Hot Sauce Is All You Need To Transform Mayonnaise

Can mayonnaise be improved upon? It's the all-purpose wonder condiment that makes a BLT really sing. It binds together ingredients in potato, egg, chicken, and tuna salads like the ring of power. It can help brown a bird, and ensures a grilled cheese sandwich gets a golden exterior. No, mayonnaise can't be improved upon due to its objective perfection — most popular condiment in the U.S., thank you very much — but it can be transformed to suit your needs. One way to augment the sauce that is almost as universal in its utility as mayonnaise itself is through the addition of ... hot sauce.

Yes, that's it. There isn't a list of additional ingredients forthcoming — just hot sauce and mayonnaise. It's a simple combination that can be used in myriad ways. For example, imagine it holding together lobster and celery on a buttered New England bun for a spicy take on a lobster roll or dragging a herby roasted potato through it. If you're a fan of rich and spicy breakfasts, you can even drizzle some hot sauce mayonnaise on your scrambled eggs in the morning.

Now, just because we're suggesting a one-ingredient punch-up for mayonnaise doesn't mean that it has to be one-note. As anyone who has walked down the condiment aisle of a grocery store knows, there is a plethora of hot sauce (not to mention mayo) options available, so let's explore our options.

When it comes to mixing mayonnaise and hot sauce and how to use it, you do you. But a good baseline here might start with the big players in each field. For mayonnaise, that would be Hellman's — or, Best Foods west of the Rockies — and Tabasco, one of the oldest commercially-available hot sauces in the U.S. Combine these two for a strong punch of vinegar and medium spice level that would work well on a grilled chicken sandwich or even as a topper for grilled gulf oysters, a nod to Tabasco's Louisiana heritage.

If your tastes or needs lean a bit more towards flavors from the vast and diverse Asian culinary canon, then think about adding one of the many varieties of sriracha available to Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise. Sriracha is quite different from American-style hot sauces with its inclusion of garlic and sugar. For its part, Kewpie mayonnaise is a much sought-after alternative to more common mayonnaises sold in the U.S. It is made with only egg yolks rather than whole eggs, which results in a thicker, richer body and contains a variety of vinegars and MSG, the latter of which gives it a distinct savory kick. This combination would work well inside or on top of a spicy tuna or crab roll. Other strong choices would be cholula for a Mexican kick or Frank's Red Hot mixed with mayonnaise and slathered on wings.