Tartar Sauce

We've seemed to come to some consensus what we make as cocktail sauce with a great deal of similarity. How about tartar sauce?
I grew up eating less then sweet tartar sauces here in Miami when it was the fishing capital of the world during the 50's and 60's. Most tartar sauces back then used chopped dill pickles/dill relish in a heavy mayo base. There was a hint of lemon and sometimes capers, but it wasn't sweet and varied little from cafeterias to seafood restaurants. This too has changed in recent years with sweet pickle relish, chopped onions and some form of sweetner to make a sweet tartar sauce as a prevailing taste. This was the flavor that one associated with the packets that came with frozen fish and fish sticks that called for mixing with regular mayo years ago. This is what my kids liked....(My girls hated any kind of fish), but loved tartar sauce as a dipping sauce and sandwich spread. Just wondering what you folks consider as tartar sauce.

Mayo + dill relish (chopped onion, lemon or capers strictly optional)

I like dill relish on or with almost anything. I am not really a sweet pickle fan at all.

Mayo, grated onion, chopped dill pickle and a small bit of parsley.

We like ours on the slightly sweet side. so we use gherkins or bread and butter pickles, a bit of Dijon mustard, parsley, (tarragon, sorrel, and chervil, if we have them  fresh), capers, lemon juice, ( salt, pepper  to taste), and a sieved hard boiled egg. The addition of anchovies and shallots makes a somewhat different but excellent sauce. All of this is on a base of Hellmans Mayo. 

Cheers, John 

1/2 mayo, 1/2 sour cream, dill relish, lemon juice, finely chopped onion and lemon juice- this combo keeps almost forever when refridgerated in a tightly closed jar!

I make:
 
1/2 Mayonnaise, 1/2 Miracle Whip
Sweet Pickle Relish
Garlic Powder
Dash of Old Bay
Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper

Mayonnaise, pickle relish, fresh dill, lemon juice.

I hate tartar sauce, which is shocking because I love mayonnaise.

If I were going to eat it, it would have dill relish.

stricken_detective


I hate tartar sauce, which is shocking because I love mayonnaise.

If I were going to eat it, it would have dill relish.

Agreed...tartar sauce would be the very last of my seafood accouterments. There are so many better sauces to use...or just eat it sans condiment! Sashimi anyone?

My homemade is

mayo
minced:
dill pickle
red onion
capers
cracked pepper, salt
thyme
lemon juice

I love Tartar Sauce!!  I make mine thusly:

1 cup Hellmans Mayo
3 TBS. sweet relish or chopped bread and butter pickles
the zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 TBS. fresh chopped dill
2 TBS. chopped onion
1 TBS granulated garlic
fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste.

  Capers are optional.

David O.

I am in total agreement with you DawnT!  I grew up eating the one you did.  I hate the sweet kind especially the ones that come in packets with frozen fish with sweetner...ugh..

I couldn't remember last night which company started it, but my better half recalled Mrs. Paul's as the one that packed those sweetened relish packets with portions and fish sticks. Another memory of that time was many places still used the original Key West/Miami style for fried fish....pancake mix.

EatingTheRoad

stricken_detective


I hate tartar sauce, which is shocking because I love mayonnaise.

If I were going to eat it, it would have dill relish.

Agreed...tartar sauce would be the very last of my seafood accouterments. There are so many better sauces to use...or just eat it sans condiment! Sashimi anyone?

Just a fresh lemon wedge is good enough for me!

I love tarter sauce. But, I can never make it as good as the tarter sauce they serve at "Big Shucks" in Dallas.
I love their tarter sauce on all their fried seafood dishes.

"mland520", is your sauce like the sauce served at "Aw Shucks" and "Big Shucks" in Dallas?

My own recipe has mayo, sweet pickle relish, a little minced onion, a dab of yellow mustard, a spoonful of the relish juice, and finely chopped salad olives. That's the way I like it, but I will have to try a dill sauce next time.

I make mine similar to what others have mentioned - finely chopped celery and onion, dill relish, lemon juice, and mayo.  I really think the lemon juice is a must, and though I never thought of it, I had some tartar sauce recently at a restaurant, and I think they might have put a clove of garlic through a press and added to what tasted like the same ingredients I mentioned - Never thought about garlic, but it was a nice touch. 

What is dill relish? And can you give me a brand name?

