Make Me Mean Mr. Mustard(-based BBQ sauce)

March 12, 2010 1:03 PM

I want to make mustards. But wait! I want to make them so I can then make beer-enhanced mustard-based barbecue sauce. Is this a fool's errand?

I'm getting pretty good at improvising yellow-mustard-based sauces, to the point that I'm starting to experiment with beer reductions of local microbrews as something to change the flavour profile. It occurs to me that moving away from yellow mustard to make mustards that pair better with the beers in question might really make a huge difference.

I'm not a huge mustard fan -- I have no plans to make and eat my own fancy mustards -- but I like mustard-based BBQ sauce better than the tomato or vinegar varieties.

By "fool's errand," I mean either of two things:
1. Fool, you will lose all the distinct mustardy flavour in the bbq sauce creation process, and the other elements will overwhelm the mustard to the point that you might as well use French's;
and/or
2. Fool, you can skip the mustard-making step entirely and just add ground mustard seed and mustard powder to your barbecue sauce at the sauce creation phase.

Experienced barbecue sauce (and mustard) makers, your expertise is welcome!

posted by Shepherd to Food & Drink (5 answers total)

I'm no specialist, but I think this sounds like a pretty awesome idea.

Also, did you happen to read this? ;)
posted by fso at 1:22 PM on March 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I can't help you in regards to making bbq sauce - it's on the list of things to make but has never quite made it to the top. As far as mustard-making goes, the extra days/weeks/months of sitting time the mustard would have with the vinegar and beer would bring something to the party that I don't think you would get by "making" the mustard in the bowl with the bbq sauce. Also, the mustard-ing step allows you a chance to add in pretty much any other flavor you wanted to add to the final sauce. If you pre-infuse the flavors you wanted in your final sauce - garlic, peppers, onions, herbs, etc. - you would be able to prepare your bbq sauce the day you wanted to use it, instead of having to wait for the flavors to blend. Also, I would perhaps not reduce the beer before adding it to the mustard, as the alcohol will help pull out flavor from the rest of your ingredients.
posted by caminovereda at 2:13 PM on March 12, 2010

I was also rushing in here clutching a link to the Onion. Sorry I can't offer any actual help!
posted by lapsangsouchong at 10:41 AM on March 13, 2010

Best answer: Alton Brown did a pretty good rundown of how to make your own mustard on the pretzel episode of Good Eats. It starts about 7:20 in this video. He talks about how to vary the spice level and flavor of your mustard using science, so it might give you some good tips for how to make the mustard component of your BBQ sauce just the way you want it.
posted by vytae at 11:00 PM on March 14, 2010

Best answer: I made mustard for Christmas gifts last year. The basic instructions are: Put ingredients in blender/food processor. Blend till at desired level of smoothness. It's really, really easy.

I'd say it's worth a shot. It's a bit tough to make a small amount of mustard, though, so you might wind up with a bunch of stuff you won't really eat as you try to find the exact mustard recipe that you like.

I got my recipes from my mom, who has a book called, (I think) "The Mustard Book". That might be a good starting point.
posted by specialnobodie at 1:12 PM on March 15, 2010