10 Ways To Incorporate Chocolate Into A Savory Dish

Chocolate: the cause of — and solution to — most of my problems. Kidding, but chocolate does play a big part in my life and my cooking. My 9-5 job is as the Marketing Manager for French Broad Chocolate, an artisan bean-to-bar craft chocolate maker in Asheville, North Carolina. Needless to say, I go home with a lot of leftover chocolate. Whether it hasn't passed quality assurances, is leftover from a photo shoot, or was a test batch, my kitchen is never in short supply of the good stuff. That being said, I've gotten pretty good at working chocolate into both sweet and savory recipes.

The folks I work with are all chocolate aficionados, but one of the most knowledgeable when it comes to really using chocolate is our head pastry chef, Sara Watson. She's been working as a professional chef since 2012, and she's had a serious passion for cooking since she was a child. Obviously, working with sweets and chocolate all day, she's had some opportunities to really experiment. As Watson explains: "I'd say the trick is finding the right balance within your dish. You have to be careful when choosing your chocolate not to go too sweet, but too much bitterness can also ruin a dish. It's important to use a light touch if you're just starting to explore using chocolate in savory food, and always taste your chocolate first." If you, too, are curious about adding a little dark, milk, or white chocolate, here are 10 ways to incorporate it into a savory dish.

Arguably, the most commonly known vehicle for chocolate is mole. If you're unfamiliar (or know of mole but have no idea what it is), it's a traditional Mexican sauce containing fresh and dried fruit, nuts, chilies, spices, and aromatics. There are several varieties of mole, from mole negro to mole poblano to mole colorado. All can be traced back to original moles, which hailed from the Aztec empire and centered around pulverized chilies used as simple sauces. As Food Network notes, the word originates from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec Empire and the modern-day Nahua people, who are the largest indigenous group in Mexico. The original word in Nahuatl is molli, which can be translated into "sauce." Today, moles are frequently drizzled over enchiladas, roasted or poached meats, and used to sauce tacos — but they can be used for nearly any sauce application.

In terms of utilizing chocolate, many moles call for dark chocolate and cacao, as the flavor works beautifully with the other medley of items in the sauce. "I find that the depth of flavor in dark chocolate complements savory food very well. The bitter earthiness of dark chocolate adds complexity to dishes, without overpowering with sweetness," says Sara Watson. If you'd like to create your own mole make sure you're shopping for the right chocolate — a Mexican variety or high dark percentage (over 60%) will work best.

A big pot of bubbling chili, chock-full of meat, beans, tomatoes, onions, and garlic, doesn't necessarily seem like the place to add in chocolate. Like mole, though, the versatility and sweetness of chili peppers can play well with the bitter and umami flavors in chocolate. There are tons of recipes running the gamut from classic slow-cooker varieties to versions leaning on the dark sweetness of cola. You can even try your hand at venison chili or those made entirely from veggies. Regardless, chocolate or cocoa powder has its place in this cold-weather favorite.

Sara Watson is a big fan, too, of adding a bit of dark chocolate to her chili-laden dishes. "I've always added dark chocolate to my chili. I think that's one of the most well-known uses of chocolate in savory food, and it's for good reason. Mexican culture has been hip to the delicious balance of chocolate and chilis since the Olmecs, and anytime I'm cooking with chili peppers I'll typically add in a little grated dark chocolate for added oomph."

If you're trying to impress your guests, a fancy French dish is a must. In the canon of fancy French fare — from Steak au Poivre to Chicken Cordon Bleu to tartines and terrines — is Duck L'orange. The dish dates back to the 1500s, and at its core, it should be a roasted whole duck with beautifully crisp skin, drizzled with a sauce made from veal stock and bitter oranges. The sauce shouldn't be too sweet; rather, since it features vinegar, should be bitter and acidic first — helping to cut through the richness of the duck meat. The second note should be sweet enough to let you enjoy it. Traditional recipes wouldn't have made use of chocolate, but there's no reason you can't make use of the classic combination of dark chocolate and orange here.

