Keep Your Fish Fry Simple With This Easy 3-Ingredient Tartar Sauce

There's a lot of effort that goes into a fish fry, so there's certainly always room to keep some elements of the deep-fried feast easy. You'll want to follow some essential tips for frying fish because skimping on the main dish is a no-no, but the tartar sauce you serve for dipping purposes can certainly be made simple — without the need to resort to a store-bought version of the condiment. In fact, you can easily make a homemade tartar sauce with only three core ingredients that might already be in your kitchen.

To make a three-ingredient tartar sauce, you only need to grab a jar of mayonnaise for a creamy and tangy base, sweet pickle relish for a touch of tangy sweetness, and fresh lemon juice for bright acidity. For every 12 servings, start with 1 cup of mayonnaise, ½ cup of relish, and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and use Tasting Table's simple tartar sauce recipe for more guidance. You can adjust the recipe, add more of the core ingredients to taste, then add the dried dill in our version for an herby touch (or skip the herb if you don't already have it).

A three-ingredient tartar sauce is basic and delicious as-is, but there are other simple additions that will elevate it. If you want to give a spicy upgrade to your tartar sauce, turn to your favorite hot sauce, then add a few dashes to match your spice tolerance. Herbs will add freshness and earthiness to your tartar sauce, so grab the parsley, dill, or chives in your fridge to combine with the homemade condiment. Or add extra tanginess with capers, caper brine from the jar, diced pickles in place of the relish, or extra lemon juice. At the least, turn to your spice cabinet and use garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper for heat, or a bit of Old Bay seasoning to lean into the seafood aspect of it all.

No matter what extra ingredients you add, or don't, here are a couple of tips: It's ideal to make the sauce ahead of time, then store it in the fridge, so the flavors have time to meld. This also gives you more time to work on the rest of the fish fry spread like crispy hush puppies to serve as a side. If you find your tartar sauce to be too acidic or sweet, add an extra dollop of mayo to temper the flavors, then adjust to taste. Any extra homemade tartar sauce will only last for about a week in your fridge, so use it accordingly.