Tartar sauce can be produced in a variety of ways – if you don’t have relish, you can make a great-tasting tartar sauce with a few substitutions! What is the best way to prepare tartar sauce without relish? Tartar sauce without relish can be produced with shallots, capers, minced garlic, and even flavoring ingredients like fish sauce. To achieve the characteristic tangy flavor and chunky texture, you can also add other chopped veggies and proceed with the preparation as directed. Learn how to create tartar sauce without relish and some suggestions for achieving the correct flavor!
Tartar Sauce Basics
Due to its acidic, savory, and umami characteristics, tartar sauce makes for one of the best seafood combinations. Although the basic sauce only requires a few essential components, there are countless ways to modify it. We must first comprehend tartar sauce’s fundamental qualities in order to comprehend how we might manufacture it without relish. Here are a handful of this sauce’s distinguishing qualities!
Tangy Flavor
Tanginess is a distinguishing feature of any superb tartar sauce. Whatever substitutions you make, you must hit the correct tangy notes for the sauce to be considered worthy. As a result, certain basic tartar sauces can be produced with a simple addition of vinegar or any other sour ingredient that can provide the necessary acidity. Will this straightforward sauce be accurate and traditional? No, it won’t, but it will be able to emulate the flavor notes contained in any tartar sauce recipe.
When relish is not used, ingredients like shallots and capers combined with garlic can fill the void in flavor. You can also add a pinch of sugar to the sauce to smooth out the flavor, as is customary when using sweet relish. Of course, you may also alter the mayonnaise in the sauce. Mayonnaise is the one constant in each tartar sauce recipe; it ties and brings all of the sauce’s separate ingredients together.
In most circumstances, you can make this sauce with any type of high-quality mayo. You may even use a great aioli to enhance the flavor of the sauce, especially if you forego the pickles.
Chunky Texture
Contrasting textures are the focus of tartar sauce! You can experiment with the ingredients in the sauce to give it a mild crunch that would also go well with the texture of the dish you are serving it with since it is typically served as a side for seafood, which is naturally tender. For this reason, diced carrots, cucumbers, and shallots can all add a crunchy and chunky texture.
How To Make Traditional Tartar Sauce
Before we get into relish substitutions, let’s look at how classic tartar sauce is produced. This will help you understand the role of the alternatives we’ll be using in the recipes below to get the same texture and flavor as relish.
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tsp pickle relish
- 1 tbsp dill (fresh or frozen), chopped — or 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
Instructions
- In a bowl, add mayonnaise, lemon juice, and sugar. Mix thoroughly until combined.
- Add relish and chopped dill, then mix again until fully incorporated.
- Now add the seasonings and give the tartar sauce a final mix.
- Put a cover on top and let the sauce rest in the fridge for about 1–2 hours before serving.
Notes
While alternative recipes might call for sweet relish instead of pickle relish and remove the additional sugar, this traditional recipe uses pickle relish (with sugar as a separate component). Have you noticed that this recipe is devoid of alliums like onions or garlic? This is due to the fact that the pickle relish, which will be added, will give the sauce an acidic flavor and a chunky texture, and the sauce will already taste fantastic without these ingredients!
How To Make Tartar Sauce Without Relish
Here’s a wonderful and simple dish that uses relish to simulate the flavor and texture qualities of tartar sauce without using it as an ingredient!
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp fish sauce (optional)
- 1 small shallot, finely minced
- 1 clove garlic, grated or very finely minced
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained and chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
- 2 tsp fresh chives, finely chopped
Instructions
Mayo, mustard, lemon juice (seeds removed), and fish sauce should all be combined in a bowl. Even though fish sauce is an optional component, it can greatly enhance the flavor of tartar sauce, particularly if relish is not used.
Shallot, capers, dill, and chives should be minced or finely chopped. Garlic should be minced separately and added to the mayo mixture after that.
After adding salt and pepper, taste the sauce and make any necessary seasoning or ingredient adjustments.
Before serving, cover the sauce and let it sit in the refrigerator for about an hour or so. Enjoy!
Notes
Homemade mayonnaise is called for in some recipes. While this is completely unnecessary, making your own mayo may allow you to have greater control over the overall flavor and texture of the sauce.
For simplicity and convenience, you can make a basic tartar sauce with any high-quality mayo.
We recommend chilling the sauce for at least one hour before serving for the best results. This allows all of the components to thoroughly combine and contributes to the development of a more coherent flavor.
