Hericot Vert Recipe with Dijon Mustard Cream Sauce (2024)

FAQs

What does Dijon mustard do to meat? ›

I've found that the vinegar component in Dijon mustard is intense enough to work as an excellent marinade for steaks—it tenderizes the proteins, which is great for tougher cuts, and imbues the meat with a nice tanginess.

Dijon cream sauce is a simple sauce consisting of reduced heavy cream and mustard. It's a tasty sauce with chicken, beef, pork, fish, or even alongside or on top of vegetables.

Combining bread crumbs with dijon mustard makes a toasty and flavorful way to cover anything you're roasting, from salmon to pork tenderloin. For heavier casserole dishes like macaroni and cheese or a gratin, Dijon mustard adds some extra heat and creaminess.

Dijon mustard works as an emulsifier in a pan sauce that starts with the drippings rendered from cooking meat. Its flavor pairs well with everything from chicken to steak, which means it's the staple we reach for anytime we want to make that weeknight dinner feel a little special.

Dijon mustard also happens to pair wonderfully with pork, so you're able to make the most of the hearty, approachable protein for weeknight suppers that are anything but boring. It also perfectly complements sweet ingredients such as honey for homemade salad dressings and marinades.

It's perfect with eggs or potatoes (i.e.: devilled eggs, egg salad, mashed potato, potato salad), and provides the right finishing note for simple cheese dishes like mac and cheese, raclette, or a grilled cheese sandwich. Add it to hot dishes at the end, not the start, to retain the spiciness on the palette.

Dijon mustard is made with red wine vinegar, while yellow mustard contains corn, barley, rye, and wheat grains. Dijon mustard is a grainy yellow dressing, while yellow mustard is a smooth, creamy dressing. Dijon mustard is used as a condiment, while yellow mustard can also be served hot or cold.

Flavor and Ingredients: Yellow mustard, which is made of powdered yellow mustard seeds, a spice blend, and vinegar (or even water), has a milder taste compared to its French counterpart. Dijon definitely has a distinctive mustard flavor, and is more intense, sharp, and complex than yellow mustard.

Dijon mustard is made from brown mustard seeds and white wine. One of the crucial ingredients in traditional Dijon mustard is verjuice. This tart liquid gives Dijon mustard its characteristic flavor.

Flavor: While each recipe undoubtedly varies, yellow mustard has a moderately tart and tangy flavor but isn't overly spicy. Dijon has a sharp, quintessential mustard flavor, and it's just spicy enough to add the perfect amount of flavor to your dishes.

What's so special about Dijon mustard? ›

The use of white wine and black or brown mustard seeds separates Dijon from other mustards. Black and brown mustard seeds are progressively more pungent and bitter than yellow mustard seeds. Dijon is either smooth or coarse-ground, and the choice of blending to coarse-ground makes for a far more interesting mustard.

Dijon mustard.

The French spread is one of the longer-lasting varieties, with an unopened shelf life of up to 3 years. And once you've popped the lid off your Dijon, it can stay in the fridge for about 1 year.

Dijon mustard is also a good source of dietary fiber. Fiber is important for maintaining a healthy digestive system and promoting regular bowel movements. It can help prevent constipation and contribute to a healthy gut environment by supporting the growth of beneficial bacteria.

Add sweetness to your dish. Honey or maple syrup are great choices for counterbalancing mustard, but even just a spoonful of sugar will help.

The main differences are health-related, but these are in such small quantities that it may well prove negligible to make a decision between Dijon and yellow mustard due to health concerns. Yellow mustard has lower sodium content, but other than that, there is no further difference in terms of healthiness.

Instead of letting some of a spice rub melt off with the slowly melting fat, the mustard actually binds it better to the meat. This is especially true of meats where a good volume of the meat is lost to fat.

Mustard gives the meat a tinge of incredible flavor and acts as a glue that keeps the rub on the meat. Slathering mustard also helps the formation of “bark” on the meat. The bark is the somewhat chewy layer on the outside of the meat that bursts with flavor.

Whether you are smoking a brisket, ribs or a pork shoulder, rubbing the meat with plain old yellow mustard, then seasoning it with your favorite dry rub does two wonderful things. First, it will help the seasoning adhere to the meat more evenly and not fall off while smoking.

Mustard helps the breading adhere to the meat, providing a similar function to eggs in this context. Yes, you can use mustard instead of egg in breading to make it stick to a piece of meat when cooking. Mustard is a binder, just like egg, and it will help to hold the breading in place.