Tartar sauce is a condiment often served alongside deep-fried seafood. It is a simple combination of a mayonnaise, pickle, and lemon juice base that can easily be flavored with additional herbs or spices. Tartar sauce is a basic sauce that requires mixing but no cooking, making it doable for even the most inexperienced chef.
Ingredients
Mayonnaise is the main base of tartar sauce, so select a jar of high quality mayonnaise with a taste you really enjoy. Since the majority of tartar sauce's flavor comes from the mayonnaise, you won't be able to sneak in a low quality variety without impacting the sauce's flavor. Do not use salad dressing spread or fat-free mayonnaise. They are too sweet to give tartar sauce its sharp flavor. Making your own tartar sauce allows you to customize it to your flavor preferences, so choose your preferred type of pickle, such as bread-and-butter or cornichons. You can also save preparation time by using prepared pickle relish, so you won't have to do any chopping. Purchase a fresh lemon to squeeze juice from, rather than relying on bottled lemon juice concentrate. It will give the tartar sauce a cleaner, fresher flavor.
Preparation
Measure out the ingredients carefully to ensure you maintain the correct balance of flavors in the tartar sauce. Chop up enough pickles to make up 6 tbsp. or measure out the equal amount of prepared relish. Add the chopped pickles or relish to a bowl, along with 1 cup mayonnaise. Cut a lemon in half and squeeze out the juice into a separate bowl. Measure out 2 tbsp. (one medium lemon should give you about 3 tbsp. juice), then add it to the pickles and mayonnaise. Stir the mixture together so the pickles and juice evenly distribute throughout the mayonnaise. You can also add in more seasoning to customize it (such as hot sauce, chopped herbs, or ground spices). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving. If you serve it immediately after preparing, the sauce flavors won't be blended yet and it will simply taste like mayonnaise.
Storage
If you don't use up all the tartar sauce immediately, you can store the extra in the refrigerator. Since it has a mayonnaise base, you won't be able to freeze it because the oil in the mayonnaise will separate and make the sauce watery. Transfer the sauce into an airtight container, such as a jar or plastic container with a lid. Keep it in the refrigerator for up to one week for the best tasting results. If the mayonnaise begins to separate and have a liquid layer across the top, simply whisk or stir the sauce until it's smooth before serving.
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