I can't say for sure, (no one can) but through the grapevine I heard
that Russ starts browning his meat with LARD instead of shortening or oil. I've tried lots of recipes that came close but fell short of Yann's sauce, and none of the recipes I tried started with lard. Could that be the "secret ingredient" ? Also, through the same grapevine I did not hear chili powder mentioned, only paprika...... . It's also said that he never measures any ingredient, that he's done it for so long he just "eyeballs" the ingredients. If anyone ever figures it out I hope they post it here, so we can all enjoy - as it is hard for a working person to catch him when his shop is open.
This post was edited on 11/28 1:43 PM by old buzzard