Willie's Cacao recipe marries the roasted duck with orange, balsamic vinegar, and 100% chocolate — that is, chocolate without any sugar added. You'll want a good bar here, no baking chocolate allowed. It's important that the true notes of the chocolate shine through. "It probably goes without saying, but you'll want to use a high-quality chocolate and the cost of that can be a drawback for some, although chocolate is typically used sparingly and you really do get what you pay for. Good chocolate is always worth it!" says Sara Watson. 

When it comes to pasta, we're not talking about sneaking some milk chocolate into MeeMaw's famous spaghetti and meatballs (I think she'd become violent); but, rather, adding unsweetened cocoa powder to pasta dough and making your own dish. "I love working with chocolate, because there is so much versatility in what you can create. There is a broad spectrum of flavors that pair well with chocolate, so the possibilities feel endless," says Sara Watson. When you start tasting the depth that cocoa powder can bring to a dish, you'll agree.

There are online recipes abound for cocoa-powder pasta. Some chefs pair mascarpone cheese and walnuts with the dark brown noodles while you can also make use of heavy cream, mushrooms, butter, and rosemary. Both examples play well and elevate the toasty, bitter, and deep notes of cocoa powder. As a note, use good cocoa powder — Dutch pressed, no sugar added — nothing but cocoa in the ingredients, like this version from Valrhona or this one from Meridian Cacao. The better the powder, the better your pasta. Good cacao presents beautiful flavor notes in the same way coffee does — fruit, earth, tobacco, and even spices.

There are hundreds — maybe thousands of ways to prepare short rib; a cut of beef selected from near the shoulder — technically in the area that we'd consider chuck. It's got marvelous fatty marbling throughout, making it a prime cut for slow cooking, which only helps tenderize it further (it's a little tough on its own and benefits from the extra time). Sauces for this meaty delight are abound, but there seems to be a consensus that sweetness and acidity work well in cutting through the richness of this cut.

As Sara Watson stated earlier, the bitter yet sweet taste that dark chocolate brings can help to up the ante when it comes to rich dishes like short rib. "For pastry work, I generally use something in the 50-60% range, but it really depends on what flavors I'm hoping to bring out in the specific dish. When I'm using chocolate in the savory realm, I tend towards something with a higher percentage, usually in the 80s. Now if I'm eating chocolate straight up, 70% is my sweet spot." Try pairing high-percentage dark chocolate with tomato paste, fresh herbs, and a bit of bright balsamic vinegar for a finishing sauce to drizzle over your short rib. The acidity will cut through the richness while the sweetness of the chocolate will complement the beef itself — roasted short ribs could be your next hit. The sauce is pretty open to interpretation, too. Throw in additional herbs, serve over different starches like polenta or even simply prepared risotto, and you'll find that the dark, bittersweet chocolate becomes less sweet and more savory.

Using dark, milk, or white chocolate grated into a sauce or melted into your mole is one thing, but utlizing cocoa powder for a rub or as a spice of sorts is another. Cocoa powder is actually the ground cocoa nibs — the processed and edible part of the inner cacao bean — usually roasted, although some companies skip that step. To make chocolate, the ground nibs are processed with sugar and sometimes milk. The cocoa powder stands alone as being pure, unadulterated (in the best stuff you can buy) essence of the plant from which it comes. In that sense, cocoa powder carries a true chocolate flavor, and it works well as a spice rub on things like smoked meat. "Cocoa powder typically brings an earthy, somewhat bitter flavor with a subtle taste of chocolate. It's great to add to spice rubs, since it can enhance the umami flavor of meats and mushrooms," says pastry chef Sara Watson.

