Rauchbier Onion Mustard
I’m a huge fan of smoked flavors in food. The flavors of smoke, that primal aroma, when we used to cook over fire. As most cooking is cooked in a modern kitchen, we lose that aroma and flavor of smoke in our food. In the world of beer, a Rauchbier is a German dark larger brewed with smoked malts. This beer style is a dream to drink, pair with and use in the beer kitchen. So this was where I got to thinking about cooking with beer and using a Smoked German Lager as an ingredient to add it’s nostalgic smoky flavor to food, without having to light a fire. This homemade beer mustard recipe incorporates the flavors of sweet caramelized onions, the smokiness along with a wonderful complex malt profile found in a Rauchbier combined with the astringency found in mustard. As you can’t buy a Rauchbier Onion Mustard, I wanted to share this delicious recipe with you.
When thinking about German Beer Cuisine, there are pantry staples one should have on hand. Malt vinegar, caraway seed, flour and eggs (for Spätzle | Spaetzle), mustard, a selection of different salt sizes, just to name a few items. Mustard is such a multipurpose ingredient. Mustard, made with beer or not, can be used as a dip, think pretzels, served alongside a sausage or braised meat, as a condiment on a sandwich | hot dog, used to make a salad dressing or a sauce for an entrée.
Texture: Making Beer Mustard
Making homemade beer mustard is easy and will leave you pondering why you didn’t make your own earlier! A few key ingredients that a mustard chef should have are a good mustard powder (mustard seeds ground into a powder) and mustard seeds. Depending on the style and type of mustard you want to make, here are a few things to think about when buying your mustard making ingredients. Mustard seeds come in a few different colors. There are yellow mustard seeds and brown mustard seeds. Using whole mustard seeds, will make your mustard more grainy and add that pop in texture, as many commercially made mustards have, requires you to soak the seeds in a liquid. That liquid can be water | beer | wine | spirits | vinegar. It re-hydrates the mustard seed, makes them plump and able to chew. They can be mixed in at the end of the mustard making process to keep their whole texture or added to the beginning of a recipe. As the seeds are soft, they will grind into a paste, adding more texture and girth to the final condiment. The mustard seed can be ground fine, without soaking, into a fine powder, making it very easy to add a liquid and some seasoning, to make a quick mustard from scratch. This approach makes a very smooth mustard. Mustard powder and seeds are used together int this recipe, to get the flavor, texture and desired elements into a final beer mustard.
Mustard has a unique enzyme called myrosinase. This is what causes mustard to be ‘hot’ ‘pungent’ and have that heat. Sinigrin is one of the compounds found in mustard seed. When the seeds are crushed, sinigrin is releases and when mixed with a cold liquid, myrosinase is activated. This is important to understand the food science of mustard making, as this enzyme peaks around 15 minutes after a cold liquid is mixed into it. If you are making a batch of mustard and want it hot and assertive, than eat it right away. If you like your mustard more tame, then make it ahead, as the longer it sits (preferably refrigerated), the more mellow it will become. Another option is to cook the mustard, heating up the liquid, that will de-nature the myrosinase enzyme, dropping the intensity of the finished mustard.
Another trick I’ve learned is what type of mustard seed | powder you are using and what end result you are looking for in your beer mustard. Savory Spice Co. makes a Mild Mustard Powder, that has less heat than a standard or regular Yellow Mustard Powder. Where the mustard seeds are grown, the climate, soil and type of seeds the mustard is grown are all factors in how hot or tame your mustard will be. As mentioned above, if the mustard is cooked, will also help reduce the heat.
Makes: 18 ounces of Rauchbier Onion Mustard
More Homemade Beer Mustard Recipes:
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 1 pint | 10 minute |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 12 minute | 8 hour |
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Homemade Rauchbier Onion Mustard: a smoked German lager flavored beer mustard infused with caramelized onions, brown mustard seeds and spices.
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- 10 ounce Rauchbier, such as Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier or other Rauchbier
- 1 cup mustard seed, brown, whole from Savory Spice Co.
- 1/4 cup vinegar, malt
- 2 tablespoon oil, olive
- 1 cup onion, yellow, medium, peeled and chopped
- 2 each garlic, cloves peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoon sugar, dark brown
- 1 tablespoon mustard, yellow, mild, powder from Savory Spice Co.
- 1 teaspoon salt, kosher or a smoked salt
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns, black, freshly cracked
- In a seal-able container, add Rauchbier, mustard seeds and malt vinegar. Seal tight with its lid and mix to combine. Let sit 4 hours to overnight at room temperature. This softens the mustard seed, making them easier to grind into a paste. It also creates Malt Vinegar Pickled Brown Mustard Seeds.
- In a sauté pan over medium heat, add oil and onions. Stir occasionally until the onions are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
- If you have a smoker, a Big Green Egg, a Pit Smoker, Weber Grill or other "cooking over five" culinary gadget, then this is what you want to do. After you are done cooking, what ever it might be, add a few whole, peel on, yellow onions and close the lid. What ever residual heat remains will be low. Overnight, let the onions sit, not opening the lid, just as is. This will slowly cook and caramelize the starches into sugars, within the onions cells. Try adding a few whole garlic heads to the smoker as well, creating smoked garlic, that can be added to the recipe.
- The next day, or 6 - 10 hours later, remove the onion from the BBQ. Peel the onion and remove the root end. Chop and continue with the recipe.
- Transfer all the ingredients into a blender, also adding beer-mustard mixture,, mustard powder, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, or desired consistency, about 1- 2 minutes for a courser texture, up to – 4 minutes, resulting in smooth, almost creamy finish.
- Transfer the finished beer mustard to a sterile mason jar and refrigerate. This mustard will last a very long time, if not becoming a new favorite flavored mustard first.
Ways to Use Rauchbier Onion Mustard:
- Try adding mustard to a vinaigrette
- Spread over a cut of beef | pork | chicken and roast 375˚F | 191°C oven
- Use in Red Ale Barbecue Sauce
- Try it as a spread | condiment for a ham, roast beef or grilled vegetable sandwich
- Serve it alongside grilled German sausages
- Added to my recipe for Beermustardnaise
- Think pastrami... In sandwich format or Ruben format with 2K Island Dressing and homemade sauerkraut, a slice of Swiss or Gruyère cheese
More Recipes That Use Mustard:
