The Savory Secret That Makes Raising Cane's Chicken Sauce Taste So Good

Raising Cane's might be best known for dishing out mounds of crispy, golden chicken fingers that snap open to reveal a steamy strip of tender chicken inside, yet the Louisiana-born chain's chicken sauce is almost more famous than its chicken fingers. Not only is Raising Cane's chicken sauce consistently making it to the top of the fast food restaurant dipping sauce rating charts, but internet sleuths are often trying to crack the recipe for the deliciously tangy, creamy dip.

We did some digging into the Raising Cane's nutritional content and discovered the secret ingredient that packs that umami punch into the thousand-island-like sauce: Anchovies. When you look at the allergen menu, there is an "F" next to the Raising Cane's chicken sauce, which means there's fish product detectable. Makes sense, as anchovies are often used in sauces to add a depth of flavor beyond what you'd get from any spices. Almost all of the Raising Cane's sauce recipe copycats feature Worcestershire sauce, which contains anchovies, among other ingredients, and is most likely the reason the dipping sauce gets an "F" classification on the allergen menu.

If you can't get enough of Raising Cane's chicken sauce, we can't blame you. It's made fresh daily and provides the perfect counter-balance for fatty, rich chicken fingers — it also makes for an excellent fry dipping sauce. The great thing is, this sauce is pretty easy to recreate if you don't want to leave the house or pay $0.39 to get your fill.  There are six ingredients that most dupe recipes feature, including mayonnaise, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Some people like to add onion powder, paprika, and/or hot sauce to get more of a spicy kick, but it's all a matter of taste.

We recommend you go all out when making your own Raising Cane's chicken sauce by whipping up some homemade mayonnaise –- not only is it richer than the store-bought stuff, but it only takes 10 minutes from start to finish. To make the dipping sauce, all you'll need to do is mix ½ cup of mayo with 3 tablespoons of ketchup, add 1½ tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, and then the spices; 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon of salt and pepper. Don't be afraid to add your own twist with other spices or even hot sauce — you may discover your own secret sauce weapon through experimentation.