Horseradish

The last time we were at Big Dan and Mama K's house, they mentioned how overrun they were with horseradish plants. You should have seen Main Man's face light up...it was like a kid who heard the words "no bedtime" or a dog that heard the words "truck ride". So we did what all 30-somethings who enjoy a little nasal blastage with their meat would do...we dug a plant up and took it home.

MM: We are old.

Me: Why?

MM: Not only do we have a garden, we are going to be growing horseradish in it.

Me: Why does horseradish make us old?

MM: It's an old person food for sure...like sour kraut, rhubarb, and radishes...shit, I love all those too! All the crap my grandparents would eat and I thought was the nastiest stuff in the world, and now here I am planting it to eat myself.

Me: Do you like sardines?

MM: No way.

Me: I think we're safe then.

Before we planted the old people food, we cut part of the root off to make our first experimental batch. Nothing off the horseradish plant gets eaten but the root, so if you grow it, you have to dig it up to get to your bounty. Cut a hunk off and re-bury it and it will continue to grow, this stuff is tough to kill and spreads like wildfire from what I hear!

So he used my garlic press to mince the horseradish root (he was very excited about this and made it before I even had a chance to figure out what he was doing).  THIS LINK explains the process in more detail and you can use a food processer too. Horseradish is very aromatic so you will be able to smell it immediately after it's processed. Just add 2 T water, 1 T white vinegar, and a pinch of salt to it before letting it sit in the fridge for a few hours to meld. We tried it immediately after it was made and it didn't have the depth of flavor it had after letting it mingle.

And now, Main Man has fresh horseradish to put on his ham, steak, prime rib, and whatever else he decides to use as a vehicle for the old people food...and he is a happy dude. Go ahead and make this to make your dude happy, if he's old like mine :)