Tartar Sauce at Home with 4 Ingredients

“Too easy!!” This phrase is commonly used in the Army. It means, “I am beyond capable of accomplishing this task because it isn’t overly complicated. HUZZAH!!” Soldiers have a way of making things efficient. They also have a way of  being humorously sarcastic. While I could very well draw this Tartar Sauce recipe out to some exhaustive dissertation, I won’t. After all, it’s too easy, so I’m going to keep it simple. 

Let’s get it done.

What is Tartar Sauce?

Tartar Sauce is a condiment which usually accompanies fish or shellfish dishes. It isn’t a sauce you coat things in, however. Typically, it’s used as a dipping sauce. 

What You’ll Need for this Tartar Sauce Recipe

The foundation of Tartar Sauce is real mayonnaise. Now, if you even begin to ask me if you can use a “whipped salad dressing”, you and I are going to have a misunderstanding. Mayo is the only acceptable base. I have spoken.

In addition to mayonnaise, you’ll need dill or sweet relish. The relish you use depends on the types of flavors you like. My family is one that prefers savory flavors as opposed to sweet, so I opt for dill relish. However, because there’s an element of sweetness to this condiment, I add a pinch of sugar. Using sweet relish would make it too sweet for my family’s taste. If you lean more towards a sweeter palate, feel free to use a sweet relish- just omit the pinch of sugar. There’s also the option to use a bread and butter relish. Experiment. 

To round out the rest of the recipe, you’ll need freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt, that pinch of sugar I mentioned earlier, and my little twist: dill. Fresh or dry dill is fine. Seems like I always have the dried stuff on hand, so that’s what I’m using here. 

Combine the Ingredients

Add the mayo, relish, salt, a pinch of sugar, and dill to a small mixing bowl.

Squeeze a teaspoon of lemon juice into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients. 

Mix, then Allow the Sauce to Develop

Use a rubber spatula to stir everything together until well blended. Because I want to make sure everything is mixed in well, I prefer to use the spatula. You can use a whisk or spoon to accomplish this step.

Once the sauce has been mixed, you need to give the flavors a chance to hang out and get to know each other. Since tartar sauce tastes best cold, cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for 30 minutes to one hour. 

Serve the Tartar Sauce with Your Favorite Fish or Seafood

Serve your sauce straight from the mixing bowl, or transfer it to cute little jars. 

I serve this sauce with Fish and Chips. Dipping fried flounder or fried clam strips into this Tartar Sauce is also a great idea! Fish sandwich lover? This is going to be your friend. Using this Tartar Sauce in your tuna salad, deviled egg mixture, or potato salad are also great suggestions.

The sauce will keep in the fridge for one week. Be sure to scoop out what you plan to serve, don’t dip your food into the sauce and later store the same sauce. 

Pin this Tartar Sauce recipe for later. It’s sure to come in handy for your future fish dishes. Too easy!

Four Ingredient Tartar Sauce

Marta Rivera at Sense & Edibility

5 from 20 votes

Simple to make and a delicious accompaniment to your favorite fish or seafood.

Servings: 1 1/2 cups

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

chilling time (to allow the flavors to marry) 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup dill pickle or sweet relish
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon dill
• pinch granulated sugar (omit if using sweet relish)
• kosher salt to taste, optional

Instructions 

• In a small mixing bowl, use a rubber spatula to stir together the mayo, relish, lemon juice, dill, and sugar.

  Stir until well blended.
• Season the mixture to taste with the kosher salt.
• Transfer the mixed Tartar Sauce to a food storage container (or cover the bowl in plastic) and store in the fridge for 30 minutes. This gives the sauce's flavors a chance to meld together.
• Serve as a condiment with your favorite seafood dishes. Use the Tartar Sauce within a week of mixing.

Nutrition

Calories: 1635kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 4gFat: 168gSaturated Fat: 26gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 2754mgPotassium: 140mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 349IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 18mgIron: 2mg

Course Miscellany

Cuisine European

Keyword fish, seafood, tartar sauce

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