Top Your Brats With This Sweet Mustard For A New Take On A Cookout Classic

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For all of the abundant mustard varieties lining store shelves, it can be easy to get into a condiment routine. Classic yellow for hot dogs. Dijon for dressings and marinades. And spicy brown mustard for brats. And sure, those yellow, Dijon, and spicy brown mustards all taste great in these applications. But your next brat can also stand up to an unexpected topping: maple mustard.

Maple mustard's ingredients are right there in its title. While the maple syrup is straightforward enough, the mustard component can be Dijon, yellow, or almost any other kind. The syrupy sweetness is what makes this hybrid condiment different from your everyday spread, and particularly suited for juicy, meaty brats.

Although bratwursts themselves can be made with several different proteins, what they all have in common is some spice. Spiced and sweet are a culinary combo for the ages, so this sausage-and-flavored-mustard pairing just works. Believe it or not, maple mustard also complements the larger bun that a bratwurst typically uses versus smaller sausages. The condiment is often thinner than the mustards you may be used to, and the generously portioned bread is ideal for catching any errant drips.

Although there are plenty of big-brand and artisanal maple mustards available at the grocery store, it's also easy enough to make some on your own. If you've got maple syrup and mustard, then you're in the maple mustard business. Almost. Since the maple syrup's sweetness is the defining feature of this crossover condiment, you wouldn't want to mix it with something that's already sweet itself, like a honey mustard. But anything from tangy to spicy is fair game. Whole-grain or stone-ground versions would be nice for a little extra texture, or you can opt for a booze-infused option like Kosciusko Lager Beer Mustard. Further familiarizing yourself with the wide world of mustard will help you narrow the field to your liking. Have some fun with your maple syrup selection, too. In addition to experimenting with different grades and intensities (from golden to very dark), you can boost your brats with bourbon-barrel-aged and smoked varieties, such as those in Runamok's Smoke + Barrels Maple Syrup Sampler.

Once you've sourced your mustard and maple syrup, you can mix them in different ratios to suit your taste and texture preferences. Start with equal parts and make any desired adjustments. (For a zippy, nicely viscous dipping sauce, try a 3-to-1 ratio of mustard to maple syrup.) Those ambitious folks who make their own mustard from scratch can, of course, also introduce the maple syrup before the stuff is even jarred to dress up many brats to come.