According to Traeger, the master of all things grilling, you can make a pretty mean brisket featuring cocoa powder and coffee in the rub. The acidity and deeply complex flavor of both will work to season the meat and cut the fattiness. Something like a smoked brisket is a labor of love; this one takes nearly a full day. However, the end result is a melt-in-your-mouth piece of meat perfect to serve over potatoes or snuggled in a sandwich.

If you're still buying your salad dressing off shelves at the grocery store, it's time to stop. We'll give you a pass if it's something like a Caesar or blue cheese, but vinaigrette is too easy to make. A little sweetness like honey or agave nectar; acidity like a lemon juice or vinegar; salt and pepper, and a fat like olive oil — boom, a delicious vinaigrette. You can, of course, get fancy, too, by adding fresh herbs, sauteed shallots — and, in our case, chocolate.

For a deliciously different salad, grab some arugula, strawberries, Stilton, Gorgonzola, or blue cheese. Create a vinaigrette by heating balsamic in a saucepan and melting in caster sugar. Then, dissolve dark chocolate into the gently heating concoction. Drizzle it over the salad while still warm. The acidity of the balsamic vinegar will ensure the dressing isn't too sweet, but the flavor of the dark chocolate marries the entire mixture together.

White chocolate — arguably the most polarizing of the chocolate options out there with its cloyingly sweet, buttery taste — does, surprisingly, have its place in savory cooking. White chocolate doesn't actually contain any cocoa at all, but, rather, is created with cacao butter, sugar, and milk (for us at French Broad Chocolate, anyway). Other companies add vanilla, emulsifiers, and other odd ingredients to deliver a distinct flavor. Regardless, the flavor of white chocolate can deliver a complex sweetness not unlike a deep caramel.

Chef and television personality, Guy Fieri, created a recipe utilizing white chocolate with lobster. Sounds odd, but the cream sauce featuring the sweet stuff works to bring out the already sweet meat in the lobster. The whole thing is balanced with leeks and bourbon, so you're left with an earthy, smoky, sweet drizzle over the crustacean. If you're not ready to take on a multi-step lobster meal, experiment with adding a little white chocolate to your other cream sauces, just a bit at a time so as to not overwhelm.

"Milk and white chocolate definitely have their use in certain savory foods (for instance, a touch of warm milk chocolate is delicious in fragrantly spiced sauces) but dark chocolate is a little more versatile," says Sara Watson. Despite the perceived difficulty in working with milk or white chocolate, there are places the sweeter stuff can shine. Since we've established that white chocolate is literally just sweetened and solidified cocoa butter, we can sort of treat it like a sweetened butter, right?

According to Venchi, a chocolate maker and chocolatier out of Italy, white chocolate even has a place in risotto. Don't knock it til you try it. Its recipe involves preparing a basic risotto — toasting the rice, then adding ladle-fulls of fish stock and white wine while the rice absorbs the liquid. As the rice finishes, crab meat is added, then grated white chocolate — only about an ounce — before it's served. The combination of the sweet crab meat and chocolate with the savory, toasty and creamy rice makes for a delightful first course or light meal.

A rich, tangy, luscious, and decadent barbecue sauce deserves to be slathered on everything and everything. Whether its wings, brisket, pulled pork, or chicken, the combination of sweet and savory is a necessary condiment to cut through the richness of roasted, grilled, and smoked meats. Usually a combination of brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, and spices, sauces can run the gamut between super sweet or more savory. Because at least a touch of sweetness is in nearly every recipe, chocolate is an easy adaptation.

There are plenty of ways to create your own barbecue sauce with the addition of chocolate. Try a base with the usual suspects like ketchup, garlic, and onions, then layer in brown sugar, semi-sweet chocolate(a dark chocolate with a percentage around 50-60%) cocoa powder, brewed strong coffee, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, salt and pepper, and cayenne. Simmer everything together in a saucepan until thick, adding additional spices to your own taste. Barbecue sauces are endlessly adaptable, so make your own house version. Hershey's, too, has its own version, featuring not only its chocolate syrup, but also toffee bits for those feeling adventurous.