Jackson-Style Comeback Sauce (Blender-Emulsified)

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Mississippi's house dressing, built the honest way: you emulsify the mayonnaise yourself in a blender, then drive it with grated onion juice, garlic paste, chili sauce, Worcestershire and enough black pepper and cayenne to make it hum. The result is thicker, glossier and far more savory than anything you can stir together from a jar — pourable enough for iceberg wedges and crackers, thick enough to cling to fried catfish, onion rings, or a burger. It only gets better after a night in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk (pasteurized in-shell if you have concerns about raw egg)
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups neutral oil (grapeseed, canola, or light olive oil)

• 1/3 cup tomato-based chili sauce (Heinz-style)
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1/4 small yellow onion, peeled
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp Louisiana-style hot sauce, plus more to taste
• 1 tbsp water, if needed to thin

Instructions

1. Bring the egg and yolk to room temperature (a 5-minute soak in warm tap water works). Cold eggs emulsify sluggishly and are the #1 cause of a broken sauce.
2. Grate the onion quarter on the fine side of a box grater or a Microplane directly into a small bowl, catching all the juice — you want about 1 tablespoon of pulp and juice. Squeeze the pulp against the bowl and keep both.
3. Smash the garlic clove, sprinkle it with a pinch of the sea salt, and drag the flat of your knife over it repeatedly until it becomes a smooth paste, about 1 minute. Grated garlic tastes raw and harsh in this sauce; paste dissolves.
4. Add the whole egg, extra yolk, lemon juice, Dijon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a blender jar. Blend on low for 20 seconds until pale and frothy.
5. With the blender running on its lowest speed, begin adding the oil in a thread no thicker than a pencil lead. Take a full 30 to 40 seconds for the first 1/4 cup — this is where the emulsion sets. Once the mixture visibly thickens and the sound of the blender drops to a lower, laboring pitch, you can pour the rest of the oil in a slow steady stream over about 90 seconds. You should end with a thick, mayonnaise-like base, about 2 cups.
6. Scrape the base into a medium bowl. Whisk in the chili sauce, ketchup, grated onion and its juice, garlic paste, Worcestershire, paprika, black pepper, cayenne, sugar, and hot sauce until the color is uniform pale coral-pink with flecks of pepper throughout, about 30 seconds.
7. Check the texture. For a wedge-salad dressing or a dip you want it thick and spoonable; if you want it pourable over shredded iceberg or fried fish, whisk in water 1 teaspoon at a time up to 1 tablespoon.
8. Taste and adjust: more salt if it tastes flat, more lemon if it tastes heavy, more hot sauce and black pepper if it doesn't tingle at the back of your throat. It should taste slightly too aggressive right now — the onion and garlic mellow overnight.
9. Transfer to a jar, press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface, seal, and refrigerate at least 4 hours and ideally overnight before serving. Stir well before each use. Keeps 5 days refrigerated (3 days if made with unpasteurized eggs).

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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