Strong Muscles Needed for Whisking Horseradish Sauce

Sauce making is not for the weak. To properly make a roux or an emulsion, you need commitment. Bicep commitment. You’ll need your deltoids, triceps, brachioradialis, and all the other complicated-sounding muscles in your arms and hands working at their best, too.

What are you waiting for? If you want to be an effective sauce maker, you need to adjust your work out. 

I recommend the following whisk-muscle building exercises:

Push ups, of course…

Over-the-head beagle lifts…

Bicep curls…

That last photo looks so serious, but then again proper whisking is serious business. Without it your sauce might fail. For example, a weak whisking arm could mean your oils won’t emulsify or your béchamel sauce could separate.

I’ve developed a strong whisking arm and have managed a nice sauce or two, including this horseradish sauce that I made to top a London Broil.

Horseradish Sauce Recipe (inspired by a Food Network recipe)

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. all purpose flour

1 1/2 c. milk

5 tbsp. prepared horseradish

1 tbsp. hot sauce

1 bunch green onions

Directions: Melt butter in medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk together. After one minute, whisk in the milk and continue whisking until it thickens up. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Spoon sauce over London Broil or other meat dish of your choice.

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I used significantly more horseradish than the Food Network recommends in their recipe. I also used quite a bit of hot sauce. (This sauce was pink!) If you don’t want as much kick, then cut both the horseradish and hot sauce amounts in half.

Wondering about those mashed potatoes?

Yes, that large dollop is topped with bacon. Also, I said I wouldn’t mash potatoes with a hand blender, but I was curious and had to try it. Since I prefer lumpy (smashed) potatoes over the smooth variety, I doubt I’ll use the hand blender for mashed potatoes again.