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Tartar Sauce

Tartar Sauce

This tartar sauce is creamy and tangy with crunchy minced dill pickles, minced onion, and bright lemon juice. It comes together in minutes and can be made a day or two ahead; keep chilled and serve with seafood, fried fish, or sandwiches.
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Prep Time:5 minutes
Total Time:5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2/3 cup dill pickles minced (see note 1)
  • 3 tablespoons onion minced
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon dill pickle juice
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, minced dill pickles, and minced onion with the lemon juice until evenly combined.
  2. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper (the recipe suggests ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper); cover and chill until serving time.

Notes

Pickles:I love a crunchy dill pickle (Milwaukee’s brand petite kosher dill pickles, if you can find them). Substitute sweet gherkins or pickle relish to taste, if you prefer that.
Lemon juice:Or substitute lime juice, vinegar, olive juice, or more pickle juice.
Yield:One batch of the recipe makes approximately 1 ¼ cups of tartar sauce.
Storage:Keep the sauce in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat.
Leftovers:Store any leftover sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Make ahead:Can definitely be made a day or two before you need it (the flavors will have more time to blend).
Add-ins:It won’t be classic, but it will still be delicious! Try minced fresh herbs like parsley, chives, or dill. Or try capers, chopped olives, sliced scallions, a squirt of mustard, or a dash of hot sauce.