Gordon Ramsay Tartar Sauce Recipe

This Gordon Ramsay tartar sauce recipe starts where his does: good mayonnaise loosened with crème fraîche, then finely chopped gherkins, shallot and a squeeze of lemon. We add capers and a little parsley and dill, the way a classic British tartare is built. It takes ten minutes with a knife and a bowl, and half an hour in the fridge turns it from a mix of ingredients into one sauce.

The tartar sauce Ramsay pairs with his 10-minute fish and chips uses 200 grams of mayonnaise to 50 grams of crème fraîche, a tablespoon of chopped gherkins, three-quarters of a diced shallot, about a teaspoon of lemon juice, salt, and hot sauce if you want heat. That four-to-one ratio of mayo to crème fraîche is the backbone of this version too. Everything below is about why each part is there and how to keep the finished sauce thick instead of watery.

What Are the Ingredients in Tartar Sauce?

Tartar sauce ingredients come in four groups: a creamy base (mayonnaise), something sour and crunchy (gherkins or cornichons, plus capers), something sharp (shallot or onion), and acid and freshness (lemon juice and soft herbs such as parsley, dill, tarragon or chives). Ramsay's twist sits in the base: crème fraîche cut into the mayonnaise for extra tang and a lighter, creamier texture. Here is what each one brings and what to use if you are out of it.

Ingredient	What it adds	In Ramsay's version?	Swap if you don't have it
Mayonnaise	The creamy, rich base; an emulsion of oil held by egg yolk	Yes, 200 g	Homemade mayo (see below)
Crème fraîche	Tang and body without making the sauce thin	Yes, 50 g	Sour cream or strained Greek yogurt
Gherkins or cornichons	Sour crunch and pickle flavor	Yes, 1 Tbsp	Dill pickles or dill relish
Capers	Salty, briny pops	No, our addition	More cornichons plus a little brine
Shallot	A mild, sweet onion bite	Yes, 3/4 shallot	Red onion or chives
Lemon juice	Brightness to cut the richness	Yes, about 1 tsp	Pickle brine or white wine vinegar
Parsley and dill	Fresh, green aroma	No, our addition	Tarragon or chives
Hot sauce or Dijon	Heat, or a mustard kick	Hot sauce, optional	Cayenne or horseradish

The comparison shows how small Ramsay's list is: five ingredients plus salt, with no relish and nothing sweet. Capers and herbs are the two additions worth making, because they add the briny and green notes that plain gherkins can't. Sweet relish pushes tartar sauce toward the fast-food style; for a sharp sauce that suits fried fish, stick with dill pickles or cornichons.

Why Crème Fraîche Makes Better Tartar Sauce

Crème fraîche gives tartar sauce a clean tang and a lighter texture than mayonnaise alone, and it does it without thinning the sauce. It is cream thickened by lactic fermentation, the same bacterial souring that makes yogurt, so it arrives thick and pleasantly sour. At around 30% fat it is also heat-stable: dairy with more than about 25% fat holds together when warmed, while sour cream at about 20% fat can split. That matters the moment you spoon the sauce onto fish straight out of the fryer.

Keep the ratio at roughly four parts mayonnaise to one part crème fraîche. Go much heavier on the crème fraîche and you lose the richness that makes tartar sauce taste like tartar sauce; go without it and the sauce is heavier and flatter.

How to Chop Tartar Sauce Ingredients Finely

Chop everything small, about an eighth of an inch, so every spoonful of tartar sauce carries a bit of pickle, caper, shallot and herb. For the shallot, use Ramsay's knife-lesson approach: halve it through the root so each half sits on a flat base, make thin horizontal and then vertical cuts toward the root with the tip of the knife, and slice down across them, keeping your guiding fingers curled with the knuckles against the blade. The pieces fall away already fine.

Herbs need a sharp blade and as few passes as possible. Ramsay's point about soft herbs is that bruising them drives off their scent; a dull knife crushes parsley and dill into a dark, wet paste that leaves most of its flavor on the board. A small, sharp paring knife handles cornichons, capers and a single shallot with more control than a big chef's knife. For heavier prep, see our guide to the knives Gordon Ramsay uses.

Squeeze the Pickles Dry So Tartar Sauce Doesn't Go Watery

Watery tartar sauce almost always comes from the pickles and capers. Chopping them opens thousands of cells full of salty brine, and the salt keeps pulling water out of the cut pieces by osmosis as the sauce sits. An hour later, that liquid has thinned the base and pooled at the edge of the bowl.

The fix takes thirty seconds. After chopping, press the cornichons and capers in a small sieve with the back of a spoon, or wring them in a paper towel, until they stop dripping. Keep that brine: if the finished sauce needs more acid, a few drops of it do the same job as lemon juice. If the sauce is already thin, stir in another spoonful of crème fraîche rather than more mayonnaise, since the cultured cream is thicker.

Tartar Sauce Is an Emulsion: How to Keep It Thick

Tartar sauce holds its body because mayonnaise is an emulsion: tiny droplets of oil suspended in a little water and lemon juice. As University of Georgia Extension explains, egg yolk contains lecithin, a molecule with one end drawn to water and the other to oil, so it coats each droplet and stops them merging. Stir the mayo and crème fraîche together first, then fold the chopped ingredients in gently. A half teaspoon of Dijon helps too, since mustard carries its own emulsifier (mucilage) that steadies the mix.

