Give Scrambled Eggs A Tangy Flavor Boost With This Spicy Condiment

Whipping up scrambled eggs creates such a great opportunity to experiment. Adding some leftover meat or vegetables and a bit of spice can completely transform a simple recipe. There are a ton of ingredients you can add to upgrade basic scrambled eggs, but if you're looking for an intriguing yet classic flavor kick, add horseradish sauce. Just a dollop or two mixed in with a couple of eggs, salt, and pepper brings a whole new tangy, umami richness and a slightly spicy bite to your morning protein.

Horseradish itself (Armoracia rusticana) is a root vegetable in the same family (Brassicaceae) as mustard, cabbage, and radish. Grated and pickled with vinegar, it becomes a prepared horseradish. The zesty, spicy slaw offers a sharp but pleasing contrast when paired with fatty meats like bratwurst, roast beef, or hot dogs. Horseradish sauce, on the other hand, blends minced prepared horseradish typically with heavy cream, mayonnaise, or sour cream, and sometimes mustard and other ingredients. Though store-bought horseradish sauce brands vary in creaminess and heat, in general it mellows out the sharpness of prepared horseradish, meaning it won't overpower your eggs. Rather than a sharp bite and the textural contrast prepared horseradish would bring, the sauce adds a smoother compelling pungency and a hint of heat to eggs.

Either horseradish or horseradish sauce is an easy way to add zip to anything from mashed potatoes everyone will rave about to burgers, and even deviled eggs. With scrambled eggs, however, prepared horseradish will be too chunky to seamlessly mix in, though you could always fold it in with other solid ingredients, omelette style. While horseradish sauce introduces a little texture from the minced root, it's creamy enough to add to raw eggs before scrambling, mostly contributing flavor and aroma. In fact, while it's cooking, horseradish sauce does fill the kitchen with a slightly pungent, vegetal scent, along the lines of cooked cabbage (so heads up for anyone walking in and wondering what that smell is). It's an ingredient where precision isn't an issue. Try a tablespoon or two the first time, and if that's not enough, add more.

While eggs and horseradish sauce work nicely on their own, consider the combo just the beginning of your new upgrade journey. Because horseradish is so often paired with meat — and we're talking breakfast — adding diced bacon or sausage is an easy place to start, seasoned with herbes de Provence as the eggs start to firm. If you've got brats leftover from last weekend's barbecue, those are an even better option. Sauced meats like leftover pulled pork or birria get an umami boost from the horseradish and contribute their own intense flavors. Or go vegetarian with potatoes, beets, or roasted carrots. A sprinkling of grated parmesan, Swiss, or Emmental cheese will balance the sharpness horseradish introduces and enhance your scrambled eggs. Feel free to experiment with different additions.