A Salty Secret

It seems unlikely that there would be something new to learn about the brand in 2025, but a secret trick has recently emerged on the internet: You can sprinkle small amounts of salt directly from the container. Most people tear the paper off the metal spout, open it up, and pour salt into their hands before seasoning their food. But that last step is entirely optional. Every 26-ounce container of Morton table salt has two shaker holes on the flat surface of the metal spout. These holes are visible only after peeling off the top sticker. After doing so, close the spout back into the container. You’ll see the two holes that act as a salt shaker, disseminating small amounts of salt and generally eliminating the need to pour it into your hand first.

When we attempted this hack ourselves, we had to peel back a bit of paper from the underside of the spout, too. Fortunately, the spout itself can be completely removed, making it easier to access and deal with the paper. However, if that’s too much work, or if you want to limit the amount of salt that shakes out, you can simply poke a few holes through the paper with a toothpick or fine-tip scissors.

Tips, Tricks, and Cautions

The secret salt shaker is exclusive to 26-ounce canisters of Morton table salt (not other sizes or containers), so keep that in mind while grocery shopping.

It is also worth noting that many chefs recommend always pouring salt into your hand first, no matter the size of the container. This technique allows for easier control over the amount of salt you add to any given dish. Remember: You can always add more, but you can’t take it out.

Lastly, table salt is not the best kind of salt for every recipe. Some dishes explicitly call for the large, coarse flakes of Kosher salt, which is typically sold in boxes. Using the “wrong” kind of salt isn’t going to ruin a recipe, but it’s a good thing to keep in mind if you’re a serious home cook.

We know this sounds perplexing, especially when you have a perfectly good stovetop and oven right there. But some home cooks have successfully tried cooking salmon in the dishwasher, and the positive results are hard to deny. Here’s how this unusual cooking tip works, in case you’d like to try it yourself.

Not Your Typical Recipe

Cooking salmon in the dishwasher is comparable to the sous vide method, where food is vacuum-sealed and then submerged in a temperature-controlled water bath. The heat and moisture inside the dishwasher are said to have a similar effect. To try out this unusual hack, you’ll need a defrosted salmon filet, a dishwasher, and aluminum foil. A 6-ounce piece of fish, about 1 to 2 inches thick, is best.

If you’re nervous about attempting this trick, you could remove dirty dishes from the dishwasher beforehand and forego detergent. Yes, a few brave souls — including the senior recipe editor of The Kitchn — have cooked the salmon and washed their dishes at the same time. Remarkably, they reported that no fishy smells emanated from the dishwasher, and no remnants of detergent were found on the filets.

How To Cook Dishwasher Salmon

Tear off two sheets of aluminum foil, making each piece about 12 inches long. Place your salmon filet atop the first sheet of aluminum foil and season it how you normally would with salt, pepper, lemon, dill, and so on. Lay the second sheet of foil directly over the salmon. Then, use your fingers to tightly fold and crimp the two sheets of foil together, creating a secure, watertight seal that’s snug against the filet.

Now it’s time to cook — place the wrapped salmon on the top rack of the dishwasher and run a normal wash cycle. You don’t need to choose a special cycle, as the heat from a normal cycle should be more than enough to cook the fish. Once the cycle is complete, open the door and give it a whiff. If you wrapped the salmon tightly, the dishwasher should smell like a normal dishwasher, without any fishy notes.

Now, unwrap the salmon and put it on a plate. You might notice a little moisture, but that’s just from the fish cooking (assuming you wrapped it tightly). Before eating, give it a quick whiff to make sure you can’t smell any detergent, and use an instant-read thermometer to confirm it’s cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Assuming it is, the salmon filet should be moist and ready to be enjoyed — as odd as this all sounds.

The Risks Involved

This hack has been making the rounds since 1975, when actor Vincent Price demonstrated it on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. That said, there are several risk factors to consider. If the fish does not reach the USDA’s safe minimum internal temperature, you face the danger of food poisoning. Additionally, not all dishwasher models reach the same temperature or have the same run time on the normal cycle. Detergent can also seep into foil packets if they are improperly sealed or hit with a powerful jet, causing cross contamination. Needless to say, dishwasher manufacturers do not recommend using these appliances for cooking because they were not designed for such a purpose.

Turn Trimmings and Leftovers Into Soup Stock

Think of the things you usually discard when preparing vegetables: the peels of carrots and root vegetables, onion ends and skins, seedy cores of sweet peppers, herb stems, and celery leaves, just to name a few. All of those scraps are packed with flavor and nutrition, and they can go right into your soup pot. You’ll want to avoid anything in the brassica family (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower), though, because they can make your stock bitter. And obviously, avoid moldy spots and wash off any actual dirt.

To turn your scraps into stock, put those unwanted leftover bits into a decent-sized pot. You can make an all-vegetable stock or add bones and leftover pieces of meat. Either way, aim for a ratio of about two parts water to one part other ingredients, measured by weight. While it’s easiest to measure the scraps with a kitchen scale, eyeballing the amounts works fine. You want the water to just barely cover the other ingredients.

Cooking Your Homemade Stock

The next step is to bring your pot of ingredients to a gentle simmer, and settle in. Vegetable stock needs to simmer for only 30 to 40 minutes. For stock with meat and bones, plan on simmering for at least two to three hours (chicken or turkey bones), or up to six hours (big beef bones). Alternatively, use your Instant Pot (or another pressure cooker) for meaty stocks; the 25-minute “soup” setting will get the job done quickly and extract more flavor from the bones. Remember to use the natural pressure release for clear stock that’s easy to strain; the agitation caused by quick release will make the liquid cloudy. Cloudy stock is perfectly safe to eat, but many home cooks prefer the look and cleaner consistency of clear stock. Once the stock has finished simmering, strain out the solids and then refrigerate it.

Use your stock as a base for soups and sauces, or substitute it for water when you cook rice and other grains. It’ll even improve instant ramen. 

Roasting a Turkey for Crisp Skin

Here’s the thing about roasting pans: They’re actually not ideal for roasting your bird. Their deep shape and solid side walls trap moisture and prevent air circulation. This means the bird’s underside steams, rather than roasting and browning. That’s why many newer pans come with a rack, which lifts the bird out of the drippings and allows air to circulate around its entire surface. Not only does the rack help the skin to brown all over, but it also helps the bird cook more evenly.

Here’s how to DIY a rack if you don’t have one: Pull out a long sheet of aluminum foil — at least 3 to 4 feet — and cut it. Next, starting at one end, crumple and squeeze the foil into a long rope or “snake.” Place this rope on a flat surface and bend it into an “S” shape or a question mark. Make sure the shape fits inside your pan but is large enough to support the turkey. Position the foil in the pan, then carefully place the turkey on top. Ensure the turkey sits neatly on the foil rope and won’t fall off when you lift and move the pan.

Airflow Makes for a Perfect Turkey

You might be wondering why making an “S” shape or question mark is necessary. Why not just a ring? Well, the whole point is to allow air to circulate around and under the turkey, and you don’t get that with a closed shape such as a ring. These curved lines create pockets for airflow underneath the bird, which is exactly what you want.

You should also use a roaster with low sides, similar to the shallow rectangular pans you often see in restaurants, rather than a traditional deep roaster (though if that’s all you have, the foil trick still helps). In a pinch, you’re better off using a sheet pan, as its low sides won’t block airflow. Just be sure to choose one with enough of an edge to keep the drippings from spilling over.