Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Authentic Utah Fry Sauce! Dipping Heaven!

Awhile back I posted about Mississippi Comeback Sauce and how it apparently goes with EVERYTHING....except Cheerios.

When I read the ingredients it reminded me an awful lot of what we in Utah refer to as Fry Sauce. If you have ever been to Utah and ordered french fries at a restaurant...you are probably acquainted with Fry Sauce.  It's practically a state treasure.


Well, it occurred to me today, after reading a comment from someone asking if Comeback Sauce is like Fry Sauce, that I haven't ever shared the beauty that is Fry Sauce on this blog! That simply won't do. So tonight since New York Steak was on sale at our awesome local grocery store, Day's Market, I decided steak and steak FRIES were going to be on the menu...which meant there HAD to be Fry Sauce for dippin!


Fry Sauce is considerably less involved that Comeback Sauce...but there is one "secret" ingredient that makes all the difference in this recipe. One I only learned within the last year. A friend of ours opened a hamburger joint and was serving the BEST fries along with the BEST fry sauce, so I asked him what the "secret" was and I was fairly flabbergasted when he said PICKLE JUICE. I was quite skeptical actually, and it wasn't until I mixed up my first batch with a little of the sour green stuff that I realized he was spot on about the pickle juice! It give it just the right "tang".


So the next time you decide to make anything close to resembling a french fry...be sure and try mixing up a little Fry Sauce for on the side. You will die (and then come back to life to eat more)! However, you'll never be able to eat french fries without it again!

Basic Fry Sauce Recipe

1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup ketchup (roughly a 2 to 1 ratio)
1/2 tsp onion powder
3 to 4 teaspoons pickle juice (add one teaspoon at a time & check for taste)

Mix together in small bowl. Eat.

This is the basic recipe. There are a million and one variations out there. I've heard of using barbecue sauce instead of ketchup, or chili sauce.  And some people add a "kick" with cayenne pepper or tabasco sauce. Have fun with it....go crazy! :-)

A salute to a regional food icon is today's.....

24 comments:

  1. It certainly sounds like something they would eat in Utah ... where pepper is an exotic spice.

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  2. AWESOME... husband has been enjoying my version of Utah Fry Sauce which the most recent batch is similar to yours but with just the mayo, ketchup and some ranch dressing to give a little zing. Going to for SURE try the onion powder and pickle juice in the next batch. I hope he raves that I just keep getting better as a condiment mix-ologist. I'll take the credit for a few hours and then confess that I had your help.

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  3. it's also fun to add in a little BBQ sauce to give a hint of a different flavor

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  4. Is this like Big Mac sauce? I love that.

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  5. Having lived in Idaho most of my adult life, and eating Fry Sauce with french fries that entire time, imagine my surprise when I moved to Missouri and had never heard of the stuff!!! I had some educating to do!!! lol now, my family MUST have fry sauce when we have fries. If you ask for it in a restaurant, they just stare at you blankly and you have to ask for a side of mayo in order to mix your own!

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  6. Anony...it's actually a lot like Big Mac sauce. :-)

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  7. My husband is from Utah and he can't eat good fries without this sauce. He looked at me like I was crazy the first time I asked him what it was.... Like I should have known. It is yummy though!

    www.thelaughingbrunette.blogspot.com

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  8. That is a lot like crawfish dip for us here in Siuth Louisiana. :-) minus the pickle juice! But it does go with a lot of stuff too! :-)

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  9. Fry Sauce is a Utah specialty. Spending most of my life in California and now living in Utah, Fry sauce is a must. All people outside of Utah, let me just say.... "Try it, you'll like it!"

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  10. Yummm! I have to laugh! When we first moved to Montana and encountered fry sauce (even at McDonalds) we loved it. We thought all the McDonalds just started having fry sauce. So when we came back to MIssouri and went to a McDonalds here and asked for Fry Sauce, the lady looked at us like we were crazy. Then she said, "You mean catsup?" Sad...so I knew I was going to have to make my own. Never tasted quite right...now I know why! THanks for the tip!

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  11. Well said Kevin! :-)


    Danni...that's funny! I think you'll really like the addition of the "secret" ingredient. ;-)

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  12. I have never heard of fry sauce, but it sounds try good. Just think -- the ingredients are all burger ingredients and fries go PERFECTLY with burgers so, there you go!

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  13. Jillee, I tried grabbing your button to link on my VERY NEW BLOG....and I think I am doing something wrong, I am not able to grab the HTML code to add to my blog? Suggestions? I would like to add you to my blog!

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  14. lori...you just have to try it. trust me on this one. ;-)

    BBHillMusic: I have fixed the "Grab A Button" section. You should be able copy and paste the code that is there wherever you want it on your blog. Let me know if you need more help. :-)

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  15. ok, never been to Utah (although I would love to some day!)...what type of pickles (juice) do you use...dill, sweet mix, bread and butter? This sounds like it would be tasty with the newest fad...sweet potatoe fries as well. Thanks for sharing :) ...from a Canadian gal

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  16. I grew up in Florida; while in High School we mixed ketchup & mayo together and put it on everything! Nothing was safe; pizza, fries, burgers... I moved to WV and everyone thought I was nuts, til they tried it!

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  17. Thank you thank you thank you....i have been looking for a good fry sauce recipe. I cant wait to try this.

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  18. Thank you! My hometown is Salt Lake City and I currently reside in Ohio....One thing we do find that we miss is the fry sauce! We have made our own in the past, however since you can now buy it from Artic Circle we have family who love us and send it all the time! Thanks for sharing and now that I know the secret I might just make some tonight!

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  19. It's not just Utah- Idaho is all about the fry sauce, too!

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  20. I am dying to try this sauce but a little afraid that you may be right. I found this on pinterest and am so happy to be following your blog. When you have a chance check out my blog.

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  21. I have a WILD suggestion... try adding some prepared horseradish. Nice bite of heat. Reminds me of the blooming onion sauce. I could almost drink that stuff with a straw! Dip onion rings too.

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  22. I couldn't believe it when our local (Utah) McDonald's quit offering fry sauce. It was 2 or 3 years ago and I haven't had a french fry there ever since. Now I ask them to switch my fries for apple dippers in my meals. Probably saves me a couple of extra pounds each month so I really should be grateful, but I'm not.

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  23. Anony...Feb 7...I only buy dill pickles...so that's the juice I use. :-) I bet it would be TERRIFIC with sweet potato fries!

    Anony...Feb 27...horseradish! I would never have thought of that. Might be worth a try. :-)

    Booklogged...I remember when our McD's stopped offering fry sauce too. I was appalled. I honestly hardly EVER go there anymore. I hadn't put the two together til now. lol.

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  24. Mayo, ketchup and mustard is also amazing! I use it not only for dipping fries (regular or sweet potato), but also as a veggie dip. As someone said, it tastes like McDonald's "special" sauce.

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Please post a comment if you feel so inclined! I love reading your thoughts and suggestions! And let's just face it....we're a lot smarter collectively...than individually. :-)