An exceptional mustard based on a formula from Robert Roberts.

Roberts is a fascinating figure, the first published black author in the United States and, perhaps, the most renowned butler of his time. His House Servant’s Directory from 1827 found an unanticipated white audience and became a solid seller. Not so much a cookbook as a guide to both the proper demeanor and performance of practical tasks for servants, it does include a few basic recipes. Some of them including this one are explicitly English in origin. Roberts describes it as “A Great Secret to Mix Mustard by M. B. of London.”

For the larder:

• 1 pint of the stock from boiled corned beef, cooled, skimmed of fat and strained.
• about 1 ½ cup grated horseradish

To mix the mustard:

• as much dry mustard as you want
• a little salt (perhaps)

1. Combine the stock and horseradish, then steep it for 24 hours.
2. Strain off the horseradish and bottle the infusion for storage in the refrigerator.
3. Moisten as much mustard as you would like to prepare with the infusion “by degrees, that you may not make it too thin, mix extremely well together, until it becomes quite smooth.”

Notes:

-The Roberts recipe is a little different. He does not infuse his stock with the horseradish but rather grates a smaller amount of it into the stock. The infusion packs more punch and avoids the hairy texture of grated horseradish.