I love making whole grain beer mustard to keep in the fridge as well as for gifting to people whether it’s the holidays or as a nice hostess gift. It’s incredibly easy to make and only requires a handful of ingredients. It can be used right away, but gets better after allowing the finished condiment sit for about a week. This recipe can also be easily tweaked depending on your flavor preferences. We made ours with beer because we like the flavor, but also provided a non-alcoholic alternative for you guys.
How to make Homemade Whole Grain Mustard
- Combine yellow and brown mustard seeds.
- Stir vinegar and beer (or water) into the mustard seeds.
- Cover the mixture and set in a cool, dry place for 12 hours or until all the liquid has been absorbed.
- Stir in brown sugar, honey and sea salt.
- Pour the mustard seed mixture into a food processor. Pulse 6 times, then run for about one minute.
- Pour mixture into a sterilized glass container and refrigerate.
FAQs
Whole grain mustard is a prepared condiment that is only partially blended, with some of the mustard seeds still visible, creating an overall coarse and slightly pasty texture.
Yellow mustard seeds are the most widely used mustard seeds. They are also the largest in size and mild in taste. They have European roots and are easily found in local grocery stores. Brown mustard seeds are smaller in size and more pungent (and spicy) in flavor. They’re derived from Indian cuisine and more commonly found in international grocery stores, but can also be found here.
Homemade mustard can be stored in an airtight jar or container, in the refrigerator for maximum freshness.
When properly stored, homemade mustard will keep for up to 1 year.
Not only does whole grain mustard make a great spread for sandwiches, but it’s a great condiment to serve with a charcuterie and cheese board. It’s also really lovely in a vinaigrette, combined with minced shallots, garlic, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Tips and Tricks
- The most important thing about homemade mustard is to allow it to sit for a day two before using it. This will allow for the bitter flavor to dissipate from the mustard.
- If you want a spicier mustard you can add some chiles or horseradish to the mixture before grinding it. If you want a more mild flavor, you can add more sugar and honey to cut through the heat of the seeds.
- Sometimes the mustard seeds will plump up and absorb the liquid faster and you won’t have to wait the full 12 hours. So it’s best to keep an eye on the mustard seeds. If they have absorbed everything sooner you can move onto the next step.
- Sometimes the mustard seeds won’t absorb the liquid within the 12 hours. Although unusual it may mean you got a bad batch of mustard seeds. Don’t worry! You can drain the excess liquid, and leave about 1/4 cup and move onto the next direction. You can also blend it for a bit longer in the food processor and it will help it come together better.
- If you are choosing to use beer with this recipe, we find that a beer with a nice flavor such as a Belgian Style Wheat Beer like Hogaarden or Hefeweizen or a pale ale that’s slightly lighter in flavor like Sierra Nevada works well for this recipe. Beers like bud light don’t have enough flavor, and IPAs tend to overwhelm the mustard. This isn’t to say you can’t use those options, but it’s just not our preference.
Things to use with Whole Grain Mustard?
It’s a great condiment to use in vinaigrettes and dressings, as a spread on charcuterie and cheese plates or sandwiches, and as a dip for sausages, just to name a few uses.
Our Homemade Whole Grain Mustard is also a really great dip for our Pretzel Dogs recipe! Enjoy!
Homemade Whole Grain Mustard recipe
INGREDIENTS
- ⅓ cup yellow mustard seeds
- ¼ cup brown mustard seeds
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup pale ale, Belgian style beer or water
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pour both types of mustard seeds into a small mixing bowl and whisk together until well blended.
- Stir vinegar and beer (or water) into the mustard seeds until just combined.
- Cover the mixture and set in a cool, dry place for 12 hours or until all the liquid has been absorbed.
- Stir the remaining ingredients into the mustard seed mixture and pour into a food processor.
- Pulse mixture 5 to 6 times before running the motor for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Pour mixture into a sterilized glass jar, seal and refrigerate. Allow mustard to sit for 1 to 2 days before trying it.
NOTES
- Makes 1 1/2 cups
- Homemade mustard can be stored in an airtight jar or container, in the refrigerator for maximum freshness.
- When properly stored, homemade mustard will keep for up to 1 year.
- The most important thing about homemade mustard is to allow it to sit for a day two before using it. This will allow for the bitter flavor to dissipate from the mustard.
- If you want a spicier mustard you can add some chiles or horseradish to the mixture before grinding it. If you want a more mild flavor, you can add more sugar and honey to cut through the heat of the seeds.
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Why does my honey sink to the bottom when placed in jars?
Just getting ready to make your recipe…could I use malt vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar and no honey (vegan) so 3 tbsp of brown sugar? If I’m canning should I boil the mixture prior to water bath?
Hi Shirley, you can definitely use all brown sugar. You can also use malt vinegar, although it will definitely alter the overall flavor of the mustard. There’s no need to boil the mustard before canning!
Mine tastes quite bitter.. i used an Indian pale ale as that is all i had, could that be why?
Hi! Yes, using an IPA will tend to make the mustard bitter. The flavor tends to overwhelm the mustard. We usually prefer sticking to something like a pale ale or lager with a more mild but nice flavor.
There’s something wrong with the metric conversions. The brown mustard seed only shows as 6g while the yellow is 56.67 g (although I’d probably only measure to the nearest gram)..
Thanks Graham. I am looking into this!