Give Bold BBQ Sauce A Fast Food Twist With Just One Easy Addition

Finding the right sauce for burgers, fries, and even meats can be a bit of a chore. Many barbecue sauces are too sweet, too vinegary, or too peppery to be versatile enough for many different dishes. Luckily, BBQ sauce makes a great ingredient when mixing up your own condiment. For example, you can get a nice thick texture and boost the flavor of BBQ sauce with one simple addition: mayonnaise. Before you doubt this tasty blend, keep in mind that multiple fast food restaurants use mayo as a base for their secret house sauces. This mixture will give you something akin to a Raising Cane's sauce, and it goes with so many different dishes.

To make this sauce combo, simply select a well-rated BBQ sauce with strong flavor, then add about two parts mayo for every one part BBQ sauce. If you want a smokier taste, you can make it more of a 50/50 sauce. That's all there is to it, though you can add other condiments and ingredients to adjust the flavor to your liking. After you mix them thoroughly, refrigerate the combination for an hour to get the right texture. You can store it in the fridge for up to a week. 

Use the mixture as a dip for fried fish, on top of burgers, or with any BBQ meat you're currently enjoying. This sauce is so versatile that it can even go with veggies, such as corn on the cob, or as a salad dressing.

It's no wonder famed Alabama White Sauce calls for mayo and is popular with BBQs. One of the reasons that mayonnaise is a fresh component every BBQ sauce needs is that it adds a creamy tanginess that many BBQ sauces lack. Some barbecue sauce also has a smoky note to it that is strong enough to stand above the mayo's vinegar flavor without overwhelming the pleasing balance of the condiment blend. The thickness of the mayo turns BBQ sauce into more of a dipping-friendly texture, which is why it's a great spread for sandwiches as well as a dip for potato wedges. Sometimes called a "mayocue" sauce, the strong taste is even richer if you use homemade mayo.

This flavor mixture has become so beloved that even Heinz came out with its own pre-mixed "mayocue." Other restaurant sauces that utilize these ingredients as a base include Campfire Sauce from Red Robin, Chick-fil-A Sauce, and, of course, Canes' sauce. Luckily, the fact that this version only uses two ingredients means you don't have to sit in a drive-thru line to enjoy the rich and spiced flavors.

If you're looking to specifically make a Raising Cane's copycat sauce that you can keep on hand, there are a few more ingredients you can add along with mayo. Many online clones of the sauce also include Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, and mustard. Other copycat sauces suggest honey as a sweetener and lemon juice for tartness. Just remember that the one thing they have in common is a mixture of mayo and BBQ sauce, so if you want that fast-food magic, those two ingredients are the place to start.