How to Make Delicious Homemade Tartar Sauce

Create a fresh tartar sauce to accompany any fish or seafood dish.

This everyday condiment is actually a classic French sauce. Made with fresh ingredients, "sauce tartare," or tartar sauce, is a staple to accompany fish or seafood. Instead of reaching for a jar of commercially prepared tartar sauce, take a few minutes to create your own. A bottled version simply can't compete with a fresh, homemade sauce. You will also be able to modify the sauce to your taste or to accent a particular type of fish. Most of the work involves making the mayonnaise base; the secret is to add the oil sparingly and slowly at the beginning of the process to create the emulsion.

Things You'll Need

• Mayonnaise:
• Blender or food processor
• 2 egg yolks at room temperature
• ½ tbsp. vinegar
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. dry mustard
• Pinch of cayenne
• 2 cups salad oil, such as canola, safflower or light olive oil (not extra virgin)
• 1 tbsp. vinegar, optional
• 1 to 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• White pepper to taste
• Tartar Sauce:
• Food processor or blender
• Knife
• Spatula
• Airtight container
• 2 cups freshly made mayonnaise
• ¼ cup chopped cornichons (French sweet pickles)
• 1 tbsp. chopped capers
• 1 medium shallot, coarsely chopped
• ½ tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 ½ tbsp. chopped fresh dill
• 2 tbsp. chopped chives
• 2 tbsp. chopped flat parsley
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• ½ tsp. fresh ground white pepper
• ¼ cup olive oil

Instructions

Mayonnaise

1. Place the two egg yolks, ½ tbsp. vinegar, ½ tsp. each of salt and dry mustard and a pinch of cayenne in a blender or food processor. Mix until it forms a smooth paste.

2. Keep the machine running and slowly add the salad oil in small dribbles. Pause about 30 seconds between each addition.

3. Gradually add more oil in a thin stream once the mixture has started to thicken.

4. Continue to add the oil until the mayonnaise has formed a thick consistency. You may not need to use all of the oil. If the mayonnaise is too thick, add 1 tbsp. of vinegar and incorporate it. Flavor to your taste with 1 to 2 tbsp. of lemon juice and some white pepper.

Tartar Sauce

1. Place the cornichons, capers and shallot in a food processor to chop and combine them or chop them by hand and place them in a blender.

2. Chop the herbs by hand and add them together with the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice and white pepper to the blender or food processor. Mix for about 8 seconds until well-blended. Scrape down the sides with a spatula.

3. Run the machine and slowly add the ¼ cup of olive oil in a thin stream.

4. Scrape the tartar sauce from the bowl of the machine and place it in an airtight container. Refrigerate the sauce and allow the flavors to meld for 24 hours before use.

Tips & Warnings

• Feel free to substitute or omit any of ingredients in the tartar sauce to suit your taste. Other ingredients often found in tartar sauce include chopped eggs or chopped olives. Another French sauce called a remoulade is essentially a tartar sauce with the addition of a chopped anchovy.

• To prevent any risk of salmonella when using raw eggs, select only fresh, refrigerated grade A or AA eggs with intact shells.

References

• Helpwithcooking.com: Tartar Sauce
• Food Timeline History: Tartar Sauce
• Stella Culinary: How to Make Mayonnaise, Aioli and Its Derivatives
• WhatsCookingAmerica.net: Homemade Mayonnaise
• "Fish Without a Doubt"; Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore; 2008

Resources

• seafoodfish.com: Classic Seafood Recipes and Fish Recipes: Sauce Tartare