You may have seen a few ingredients marked in the recipe above. These are the particular components that will offer the distinct flavor and texture that relish would normally provide!
The shallots give sweetness and a mild sharpness to the sauce, as well as a somewhat chunky mouthfeel.
Capers are required for a briny flavor. This ingredient is typically used to replace relish in sauces since it adds acidic tones and volume.
Finally, the garlic will tie everything together and create a balanced flavor. It will also add a distinct umami flavor to the sauce, elevating it even further.
If you want sweet relish, you may also add a dash of sugar. Sugar is a fantastic method to balance out the sour flavors, but you may leave it out if you want a simpler sauce.
The fish sauce in this recipe is optional, but we encourage it because it will compliment the flavors of whatever you serve the sauce with, especially fish and chips!
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp fish sauce (optional)
- * 1 small shallot, finely minced
- * 1 clove garlic, grated or very finely minced
- * 1 tablespoon capers, drained and chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
- 2 tsp fresh chives, finely chopped
Shallot, capers, dill, and chives should be minced or finely chopped. Garlic should be minced separately and added to the mayo mixture after that.
After adding salt and pepper, taste the sauce and make any necessary seasoning or ingredient adjustments.
Before serving, cover the sauce and let it sit in the refrigerator for about an hour or so. Enjoy!
Notes
Homemade mayonnaise is called for in some recipes. While this is completely unnecessary, making your own mayo may allow you to have greater control over the overall flavor and texture of the sauce.
For simplicity and convenience, you can make a basic tartar sauce with any high-quality mayo.
We recommend chilling the sauce for at least one hour before serving for the best results. This allows all of the components to thoroughly combine and contributes to the development of a more coherent flavor.
You may have seen a few ingredients marked in the recipe above. These are the particular components that will offer the distinct flavor and texture that relish would normally provide!
The shallots give sweetness and a mild sharpness to the sauce, as well as a somewhat chunky mouthfeel.
Capers are required for a briny flavor. This ingredient is typically used to replace relish in sauces since it adds acidic tones and volume.
Finally, the garlic will tie everything together and create a balanced flavor. It will also add a distinct umami flavor to the sauce, elevating it even further.
If you want sweet relish, you may also add a dash of sugar. Sugar is a fantastic method to balance out the sour flavors, but you may leave it out if you want a simpler sauce.
The fish sauce in this recipe is optional, but we encourage it because it will compliment the flavors of whatever you serve the sauce with, especially fish and chips!
How To Make Tartar Sauce With Minimal Ingredients
Here is another even simpler recipe for tartar sauce that only requires a handful of ingredients!
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp shallots, finely chopped
- 1 tsp cucumbers, finely chopped
- ½ tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp yellow mustard
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
Combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, white vinegar, and mustard in a mixing basin.
Shallots and cucumbers, finely chopped Mix into the sauce thoroughly.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, then adjust the sauce’s flavor accordingly.
Refrigerate the sauce for at least an hour before serving. Enjoy!
Taste Differences In Tartar Sauce With And Without Relish
Even though the aforementioned recipes don’t call for relish, their acidity and sharpness will nevertheless provide a recognizable flavor. While there will undoubtedly be some textural variances and you might not get the “typical flavor,” most diners won’t be able to tell the sauces apart from classic tartar sauce when they are served with batter-fried fish or shellfish.
As previously said, the garlic and alternative condiments will mix the tastes while the shallots, cucumbers, and capers will offer a distinctive mouthfeel that you get from any regular tartar sauce recipe. Theoretically, you could experiment with various acidic components to achieve a flavor profile that is somewhat similar to that of classic tartar sauce created with relish. You’re welcome to create your own tartar sauce by using your creativity!
Related Questions
Tartar sauce can be made without relish in a variety of ways. Here are some related questions we thought you might have now that you know how to get the most out of the flavors of a bespoke tartar sauce.
How long does homemade tartar sauce last?
Homemade tartar sauce only keeps for two weeks in the fridge because it doesn’t contain any preservatives. For the greatest flavor and texture, keep the sauce in an airtight container and try to use it up within a week. However, as mayonnaise is a crucial component, we do not advise freezing tartar sauce due to the changes in consistency it may experience.
Can you add other condiments to improve the flavor of tartar sauce?
Certainly, Worcestershire sauce and even some spicy sauce are acceptable additions to tartar sauce. Although it may seem out of place, some cooks, including Food Network star Gordan Ramsey, add a dash of hot sauce to their tartar sauces for an extra kick and a deeper taste.