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Sunset Mariner

Mariner's Cookbook


One Thousand Island Dressing

Jun 04, 2025

by Mariner

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My Honey and I are quite fond of grilled Reuben sandwiches, but that's pretty much the only dish in which we use One Thousand Island Dressing. Since we rarely have Reuben's more than every couple of months, we end up with a partial bottle of dressing sitting in the refrigerator much longer than we should. We usually end up throwing it out. The solution to this problem is obvious: make our own dressing in a quantity suitable for a single meal.

Monte Matthews, posting to ChewingTheFat, credits one Sophie Lalonde with having invented the original recipe, circum 1904. Sophie, a resident of Clayton, New York - a town on the US side of the Thousand Islands region - is said to have served the dressing to her husband's fishing clients as part of their participation in his guided fishing trips. Mr. Matthews also complains that the many thousands of posted recipes claiming the name "Thousand Island", are unfaithful to that original recipe.

My version is one of the "unfaithful".

Suggested Equipment:

  • Your favorite blender (I like to use my stick blender).
  • A suitable, seal-able mixing/storage container - something to hold up to a cup of dressing.
  • Common kitchen tools and measures.

Ingredients:

  1. Most people prefer a sweet pickle relish, but you can use practically any pickle relish. I prefer one made by chopping a basic, unsweetened, home-made pickle to which I add a sugar-free sweetener.

  2. Almost any vinegar will do, even distilled white vinegar, if you prefer.

  3. Your favorite hot sauce. I use my own.
1/2 cup Mayonnaise, Sugar free
2 Tbs Tomato Ketchup
2 Tbs Pickle relish1
1 tsp Cider vinegar2
1/2 tsp Onion powder
1/4 tsp Garlic powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Hot sauce3

Directions:

  1. Reserve the pickle relish, and measure the remaining ingredients into your blending container. Blend until smooth.
  2. Add the pickle relish, mixing with a suitable tool until the relish is evenly distributed throughout the volume of the dressing.
  3. Seal the container, and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour befrore use.

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This recipe yeilds about 3/4 cup of dressing

As with all of our home-made dressings, this one contains no preservatives. Use or discard within 3 days.

Catagories: Dressings, Salads