Extra Tangy Tartar Sauce Recipe - Serious Eats

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Extra Tangy Tartar Sauce Recipe

Think beyond seafood—creamy, tangy, and briny tartar sauce is good on so many things.

By Joshua Bousel Joshua Bousel Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina. Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process Updated February 19, 2025 Save WRITE A REVIEW Print Close

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Why It Works

• Letting the sauce sit for 30 minutes after mixing helps the flavors meld.
• Using both capers and lemon juice ads a bright, briny tanginess that complements the creaminess of the mayo.

I've always equated tartar sauce only with seafood, and not being a big fan of our friends of the sea, my run-ins with this sauce have been few. Since I'm learning to become a better seafood eater, I thought it was time to fold tartar into my diet—and lo and behold, I found out this stuff can be great on so many things.

If you trace tartar back to its hazy origins, you'll find it was most likely a French concoction to complement steak tartar. I formulated a fairly standard tartar recipe—mayo mixed with pickles, shallots, capers, parsley, lemon juice, and Dijon—and felt free to use this creamy, slightly sour, and briny sauce on whatever I felt like.

I did fry up the standard fish and chips for my wife, while I took the sauce on a run with chicken. We both agreed that it was amazing with everything that we dunked into it, and went through nearly half the batch in one sitting. The other half is still sitting in the fridge, knowing it can find good uses beyond seafood—like topping burgers, a dip for veggies, or spread onto sandwiches, just to name this first things to come to mind.

August 2012

Recipe Details

Extra Tangy Tartar Sauce Recipe

Prep 5 mins Active 15 mins Resting Time 30 mins Total 35 mins Serves 24 servings Makes 1 1/2 cups Save Print Keep Screen Awake

• 1 cup mayonnaise

• 1/3 cup minced dill pickles

• 3 tablespoons minced shallots

• 2 tablespoons drained capers, minced

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley

• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed juice from 1 lemon

• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

1. In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise, dill pickles, shallots, capers, parsley, lemon juice, mustard, black pepper, salt, and hot sauce. Let sit for 30 minutes, then use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
65	Calories
7g	Fat
1g	Carbs
0g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label ×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 24
Amount per serving
Calories	65
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g	9%
Saturated Fat 1g	5%
Cholesterol 4mg	1%
Sodium 162mg	7%
Total Carbohydrate 1g	0%
Dietary Fiber 0g	1%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 1mg	5%
Calcium 6mg	0%
Iron 0mg	1%
Potassium 17mg	0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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