Beer & Horseradish Mustard with Grilled Fennel & Sausage
This homemade beer and horseradish mustard is a new favorite condiment at our house. It’s great served with grilled meats, veggies and even as a dip for chips. The hint of beer (we used Everybody’s Brewing Local Loger) blends well with the tangy flavors of the horseradish and mustard seeds. You can use any lager that you want but we we’re happy to use beer from one of our favorite breweries. We made a simple meal of freshly harvested fennel and sausage that we bartered for at the farmers market (thanks Treebird Organics!) and could not be more stoked with how tasty this easy meal was. I also used a tip from Bon Appétit Magazine and made a brine to simmer my fennel in for about 8 minutes before adding it to the hot grill. It was a great technique to use because the center of the fennel got tender and the outer layers didn’t burn before the middle was cooked through. All you do is combine a few black peppercorns (about 8-10), 2 bay leaves, 1 cup unseasoned rice vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons salt and 3 cups of water and bring it to a boil in a large saucepan. Add thinly sliced fennel wedges (you may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your fennel) and simmer for about 6-8 minutes or until crisp-tender. You can save the brine to pickle another batch of veggies too! It’s so easy and adds a nice little flavor boost to the fennel. Once you’ve removed the fennel pat it dry and toss it with a little olive oil before adding it to the preheated grill–we cook over medium-high. Let me know if you give the trick a whirl!
Anyhow, this post is all about the mustard! It’s got some kick and requires a few steps but we think it’s totally worth it! The mustard tastes even better the next day after the flavors mellow out so I’d recommend making it a day before you plan to use it. It keeps well for over a week so no pressure to use it all up right away!
Beer & Horseradish Mustard
Prep Time: 15 min (+resting time) Cook Time: 30 min Serves: 2 - 4
- 1 cup lager beer, divided
- 2/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup whole brown mustard seeds (you can substitute with yellow mustard seeds if need be)
- 2 1/4 tablespoons dry mustard
- 1/4 cup prepared white horseradish
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds, ground
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
Preparation
- Whisk 1/2 cup beer, vinegar, mustard seeds and dry mustard to blend in a small bowl. Let the mixture stand at room temperature for 3 hours.
- Transfer beer and mustard seed mixture to a blender; add the remaining 1/2 cup beer, horseradish, salt, pepper, honey, and ground caraway seeds. Blend on high until smooth. Transfer mixture to a medium metal bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk often until mixture thickens slightly, about 15 minutes (the mixture will be thinner and more sauce-like than store-bought mustard). Transfer mustard to a small saucepan and add cornstarch mixed with water; whisk over medium-high heat until mustard thickens and boils, about 2 minutes. Transfer mustard to an airtight container. Cover and chill.
- Serve mustard with grilled veggies, sausage, and even chips!
Notes
*This recipe is inspired by Bon Appétit Magazine *Mustard can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 7-10 days)