How to make Horseradish and Horseradish Sauce

Several years ago, I bought some fancy horseradish and put it in the ground, full expecting it to go wild and thrive.  Well, I put it under the Butternut tree, which produces juglone into the ground around it.  This makes it hard for other plants to do well, or, really at all.  They tend to die.  The horseradish didn’t, though, it survived!  Last year, I had some grocery store bought horseradish that went bad, so I dropped it into the ground in my strawberry bed.  It grew.  We tried to taste it in the fall, but apparently, you should only pick in the spring, as it gets woody later on in the year.

My mother tells stories of my grandmother grinding horseradish with a meat grinder (she used it to grind everything in the days before food processors), and wearing a gas mask!  She, my mom, was a little gun shy last year when we made prepared horseradish, but got right in to the spirit of things this last weekend.  She even ate it right off the spoon!  I’m not that brave.

So we had these beautiful roots. See?

They peel VERY easily…  I just peel, chop and toss into the food processor.  Then I open the window.  Horseradish is a weird thing to make, as it requires time to mature. (Read as – get hotter!)  Last year, I waited only a few minutes.  Saturday?  I waited 15 or so, but yesterday?  I forgot about the darn thing and it sat for the better part of an hour!  So, back to the process,  you gleefully smash the root into little pieces in your whopper-chopper, then add a little salt and pepper. (I just shake…)  Then you add a bit of apple cider vinegar.  You just want it to be moistened, not soaking.  Damp horseradish is happy horseradish.  The salt and vinegar stop the maturing process, and kinda pickle the stuff.  Then, crying, with your nose running, you spoon the mixture into whatever container you’d like to have it sit in.  It must go into the fridge.

So, there you have the prepared horseradish.

What do you do with it next?  Well, you make a roast and horseradish sauce of course!

Horseradish sauce recipe:

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3-4 TBSP Mayonnaise
• 2 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
• Prepared Horseradish – you can put 3 TBSP to 1/2 cup of the prepared horseradish into the sauce – it’s all about how spicy you want it.  Us?  We put the 1/2 cup in, lol.
• Salt and pepper to taste

Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy!  And it really does taste SOOOO good.  I think I need to go have some leftover roast for lunch now…