Spicy Guinness Stout, and Caramelized Onion Mustard (19 calories per 1 tsp serving)

Growing up, my father loved good whole grain mustard.  He always had a good crock of Pommery Mustard, like this (Pommery Meaux Grain Mustard in Stone Jar), on hand.  He taught me to love good whole grain mustards.  Now, I make my own.

A good mustard, in my opinion, should have a good bite, be creamy, yet still show the mustard seeds, and have a sweet, but complex finish.  This Spicy Guinness Stout, and Caramelized Onion Mustard (recipe below) accomplishes all that goodness.  Nothing beats it on both a hearty burger, or a delicate piece of salmon.  Yum!

This mustard making process is a two day event, but it isn't as intense as that may sound.  Day 1 you caramelize a bunch of onions, and mix everything together, and then, you wait two days, and on Day 2, you process, or blend, everything.  Then you're done.

The first step is to caramelize a bunch of onions.  This process scares a lot of people, but it really is very easy, if time consuming, and gives you a treat you can use a number of different ways - with eggs, in a tart, on pizza, or in a salad, to name a few.

I used three larger yellow onions, to make about double the amount I needed for the mustard.  First, cut the top off of the onion, and then place the flat, cut, side down on your cutting board, and slice the onion in half, through the root end.  You want to keep the root intact, so it holds the onion together, making it easier to slice.

Place the larger sliced side down on the cutting board, slice the onion in half moons, fairly thinly, and place in a bowl.  Once you have sliced the onions, it is time to prepare your pan.

I like to use my well seasoned, 12" cast iron skillet for this task.  It's a good size, and since it is well seasoned, very little sticks to it.  Heat the skillet over medium high heat.  Once it is heated, add 1 TBS of unsalted butter, and then pour 1Tbs of decent olive oil over the top.  As the butter melts, swirl the pan to combine the two fats, and to coat the base of the skillet.

Now, add the onions.  They should immediately sizzle, and should fill the pan half to three quarters of the way up.

Let the onions sizzle for a couple of minutes, then using a large turner, begin the process of turning the onions over.  For the next 10-12 minutes, you will need to turn the the onions every couple of minutes, so they continue to sweat, and cook down, browning all the time.

After about 15 minutes, the onions will be reduced by about a half, in terms of volume in the skillet, and look somewhat browned, like the picture to the right.  At this point, sprinkle a little salt, and a little sugar over them, and toss them in the pan to mix them up.  The salt will draw out more of the moisture, and the sugar will add a little sweetness, but the onions will create their own sweetness as they caramelize, so just a dash or two is needed.

At this point you might have some fond (burnt, tasty, bits, stuck to the bottom of the pan), so pour about 2 Tbs of white wine vinegar into the pan, to deglaze (free up the fond) the pan, scraping and turning the onions as the vinegar bubbles and steams.  When the bubbling subsides, turn the heat down to medium, and continue cooking and turning the onions for at least 15 more minutes, but up to 30 more minutes, depending on how caramelized you like them.  I cooked mine about 22 more minutes.

Move the onions to a bowl, and let them cool about 30 minutes.

After the onions are cooled, it is time to start making the mustard.  This is actually the easy part.  I made it harder than I had to, because I wanted to discern how much of the caramel onions I wanted to include.

So, I started with a large (16 oz) canning jar, and poured in 1/2 cup of mustard seeds, and added a 1/4 cup of caramelized onions, then repeated the process, and ended up with the final 1/2 cup of mustard seeds on top. I then poured 6 oz of Guinness Stout over the seeds and onions, to see what it looked like.  This effort was interesting, to me, but completely unnecessary for the mustard making process.

So, I decided I should approach the process the correct way.  I  got out a medium bowl, and added the red wine vinegar, and the remaining 6 oz of Guinness Stout (remember, poor the Stout slowly and evenly, as a foamy head, here, is not helpful).  To that I added the salt (which bubbled impressively), and then the rest of the seasonings, and whisked it together.  Finally, I dumped my jar full of seeds, Stout, and onions, in (carefully, so as not to splash), and stirred them to mix them together.

At this time, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put aside on the counter, and leave it alone for 2 days.

After 2 days, the seeds should have soaked up the Stout and the vinegar enough so you can stand a heavy spoon up in it.  It kind of looks like my granite countertops, doesn't it?  :)

Now, this is easiest done in a larger food processor, but I imagine it can also be done, possibly in batches, in a good blender, as well.


Dump the mixture into your food processor.  Once the mixture is all in, pulse it a couple of times, and then, using a spatula, wipe down the sides, and then let the food processor run for about 2 minutes.  As it runs, the mixture will thicken.  If 2 minutes isn't thick enough for your tastes, let it run longer.  This is your Mustard, after all.

I was happy with mine after 2 minutes.  This is the consistency, and thickness, I ended up with.

Enjoy!

Spicy Guinness Mustard

1 & ½ cups    Guinness Stout
1 & ½ cups    Yellow mustard seeds (about 10 oz.)

½ Cup            Caramelized onions
1 cup              Red wine vinegar
1 Tbs              Salt
1 tsp                Black pepper
¼ tsp               Ground cinnamon

¼ tsp               Ground cloves
¼ tsp               Ground nutmeg
¼ tsp               Ground allspice
¼ tsp               Ground ginger

(Makes about 3 & ½ cups of mustard)

Pour the Guinness Stout into a medium-sized, non-reactive, bowl.  Add the red wine vinegar to the bowl.

Add the onions, salt, pepper, and all the spices, and whisk together gently. Add in the mustard seeds, and whisk to incorporate.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set it aside on your counter.  Let it sit, undisturbed, for two days. This is so the seeds can soften up a bit, so you can process them easier.

After two days, your mustard seeds should have soaked up a lot of the liquid. Toss the contents of your bowl into a food processor, or do it in smaller batches in a blender.

Process the mustard mixture for about 3 minutes.

As the seeds break down, the mixture will get thicker. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, if need be.

Stop a few times to check the thickness. When you’re happy with how thick it is, stop.

Spoon the mustard out into prepared (i.e. very clean) jars or a bowl. Keep the mustard in the fridge. It’ll be good for about six months. That is, if you don’t eat it all sooner.