Cheers, John 

Looks just like regular relish John, just made with dill pickles and not sweet. Down here we have Mount Olive and store brands.
 
 
http://www.mtolivepickles.com/products/product-styles/dill-relish

TwinWillow- since I have not eaten at either of those establishments- I have no idea if mine tastes like theirs or not, but would love to find out. I do not like the "sweet" version that you get at so many of the local fish serving places.
  In my area the dill relish can be found, usually on the top shelf in the pickle aisle. Heize makes one, Best Maid, and also there are several house brands to chose from. Any or all are quite acceptable. My sister-in-law turned me on to this type of recipe- I added the sour cream on my own- makes a lighter sauce and with the lemon juice and the relish there is enough acid in it to have it keep well for a very long time! Really good on fish tacos too! 

seafarer john


What is dill relish? And can you give me a brand name?

Cheers, John 

Vlasic puts out both a Sweet Relish and a Dill Relish.
 
Sweet Relish picture:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10308923
 
Dill Relish picture:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10308958

mland520


TwinWillow- since I have not eaten at either of those establishments- I have no idea if mine tastes like theirs or not, but would love to find out. I do not like the "sweet" version that you get at so many of the local fish serving places.
  In my area the dill relish can be found, usually on the top shelf in the pickle aisle. Heize makes one, Best Maid, and also there are several house brands to chose from. Any or all are quite acceptable. My sister-in-law turned me on to this type of recipe- I added the sour cream on my own- makes a lighter sauce and with the lemon juice and the relish there is enough acid in it to have it keep well for a very long time! Really good on fish tacos too! 

 

You've got to try eating at one of the Big Shucks or, Aw Shucks. Their tarter sauce is tangy not sweet.
There is a Big Shucks on Coit Road in Richardson in front of the Wholefoods store, a Big Shucks on Mockingbird between Skillman and Abrams and the original, Aw Shucks on Greenville Avenue across from the Grenada theater.

Mayo
Dill Pickle Relish or chopped dill pickles
Granulated Garlic
Lemon juice
Chopped onion
Worcestershire sauce

I think in most cases it was always easier to find Sweet pickle relish. Billyb

BillyB


Mayo
Dill Pickle Relish or chopped dill pickles
Granulated Garlic
Lemon juice
Chopped onion
Worcestershire sauce

I think in most cases it was always easier to find Sweet pickle relish. There is a Fish and chip house in Mexico, the Fried fish is real good but the tartar sauce is so bad I have to bring my own.

Wow, there are some great tartar sauce versions here. I will definitely be trying them out! I too prefer a sauce that's not so sweet. TWillow, I have eaten at Big Shucks & Aw shucks, but never ordered anything that came with tartar sauce. Now I'm hankering to go there & try it out. Hmmmm... maybe we should see how many RF'ers live in/around Dallas & have a get together! I get jealous reading about all the good times other RF'ers have in cities far away!

Michael Hoffman


Mayonnaise, pickle relish, fresh dill, lemon juice.

I tried making some the other day WITH Horseradish !

For shrimp I like ketchup and horseradish.
Maybe a little Habenero pepper mixed in.
Always use NO SALT ketchup. It tastes better. Try it.

I also like plain yellow mustard on fries.

Twin, my old bud "Dirty Bob" started Aw Shucks but RIP passed away back in 2003. If he was still around I could get the sauce recipe.

I'm w/ 6star about the mayo and dill relish although to make it Texas Style add some chopped pickled jalapenos and a bit of lime juice.

Another variation is to use Claussen relish instead of regular dill.
Joe

Cut some pineapple rings about 1/4 inch and grill them until they dry out a little and get a char. Then dice them up fine and add some fresh diced jalapenos. Then add some diced pickled cherry peppers. Add some lime juice and mix in the Mayonnaise. You can also add some fresh dill or substitute the Jalapeno with Habenero or Serrano...Russ

Sounds good Russ! Kinda like Tartar Al Pastor... kinda sorta.
Joe

Well, I may have discovered what the old style tartar sauce was made of in these parts during the 50's and 60's. Thanks to an old friend of my Dad's who was a charter boat captain that used to also fish for his own restaurant.  From what he told me, the base of the tartar sauces back then was nothing but very finely chopped cabbage and onion and then dill relish and heavy mayo was folded in to consistancy. Other flavors such as capers, lemon juice, green pepper, even almond extract were often added as variations. This combination created the crunchy, unsweet texture that I initally described and sure sounds like what I remember.