Recipe: Ranch powder

Ranch powder was maybe my biggest victory in the creation of the hot wing burger.  We already had a creamy Parmesan for the bun and the burgers were going to get hot sauce, so another "sauce" wasn't needed, but I felt ranch dressing deserved representation as one of the all time favorite wing dips.  

I first tried using tapioca maltodextrin to see if the fat content of the dressing was enough to make a powder - it wasn't.  The moisture content of the ranch killed the powder before any significant flavour could be developed.  We could always go with the creamy Parmesan on one side of the bun and ranch on the other, but I really wanted to make the powder happen, but how?

As with lots of great ideas, just before I went to sleep the night before the burger, it came to me - old school.  I could use egg white and dehydrate the ranch, the only question was if there was time.  As it turned out, the dehydrated ranch was ready to go to work with about a half hour to spare, and the result was even better than expected.  

Whereas powders made with maltodextrin are really fluffy, they take a small amount of product and spread it over a large area, so to speak.  By dehydrating the ranch, I took a larger amount of product and reduced it, thereby concentrating the flavour.   The long and low heat mellowed the garlic, but really brought out the tang in the buttermilk and sour cream.

For this recipe, I used the ranch dressing recipe from the earlier post, but kept all the herbs and pepper aside and mixed them in later to keep their flavours sharp and fresh.  I crushed the dried dressing fine by hand so it stayed flaky and closer to the size of the chopped herbs, but as long as you have it dry enough, it will grind in a spice grinder to a fine dust.

By the way this powder is ridiculously good on popcorn.

You will need:

spread thin and dehydrate

250ml / 1C               ranch dressing base (dressing minus herbs and pepper)

1                               egg white

to taste                      chopped chives

to taste                      chopped Italian parsley

to taste                      chopped dill

to taste                      coarse ground black pepper

1                               large silicone mat

Method:

 - blend the ranch base with the egg white

 - spread out on a silicone mat as thin as possible

 - dehydrate at 140F / 60C or as low as possible for 6 to 7 hours until totally dry 

 - scrape the ranch off the mat and crush fine

 - mix in the herbs and pepper to taste

crush up and mix in the herbs and pepper

 - use as needed or store in an airtight container