How to Make A Copycat Recipe

No matter what led you to this blog post, chances are “copycat recipe” was in the
search. In your search for a copycat recipe, it’s highly likely you’re seeking an
alternative to a popular dish found in a popular restaurant. After all, in today’s world,
dining at a restaurant that is not a chain or franchise is becoming fewer and further
between. But what if you haven’t been able to find a suitable copycat recipe for the dish
you love so much? Or, what if that mom-and-pop restaurant has a delectable dish you
just have to decipher? I decided to put together a solid “how-to” recreate those culinary
cravings whether from a familiar franchise, or divine dive.

I personally have long loved a copycat recipe book in my collection that dates back far
enough to where some of the restaurants are already out of business, or have long
since removed a particular dish from their offerings. Because of this, I love adding to my
copycat recipe collection on the regular.

Before you begin, let’s call out the elephant in the room. How will you decipher the
“secret spice” combo?! While it is the most challenging part of the process, hang in
there, we’ll give you advice on getting close if not figuring it all the way out!
First things first though, please know it may take you a few tries to get it exactly right,
but eventually you be close enough. Just like in horseshoes and hand grenades! Don’t
be discouraged. Practice makes perfect. Plus, you’ll eventually come across
concoctions that may be even better than the original! You’ll also encounter favorite
dishes that you’ll quickly discover it wasn’t even a sauce that made it special. The
simply combo of ingredients and method of preparation are the winning ticket.
Let’s tie on your apron and get started. The first law of copyrights to a recipe are that
the list of ingredients alone cannot be copyrighted. So, start with the menu. Granted, the
exact measurement isn’t published there, but the main components are. Once you order
the dish, take a picture, and write down the ingredients from the menu. Visually, you’ll
be able to approximate your measurement for each.

Next, you’ll figure out how each ingredient is presented. Is each ingredient chopped,
sliced, ground, diced, something else? Make note.

After that, decide how each element is cooked. Is something breaded and deep fried?
Maybe it’s sautéed, or grilled. Perhaps it was boiled, steamed or baked. Make note.
Now, it’s time to decipher the sauce or gravy. This step is easier than you might think.
First, you must determine the base before you determine the spice. The good news is,
there are five “mother” sauces. Yes, that’s really a thing and it dates back to the 18 th
century. Each has its own distinct characteristic.

Béchamel – white sauce, uses a milk base
Velouté – blonde sauce, base is chicken, veal or fish stock
Espagnole – brown sauce, base is a beef stock and sometimes tomato puree
Hollandaise sauce – buttery sauce, base of clarified butter
Tomato sauce – red sauce, a tomato sauce base
The base of any sauce is then thickened. You can thicken a sauce using any number of
methods, the most common being either a roux (equal parts flour and butter), a
whitewash (flour or cornstarch and cold water), or a liaison (egg yolks tempered with hot
stock then added to the liquid). Sometimes, cheeses are the key, melted down and add
a bit of heavy cream. Ultimately, it is the base which provides much of the flavor to the
sauce.

Once you’ve got the basic sauce, there are a handful of common liquid additives like
lemon juice, vinegar, wine, olive oil, or soy. The flavor of the sauce will give you hints as
to whether a liquid additive is needed. You can also research similar dishes to what
you’re trying to replicate in order to derive a solid base for your sauce.
After that, the secret to every sauce is in the spices. This will quite possibly be the most
challenging part of the exercise, but as I said, not impossible.

Let’s begin with the basics – there are 5 basic tastes. Sweet, sour, salty, bitter and
umami. Start by deciding which profile your sauce fits into, then play around with spices
to tweak it to perfection. Here is a quick reference guide:

• Sweet – actual sugar, agave, maple syrup, fruits, allspice, saffron, coriander, cinnamon,
  cardamom, vanilla, clove, sweet basil, tarragon, sweet cicely.
• Sour – buttermilk, sour cream, cranberries, ginger, fenugreek, mustard seed, caraway seed, garlic, oregano, turmeric, marjoram, thyme, citrus peel.
• Salty – actual salt, anchovies, olives, soy sauce, cayenne, paprika, black pepper, onion powder, rubbed sage.
• Bitter – mustard, arugula, walnuts, bay leaves, black cumin seed, celery seed, horseradish root powder, parsley, mint, endive
• Umami – fish sauce, cured meat spice, cooked tomato, granulated garlic powder, MSG, tamari, mushroom powder.
• One good thing is that some of these have crossover properties, which can be a help in getting it right the first time. If you want to try some combinations that are classic flavor profiles, I recommend looking here: The Ultimate Infographic Guide to Spices for reference. Don’t forget to come back to our page once you’re done exploring! All that’s left is to taste and tweak in your test kitchen. Enjoy!