Zesty Burger Sauce

Printable version

One way to put a twist on a burger and turn it from good to great is by creating a custom sauce for it. The Big Mac from McDonald’s is one of the most famous burgers in the world and part of its success is the “special sauce” that adorns it.

The majority of the time when I make a sandwich, I grab a salad dressing rather than ketchup or mustard to top it just to ad another layer of flavor. I’ll use ranch dressing on any cold meat sandwich because, to me, ranch is the bacon of the sauce world – it makes everything it’s used on taste better.

For this recipe, I make a custom sauce for burgers or any sandwich made with beef. It features horseradish which provides a spicy, aromatic quality that compliments the bold flavor of the meat. Garlic powder, chili powder and cayenne pepper add zest and spice to the sauce while mayonnaise and sour cream form the base and provide the creaminess. All together, this sauce will take any burger or roast beef sandwich to the next level of yum.

BEHIND THIS BITE

Zesty Burger Sauce

Now that summer is here and the majority of my cooking involves a grill or fire, I’m noticing a pattern. The real creative part of what I have been putting out involves compliments or additions to grilled meat – like this sauce. I make lots of spice rubs, sauces, marinades and side dishes when I’m grilling and for the last couple months that has been the focus of the food I have documented.

I love working the grill, but that is just a small part of making a great plate of food over the fire – a perfectly seasoned and cooked steak doesn’t need anything else to be amazing, which is why the compliments are so important. They must stand up to the meat and this sauce does just that. It was good enough to win the praises of my niece despite the fact that it's spicy. Usually she doesn’t like anything with even a hint of heat, but she liked this enough to eat an entire burger slathered with it.

If you like horsey sauce from Arby’s this is a must try.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Zesty Burger Sauce

Makes 1 cup; 1 hour
1/2 C Mayonnaise
1/4 C Sour cream
2 Tbs Horseradish
1 Tbs Chili powder
1 tsp Garlic powder
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper

Make sauce, refrigerate
In a bowl mix together mayo, sour cream, horseradish, chili powder, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Once thoroughly combined, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour for flavors to meld. Use on burgers or beef sandwiches.

Creamy Horseradish Sauce

Printable version

This is a redo of a recipe I made a couple of years ago. It was the sauce for a roast beef sandwich. Here, I use it on prime rib.

When I get the opportunity I like to re-shoot recipes that I have created before June of 2012. It was then I started shooting every photograph with my DSLR camera as well as using the same lighting technique for each shot.

Before then, I was only shooting the final photographs and the artsy food styled shots with the DSLR. I should have been doing it all along, but this is a creative process and with all creative endeavors, it evolves.

Another evolution in the work started around February of this year. Before then most of the pictures contained in the information graphic were take from directly above, or from a bird’s eye view.

Creamy Horseradish Sauce

I found that taking the final shot at a 3/4 view with an infinity back ground (like the horsey sauce above) gave the graphic more depth and allowed the final shot of the dish to pop right off the page. Most of my recipes contain this technique now. My photography will continue to evolve, and I have a new-found love and respect for the art form having spent the last two years trying to improve my skills.

BEHIND THIS BITE
This sauce was part of a large meal prepared recently and it was made for prime rib, but as it says in the graphic, it’s pretty tasty on any type of beef. It’s really a variation of a southern white barbecue sauce with the addition of horseradish and dijon mustard, turning it into something very similar to Arby’s horsey sauce. It’s great to have around for a little extra pizazz whenever beef is on the menu.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Creamy Horseradish Sauce

Makes almost 2 Cups; 5 minutes active; 30 minutes resting
1 C Mayonnaise
1/4 C White vinegar
1/4 C Sour cream
2 Tbs Horseradish
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 Tbs Kosher salt
2 tsp Garlic, minced
2 tsp Black pepper

Make sauce
In a large bowl, mix together mayo, white vinegar, sour cream, horseradish, dijon mustard, garlic, salt and pepper until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes