Tartar Sauce
May 02, 2016
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For most of my childhood, ketchup was the only dressing I ever knew about for fried fish. During that time, my family didn't eat in restaurants very often, and when we did, we didn't usually order fish of any kind. Somewhere along about my freshman year of high school, I discovered fried fish sandwiches at some of the fast food establishments, and those sandwiches were dressed with tartar sauce - a new experience for me. Naturally, I wanted tartar sauce on my fried fish from that point on.
Fast-forward about 40 years, and one day while preparing to eat a meal of fried fish, I discovered that we were completely out of tartar sauce. The meal was ready to go on the table, so a quick run to the nearest grocery store would have guaranteed a meal of cold fish. In keeping with the mantra: "Adapt! Improvise! Overcome!" therefore, I decided to use materials at hand to make my own (simple) version of tartar sauce - thus the following recipe:
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Suggested Equipment:
- Bowl, seal-able, about ½ cup or larger
- Dinner fork
- Common kitchen measures and tools
Ingredients:
- Before I started making my own dill pickles, Heinz® was my preferred brand
- Tone's® preferred
- Optional.
| Item | | Amount |
|---|
| Mayonnaise |
No sugar - Duke's® preferred |
2 |
Tbs |
| Relish |
Dill pickle1 |
2 |
Tbs |
| Onion2 |
Dry, flakes |
1 |
Tbs |
| Garlic2 |
Dry, granulated |
1 |
tsp |
| Cilantro2,3 |
Dry, flakes |
½ |
tsp |
Directions:
Measure all ingredients into bowl and mix thoroughly, using the tines of a dinner fork. Be sure to completely wet the onion flakes.
Seal the bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes, before using.
This sauce can be used immediately, but is better if allowed to "meld" for at least 30 minutes. I've been using this recipe now for probably close to ten years, and have been very satisfied with the results.
With proportions as simple as these, the recipe is easily scaled up or down, but it would be wise to make very little more than you expect to need for the meal. Few private kitchens have the means to either properly package or chemically treat the sauce for long-term storage, whether refrigerated or not.
For a different flavor altogether, you might try substituting a sweet pickle relish for half of the dill. We have also found that substituting sour cream for the mayo in this recipé works just fine, except that you need to cut back on the onion flakes by 50%, otherwise it gets too stiff to spread!
You may also substitute your own, home-made components; although I must say, making your own mayonnaise isn't something I would recommend doing on a regular basis. It's a lot of fun, once in a lifetime, but it could get mighty tedious if you were depending on it for your total supply!
Seafood, Fish, Sauces, Condiments