Horseradish: The Bold Secret Ingredient Your Tailgate Needs

Why this spicy root deserves a spot at your next tailgate

When you think of tailgating staples like deviled eggs, potato salad, cocktail shrimp and roast beef sliders, you probably picture a sea of mayo and mustard. But Leslie Stewart, owner of Palmetto Bay Sunrise Cafe, wants you to give a little love to something sharper, bolder and wildly underappreciated: horseradish.

Not the stuff in a jar. The real deal.

“I am a big fan of fresh horseradish,” says Stewart. “Most grocery stores, like Harris Teeter, carry it in their produce section; you’ll buy a horseradish root. And if you peel the outside edges off and just use a cheese grater to grate it and then mix it just with a little bit of vinegar (white or rice) it’s good in so many things and so much better and different than prepared horseradish.”

Fresh horseradish doesn’t just bring the heat, it brings dimension. Stewart uses it in all kinds of dishes that show up at Lowcountry tailgates, especially the ones that travel well. Egg salad? Absolutely. Cocktail sauce? Of course. “We use it in egg salad at Palmetto Bay Sunrise Cafe,” she says. “We make a big batch, but we use enough to taste it. You don’t want it to not be there.” The key, she says, is getting the balance right. “In egg salad, it’s there and you can taste it, but it’s not overwhelming at all.”

If you want to give it a try, Stewart’s method is straightforward: “Boil half a dozen eggs. Mash them up. Add fresh horseradish, mayonnaise and salt and pepper. That’s it.” Start with a small amount and build it up from there, unless you’re chasing that sinus-clearing punch. In that case, go big. Because sometimes, subtle just won’t do.

“Now, that’s just the egg salad,” Stewart says. “If I’m having it in cocktail sauce, I want it to blow my head off. That’s the kind of power I want it to have.” Her tailgate MVP: fresh boiled shrimp and a homemade cocktail sauce with plenty of grated horseradish. “It’s just so much better. You get that bite that clears your sinuses — it’s amazing.”

And she’s not kidding about the sinus-clearing part. “A couple of weeks ago, I thought I was coming down with a sinus infection,” she says. “I said, ‘We need to have something with a lot of horseradish in it.’ So we made the fresh horseradish and vinegar, and we had a steak with that. It really works.”

Potato salad, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes; any of them can benefit from a little kick. “It adds that extra little zing that surprises people,” she says. “You don’t need a lot. Just enough to make people ask, ‘What is that flavor?’”

Now, while horseradish has a reputation as a Bloody Mary essential, Stewart takes a different approach. “I don’t use horseradish in our Bloody Marys because I don’t want it to taste like cocktail sauce,” she says, laughing. “But a lot of people do still put horseradish in Bloody Marys.” If you’re one of them, try pairing it with gentler ingredients like cucumber or celery bitters to balance the bite.

At the end of the day, it’s about thinking beyond the obvious. Horseradish might not be the first thing you reach for at the tailgate, or in your everyday cooking, but Stewart makes a strong case for changing that.

“It makes a really, really tasty kind of condiment — but it matters if it’s fresh,” she says.

So whether you’re whipping up deviled eggs for kickoff or throwing steak on the grill at halftime, consider giving horseradish a shot. It’s bold, it’s unexpected and it just might be the flavor your tailgate’s been missing.

LOCAL Life Test Kitchen: Bacon deviled eggs with horseradish

What’s better than deviled eggs on game day? Deviled eggs with horseradish and bacon. This irresistible app is perfect for game day. 

Ingredients (horseradish sauce)

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons grated horseradish

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions 

[1] In a small mixing bowl, stir all of the ingredients together. Serve right away or cover and refrigerate for about 2 weeks.

Ingredients (deviled eggs)

12 large eggs

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

4 tablespoons sour cream

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3-4 teaspoons horseradish sauce

4 tablespoons crisp bacon, finely crumbled 

2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions 

[1] Place eggs in a pot and cover with cool water. Vent the lid and bring just to a boil. Cover pot completely, lower heat and simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 12 minutes. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and let stand for 10 minutes before peeling under cool running water. Slice eggs in half lengthwise. [2] Gently scoop out egg yolks and add to a bowl. Whisk together with mayonnaise, sour cream, Dijon mustard and horseradish sauce until smooth. Stir in bacon and chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper, adding additional horseradish if you prefer a spicier filling. [3] Fill each egg with some yolk mixture and garnish with additional bacon and chives.