The Ingredient Bobby Flay Uses To Give Honey Mustard A Serious Kick

Honey mustard is all about one word: Balance. You need just the right amount of sweet and just the right amount of tang to get the flavor just right; however, according to Bobby Flay, there's one other taste element needed to really complete this favorite sauce and that's prepared horseradish. Flay adds this extra touch to not only enhance the existing flavors of his honey mustard, but to give it a real kick. 

Horseradish is pungent and adds a sharp and fiery zest to honey mustard — the kind of burn that makes your nose run after you eat it. To prepare his version of this classic sauce that works just as well as a dipping sauce for your chicken nuggets as it does as a marinade for something a little more sophisticated, Flay uses a 3:1:1 ratio of mustard to honey to horseradish. This ensures no one flavor overpowers the other from the first bite to the last. However, don't be afraid to play with this ratio until you find just the right proportions for your taste buds.

Prepared horseradish at its most basic is made up of vinegar, horseradish root, and a little salt. But before you add it to your honey mustard, you need to drain it or you may end up with a diluted tasting sauce that is thin rather than thick and creamy and might not have the same bang your tongue is hoping for. That said, if you do find your sauce to be a runny, add a little more mustard and honey until its viscosity and taste are to your liking.  

Flay uses Dijon and whole grain mustard to create his sauce, but just as you will want to experiment with the proportions to find the ratio that works for your taste buds, you may want to play with the mustard and honey you use. An all-purpose yellow or beer mustard or even a little Grey Poupon may be more to your liking – no judgment, the mouth wants what it wants. Additionally, you will want to consider how the horseradish plays with your honey and the floral or fruity notes that it may carry.