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Think store-bought fry sauce is boring? Think again. Michael Vignola, corporate executive chef for Catch Hospitality Group, gave Mashed some great advice. He recommends adding “relish and a pinch of cinnamon” to any store-bought fry sauce. If you’re unfamiliar, “fry sauce” refers to a combo of ketchup and mayo. Some recipes like to add extra ingredients, like paprika or Worcestershire sauce, though ketchup and mayo are key.
If you want to zhuzh up your store-bought bottle and make it taste just as good as homemade, follow Vignola’s advice. Relish will give your sauce a briny flavor and a nice chunky texture, if the smooth sauce was boring to you. There are many different kinds of relish, though. So long as you have vinegar, sugar, and a veggie, you’re all set. (Some relish can be made with fruit, but you’ll want to use veggies for fry sauce.) Popular vegetables include pickles, onions, and cabbage. If you’d rather not make anything, you can just use a bottle of store-bought relish.
Cinnamon is the more controversial ingredient here. While many cinnamon guides will classify it as a dessert spice, it actually has a long history with tomatoes. It’s a staple ingredient in Greek tomato sauce, and will give your sauce a dimension of flavor you never knew existed.
Other ways to elevate store-bought fry sauce
If you don’t like cinnamon and want something spicier, try cayenne pepper — which, coincidentally, tastes great in store-bought cookie dough. You can also toss in some sweet paprika and garlic powder, like Food Network suggests. Only add it all to the bottle if you’ve been doing this for a while. If you’re still experimenting with different spices and flavors, then start with just small pinches, and add them to whatever you have on the side of your dish, not the bottle itself. You don’t want to ruin a perfectly good bottle of fry sauce.
You’ll also want to pay attention to your fry sauce’s ingredient list. Some fry sauces, like Stephen’s Double Dip Fry Sauce, already contain garlic and paprika. That doesn’t have to stop you from adding more, but adding different ingredients might make it taste more unique. If you don’t want the texture of chopped-up veggies in your fry sauce, but still crave the taste of relish, we have a suggestion: pickle juice (from only the best store-bought pickles, of course).
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