Cajun Remoulade Sauce

When we have an occasion for serving boiled shrimp or other seafood, one task jumps to the front of the line: making the remoulade sauce.  This tasty dipping sauce is always a hit.  It has complex flavors, but very easy preparation steps.  And it can be made days before serving with really good results.  I love how it brightens up  a tray of seafood for hungry friends to enjoy.

I adapted this recipe from one by Mrs. Herman R. Brown in Talk About Good! , my hometown’s famous cookbook.  Compiled by the Junior League of Lafayette, Louisiana back in the 1960s, Talk About Good! is a cooking bible of sorts for the treasures of the Southwestern Louisiana table.  It offers three different remoulade recipes from various cooks, but we have always stuck with our adaptation of Mrs. Brown’s version.

Remoulade sauces vary quite a bit, but most begin with a mayonnaise base.  A classic French remoulade sauce might have capers, mustard, and herbs and appears quite light in color.  Because this sauce combines mayonnaise with ketchup, it has a lovely pink color and an addictive flavor.

A few changes

While the essence of Mrs. Brown’s  sauce persists, I changed portions of some ingredients. My adaptations make it slightly less garlicky,  less oniony, and less oily.  I also simplified and spiced up the ingredient list a bit.

Combining the ingredients in a blender creates a smooth, beautifully hued sauce.  The color of Southwestern cliff walls, this remoulade sauce matches the hue of the boiled shrimp or crawfish meat.

A versatile sauce

I love the balance of creaminess, tanginess, and a bit of kick that this remoulade sauce adds to boiled seafood.  If you boil potatoes alongside the seafood, they pair up with remoulade sauce well, too.

If you do not eat seafood, this recipe can still be a star with many different foods.  Remoulade sauce is also delicious on burgers, with French fries, or as a dipping sauce for raw vegetables.  

It loves everything that gets dipped in it.  We will be starting the new year with a dip into the remoulade sauce, and I hope you will, too.

Cajun Remoulade Sauce

Dawn Dobie

Great with boiled shrimp or other seafood. Also fantastic on burgers, with fries, with anything!

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Ingredients

  

• 1 clove garlic finely grated
• 1 shallot bulb finely minced
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup ketchup
• ¼ cup neutral vegetable oil such as Canola, grapeseed, or peanut
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• ¼  teaspoon Tabasco or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Instructions

 

• Blend all ingredients together in a blender. Best made at least one day in advance. Cover and refrigerate.

Notes

Can be made up to 3 days ahead.

Adapted from a recipe by Mrs. Herman R Brown published in Talk About Good! : Le Livre de la Cuisine de Lafayette.