Homemade Tartar Sauce (Easy!)
Looking for a tried and true homemade tartar sauce recipe? This one is adapted from a culinary school recipe, but is simple enough for anybody to make at home!!
This Homemade Tartar Sauce Recipe is Perfect For Fish Fries!
Friday fish fries are common at Midwest Catholic churches and VFW halls during Lent. And even though my family isn’t Catholic, we love attending fish fries!
The fish is almost always delicious, and the people watching can’t be beat. The only thing I don’t love about the tradition is the tartar sauce.
A few churches will make homemade sauce, but most of them serve pre-packaged tartar sauce. I got the crazy idea to make my own tartar sauce and take it with me to fish fries this year, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
What is Tartar Sauce?
Tartar sauce is a creamy condiment typically served with seafood, especially fried fish. The base of the sauce is mayonnaise, with mix-ins like herbs, pickles and capers. The tangy flavor complements the richness of fried fish very well.
Why is it called Tartar Sauce?
The exact origin of the name “tartar sauce” is a little murky, but some believe it to be derived from the word “tartare,” which refers to a raw meat or fish dish. Tartare is typically seasoned with herbs and capers, so over time, the name “tartar” was associated with the sauce that used these same ingredients, thus, “tartar sauce.”
What makes this Tartar Sauce Recipe easy to make?
This recipe is adapted from the one in my culinary school textbook, with just a few changes to make it easier for the home cook. I’ve substituted white vinegar for the white wine in the culinary school recipe, because who wants to open a bottle of white wine for 1 teaspoon? Not me!
I’ve also used Worcestershire sauce in place of the anchovy paste called for in the culinary school book. Personally, I love anchovy paste and it’s usually in my fridge, but I’m willing to bet that more people have Worcestershire sauce around. And since Worcestershire is made with anchovies, good enough!
One last change I made was to omit the chervil called for in the culinary school recipe. Chervil is hard to find at most grocery stores, and I don’t think it’s integral to this recipe.
Homemade Tartar Sauce Recipe Ingredients
- mayonnaise
- dill pickles (also the key ingredient for my egg salad with pickles)
- chives (leftover chives can be used to make seafood pasta salad or pimento mac and cheese)
- capers
- Dijon mustard
- tarragon
- lemon juice
- white vinegar
- Worcestershire sauce
- yellow mustard
- cayenne and black pepper
How to make Homemade Tartar Sauce
It’s as easy as adding all of the ingredients to a bowl and stirring! And if you want to make it even EASIER, you could use a food processor to chop up the herbs, capers and pickles. That’s your call!
How to serve this Recipe for Tartar Sauce
While we typically associate tartar sauce with fried fish, it’s actually a pretty versatile sauce if you open your mind to the possibilities. Think about the ingredients – mayo, herbs, pickles, capers – and what other types of dishes those ingredients might pair with. Some ideas to get you started:
- Fried fish, of course!
- Seafood cakes, like salmon cakes.
- Fish tacos
- Sandwiches and burgers, like a salmon sandwich
- French fries or roasted potatoes
Storing Homemade Tartar Sauce
How long does tartar sauce last?
It will keep as long as the individual components stay fresh. If you start with nice fresh herbs, the prepared tartar sauce should keep about one week in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Can you put tartar sauce in the freezer?
Tartar sauce is best stored in the refrigerator rather than the freezer. Freezing tartar sauce may cause it to separate and become watery when thawed, so I don’t recommend it.
Tartar Sauce Recipe FAQ
Traditional tartar sauce is usually made with a base of mayonnaise combined with chopped pickles, herbs, capers, lemon juice, and sometimes Dijon mustard and onions. Exact ingredients and proportions vary based on regional and personal preferences.
Cream of tartar is a powdery white substance used for baking. It helps whipped egg whites hold their shape, and is often used to make French macarons. Tartar sauce is a creamy condiment served with fried fish.
These two terms are often used interchangeably, but they can have slight differences based on the region they are served in. Tartar sauce typically consists of mayo, pickles, capers and herbs. Tartare sauce is a sauce commonly served with steak tartare, and is similar but may have a different proportion of ingredients.
When eating rich, heavy foods like fried fish, our taste buds crave something light and acidic to balance that richness. The tanginess of tartar sauce adds a burst of acidic flavor to the fish, creating a delightful balance.
I remembered that my culinary school made a delicious tartar sauce to serve with fish and crab cakes, so I dug out my old textbooks. But I noticed the recipe is technically for “remoulade sauce.
However, after much research on the difference between tartar sauce and remoulade sauce, I’ve come to the conclusion that the lines are very blurred.
Some sources say that remoulade sauce contains more herbs, but then a lot of tartar sauce recipes have herbs, too.
Both sauces usually contain mayonnaise, pickles and capers. Some sources even say that tartar sauce is a TYPE of remoulade.
Truthfully, I’m a bit confused, and I’m referring to this sauce as a tartar sauce, because I had to choose one or the other.
Homemade Tartar Sauce (Easy)
Looking for a tried and true homemade tartar sauce recipe? This one is adapted from culinary school, but is simple enough for anybody to make at home!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped dill pickle
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
- 2 teaspoons capers, drained and chopped
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
- Pinch cayenne
- Pinch ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to medium bowl and stir until well combined. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving, or up to 1 week.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 2 tablespoonsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 143Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 198mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
Sounds great. Can you please tell us how much of each ingredient to use? Thanks.
Hi Marie – there’s a recipe box with exact amounts towards the end of the post.