Smoky Comeback Sauce
This easy homemade comeback sauce is creamy, tangy, and packed with slow, smoky warmth from smoked paprika. It takes 5 minutes to whisk together and is the perfect dipping sauce for fries, chicken tenders, and burgers.
Equipment
- 1 Medium mixing bowl
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Measuring cups and spoons
- 1 Airtight container or lidded jar for chilling and storing
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise full-fat (240 ml)
- 2 tbsp chili sauce the bottled tomato kind (30 ml)
- 2 tbsp ketchup (30 ml)
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (15 ml)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (15 ml)
- 1 tbsp hot sauce plus more to taste (15 ml)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard (5 ml)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika (3 g)
- 1 tsp garlic powder (3 g)
- 1 tsp onion powder (3 g)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper (1 g)
- 1/4 tsp salt plus more to taste (1.5 g)
Instructions
- Whisk the wet ingredients:
- Add the mayonnaise, chili sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, hot sauce, and Dijon mustard to a medium bowl. Whisk for about 30 seconds until the color is an even, pale salmon-orange with no white streaks.
- Add the dry spices:
- Sprinkle the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and salt over the top of the wet mixture. Whisk another 30 seconds until the sauce deepens to a rusty orange.
- Taste and adjust:
- Dip a clean spoon in and taste. Add more hot sauce ½ teaspoon at a time for more heat, or a few more drops of lemon juice if it tastes too rich.
- Chill before serving:
- Scrape the sauce into an airtight container, seal it, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. It thickens slightly as it chills, and the raw garlic edge will mellow out.
Notes
A whisk works much better than a spoon for this recipe because it breaks up the smoked paprika, preventing little red clumps.
Do not skip the chill time. Freshly mixed sauce tastes sharp and powdery. Thirty minutes in the fridge allows the flavors to smooth out and blend.
If you want more kick without adding sourness from extra hot sauce, whisk in 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
Storage: Keep sealed in the fridge for up to 1 week. Do not freeze, as the mayonnaise will separate and turn grainy when thawed.
Do not skip the chill time. Freshly mixed sauce tastes sharp and powdery. Thirty minutes in the fridge allows the flavors to smooth out and blend.
If you want more kick without adding sourness from extra hot sauce, whisk in 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
Storage: Keep sealed in the fridge for up to 1 week. Do not freeze, as the mayonnaise will separate and turn grainy when thawed.