Add This Ingredient To Tartar Sauce For A Fish Sandwich That Kicks Back

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Tartar sauce is a fish sandwich's best friend, but other than the pickles in the mayo-based sauce, it's not exactly what you'd call punchy. So we spoke to celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian, who's got a new cookbook coming out called "Original Food: Recapturing the Joy of Eating," at the New York Wine and Food Festival recently. We asked him about the one ingredient he would use to give tartar sauce a flavorful kick, and in a single word, he answered Tabasco (along with one bonus alternative).

He tells us, "See, it's a mayonnaise-based dish. You already have pickles (in the tartar sauce). So if you want to give it a kick and heat that doesn't diffuse, chopped Fresno peppers or Tabasco, because anything else you add to it is going to get liquidy." 

Tabasco, which is made from tabasco peppers, is known for its very strong vinegar flavor and heat. As you already know, plenty of people in the U.K. enjoy pairing fried fish with malt vinegar, making this specific vinegar-heavy hot sauce a natural supplement to tartar sauce. And if you decide you'd like to go with the Fresno peppers, you'll want to keep in mind that they have heat comparable to a jalapeño, in case you're trying to decide how many of them you'd like to add.

Tartar sauce is extremely easy to make at home with three basic ingredients: mayonnaise, dill pickle relish, and lemon juice. That's really all you need for a basic version, though many recipes typically contain fresh dill as well, which adds a fresh flavor on top. After that, you can add whatever you like, including chef Geoffrey Zakarian's suggestion of Tabasco sauce or Fresno peppers. We also like adding ingredients like whole grain mustard, Old Bay seasoning, horseradish, and more (here are some other ingredients to add to your tartar sauce).

And though most people primarily associate tartar sauce with fried fish, you can use it for other dishes like egg salad, roast beef sandwiches, and crab cakes. With the added spice from Tabasco, it's even more versatile because of that extra hit of acid and heat. Tartar sauce makes a terrific condiment, but whatever you do, don't confuse it with powdered cream of tartar. That would actually be tartaric acid found in the spice aisle; it's made from grapes and commonly used for baking.