also referred to as a black snake or sugar snake, is a classic science experiment you can do right in your own kitchen using a baking soda and sugar mixture and a fuel to ignite the reaction.

A whole grilled pineapple is the perfect party dessert. It's beautiful, provides a natural centerpiece before you eat it, and can be sliced right on the spot and served with a dollop of ice cream. (Fresh mint leaves and a splash of liqueur on top taste pretty good, too.)