If you make your own mayonnaise for this, it breaks when the oil goes in faster than the yolk's lecithin can coat it, and the sauce turns greasy and runny. Whisk in 1 to 2 teaspoons of water to bring it back; if that fails, start again with a fresh yolk and whisk the broken batch into it a few drops at a time. Homemade mayo means raw egg, so use pasteurized eggs: the FDA recommends pasteurized shell eggs or egg products for dressings made with raw or undercooked eggs, because even clean, uncracked eggs can carry Salmonella. Commercial mayonnaise is made with pasteurized eggs, which makes a good jar the easy, safe default here.

Chill Tartar Sauce Before You Taste It

Tartar sauce tastes best after 30 minutes covered in the fridge, which should be at 40°F or below per USDA refrigeration guidance. In that time the salt and lemon draw flavor out of the shallot and herbs into the base, and the raw edge of the shallot softens. Straight after mixing, the sauce tastes like separate ingredients; after a rest it tastes like one sauce.

Taste it cold, then season. Cold food reads as blander, because taste receptors are most active around 86 to 95°F, so a sauce that tastes right at room temperature can taste flat from the fridge. Add salt and lemon a pinch and a few drops at a time, tasting after each addition, the way Ramsay seasons everything.

How Long Does Homemade Tartar Sauce Last?

Homemade tartar sauce keeps 3 to 5 days covered in the fridge, the same window the FDA storage chart gives homemade mayonnaise-based salads such as egg and tuna salad. On the table, treat it like any mayo-based food: the USDA's Danger Zone rule says bacteria multiply fastest between 40°F and 140°F, so don't leave it out more than 2 hours, or 1 hour when it's above 90°F. At a cookout, serve a small bowl and refill it from the fridge.

Don't freeze it. Rutgers Cooperative Extension lists mayonnaise among the foods that don't freeze well because their texture changes; ice crystals break the emulsion, and it thaws separated and oily, with soggy pickles.

Tartar Sauce Variations

Once the base tartar sauce recipe is right, the variations are small changes to the same build.

Citrus tartar: add a teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest with the juice. It is the style we use on the beer-battered fish and crisps sandwich, where the extra lemon cuts through the batter and brioche.
Spicy: Ramsay's own option is a few dashes of hot sauce; cayenne or a spoonful of prepared horseradish works too.
Lighter: swap the crème fraîche for strained Greek yogurt. It has less fat, so it is tangier and a little thinner; squeeze the pickles especially well.
American diner style: dill pickles instead of cornichons, and a teaspoon of sweet relish if you like it sweeter.

Tartar sauce and remoulade are close cousins. Both start with mayonnaise and pickles; remoulade usually adds more mustard and herbs, and the Louisiana version is spicy and reddish from Creole mustard and paprika. Tartar sauce stays pale, sharp and simple.

What to Serve With Tartar Sauce

Tartar sauce belongs with anything fried or crisp from the sea. The obvious match is Gordon Ramsay's fish and chips, where its acid cuts through the beer batter. It is just as good with salmon cakes, crab cakes, fried shrimp and fish tacos, and a spoonful next to crispy-skin salmon or pan-seared halibut makes a quick sauce for a weeknight fillet. For a bigger spread, pair it with coleslaw and chips, and keep the Gordon Ramsay tartar sauce in the fridge until the fish is on the table.

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Tartar Sauce FAQs

The questions that come up most: what tartar sauce is made of, what Gordon Ramsay puts in his, how long it lasts, whether it can be left out or frozen, why it turns runny, and whether to use sweet or dill relish.

What is tartar sauce made of?

Mayonnaise mixed with finely chopped pickles (gherkins, cornichons or dill pickles), capers, a little onion or shallot, lemon juice and soft herbs such as parsley, dill or tarragon. Gordon Ramsay also stirs in crème fraîche for extra tang.

What does Gordon Ramsay put in his tartar sauce?

The tartar sauce in his 10-minute fish and chips is 200 g mayonnaise, 50 g crème fraîche, 1 tablespoon chopped gherkins, three-quarters of a diced shallot, about 1 teaspoon lemon juice, salt, and hot sauce if you want heat.

How long does homemade tartar sauce last in the fridge?

3 to 5 days, covered, at 40°F or below. That matches the FDA storage chart for homemade mayonnaise-based salads like egg and tuna salad.

Can tartar sauce be left out?

Not for long. Like any mayonnaise-based food, it should not sit out more than 2 hours, or 1 hour when the temperature is above 90°F, per USDA food safety guidance. Serve a small bowl and refill it from the fridge.

Why is my tartar sauce runny?

Usually because the chopped pickles and capers were not squeezed dry; salt keeps pulling brine out of them as the sauce sits. Press them in a sieve or paper towel before mixing, and thicken a thin sauce with a spoonful of crème fraîche.

Can you freeze tartar sauce?

No. Mayonnaise does not freeze well: freezing breaks the emulsion, so it thaws separated and oily and the pickles turn soggy. Make a smaller batch instead; it only takes ten minutes.

Should tartar sauce use sweet or dill relish?

Dill, for a sharp sauce that suits fried fish; Ramsay uses chopped gherkins and nothing sweet. Sweet relish gives the sweeter, fast-food style, so add a teaspoon only if that is the taste you want.