The original post published in May 2011. I’ve updated the photos to spare myself some embarrassment from the total lack of photography skills in the early days of blogging.
Ask anyone from Mississippi if they know about Comeback Sauce and they will look at you shocked for even asking the question. Of course, everyone in Mississippi knows about Comeback Sauce. Even if you’ve never heard the name, you probably know it, too. The sauce that’s served by the steak house chain made famous by the onions that bloom, is reminiscent of Comeback Sauce. Chances are you’ve had it on a burger or sandwich at a new age sandwich shop. It’s a versatile sauce that also makes a great salad dressing. The origins are debated, but most attribute the sauce to a Greek immigrant who settled in Mississippi after WWII.
Most recipes agree on the proportions of mayonnaise to ketchup to chili sauce and heavy on the black pepper. After that, the amounts of all the other ingredients are up for grabs.
Del Monte Chili Sauce. Look for it on your condiment aisle. If you can’t find Del Monte, Heinz is a suitable substitute.
Chili Sauce is a condiment that is usually found on the same aisle as ketchup, mayo and mustard. Look for it on the top shelve. The bottle contains 12 ounces. I’ve always preferred Heinz, but, my store was recently out of Heinz and I bought Del Monte which I’ve found is just as good. It’s always nice to have an option. Chili Sauce and chili pepper are not the same.
I formulated this recipe to give it as much shelf life as possible. Since I opted for garlic powder and onion powder over fresh garlic and onion, the sauce will keep in your refrigerator for as long as you would keep mayonnaise and ketchup. But, don’t worry. It will be eaten long before you have to worry about it spoiling.
It’s uses are many. It’s a dip for vegetables and chips, a salad dressing, a sauce for seafood or a sandwich spread. I will be serving mine tonight with Salmon Patties. It is good on EVERYTHING, except Cheerios.
Comeback Sauce
Mix all ingredients well and store in refrigerator overnight. It needs to sit to let the flavors become “acquainted”. They shouldn’t rush into marriage.
yield: one pint
1 cup Duke’s mayonnaise (one of my Favorites)
1/4 cup Heinz ketchup
1/4 cup chili sauce ( I prefer Heinz or DelMonte. DO NOT substitute Thai Chili Sauce)
1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/4 cup light olive oil
juice of one lemon
Mix all ingredients well and store in refrigerator overnight.
Comeback Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup Duke’s mayonnaise one of my Favorites
- 1/4 cup Heinz ketchup
- 1/4 cup chili sauce I prefer Heinz or DelMonte. DO NOT substitute Thai Chili Sauce
- 1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- 1/4 cup light olive oil
- juice of one lemon
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients well and store in refrigerator overnight. It needs to sit to let the flavors become “acquainted”. They shouldn’t rush into marriage.
- Comeback Sauce goes with EVERYTHING.....except Cheerios.
Anastasia says
How long can I keep this in the fridge , just wondered what the life of this product is.
Thank you
Jackie Garvin says
It will keep in your fridge for as long as you would keep mayo and ketchup. You will use it up long before it spoils.
Anastasia says
Unable to find Garlic powder here in the UK , will it be ok without , or is there a substitute .
Jackie Garvin says
It will be okay without it.
Anastasia says
Thank you so much for the prompt reply .off to make it now , need to stay indoors as weather here is very bad.
Have a nice weekend
Jackie Garvin says
🙂
geminisinger says
LOL!!! Ain’t that the truth!? 🙂
Stasia says
How long can I keep this in my fridge please
Jackie Garvin says
Stasis,
It will keep in your fridge for as long as you would ordinarily keep mayo and ketchup.
Anastasia says
Thanks .this will be on the menu in the UK tonight , never tasted this before , but it sound delicious.
Jackie Garvin says
I hope you enjoy!
opchick says
I’m sorry Dukes fans…it has a real weird oily taste to me. I used Hellmans…YUM!
Anastasia says
I made this with Hellmans today , live in the UK , so that is the best you can buy here..just tested it tonight , it is so delicious.
Karen Gray says
I am so happy to find this. My husband loves this stuff. His cousin use to make it for him family secret recipe and he didn’t get to get it before he passed away.
The question I would like ask is how long will it last in frig. What is the shelf life of it?
Joan says
hi Karen, I love this stuff.. Always have a bottle on hand.. since there are no onions or garlic pieces in it this will last as long as the mayo that’s in it.. Hope this helps…Joan
Jackie Garvin says
Karen,
I purposely formulated this recipe with onion nd garlic powder instead of fresh to prolong the shelf life. It will last as long you would normally keep mayo and ketchup. Enjoy!
Karen says
Thank you so much for letting me know. I made up a batch of this and when my husband tasted it his eyes lit up and that said it all. Thanks for sharing your recipe. This is sooooo good.
cindy says
Oh, no! I actually threw some away that had been in my fridge for about a month! We don’t eat a lot of fried food so a jar will last us a while and I was a little afraid of it. Glad to know about the shelf life….that won’t happen again!
PattiK says
I am so happy to find a recipe, this sauce was featured on a show, Drive-in, diners And Dives on the food network. they were visiting the south and were raving about it. I had not heard of it but wanted ever since to try it. Yeah can’t wait.
Sonia says
Just made this sauce, so excited to try it tomorrow morning 🙂
tom stoddart says
Sounds interesting, think i will try it. Can you can this sauce… I don’t know if the mayo will stand up to the heat of water bath canning?
Chuck Hale says
Jack’s has a version of the Comeback Sauce. But I think they use horseradish in theirs. I wonder if you could replace the Chili Sauce with horseradish.
Jackie Garvin says
Chuck,
If your sinuses can tolerate that much horseradish sauce and it won’t blow the top of your head off, you can certainly do it! 🙂
Tom says
I’ll bet its great on fried fish, I’m going to try it, thanks
Angela says
What do you used it on??
Jackie Garvin says
Comeback sauce goes with EVERYTHING…..except Cheerios. Use is as a salad dressing or on sandwiches. It’s great as a dipping sauce for chicken, seafood or fried vegetables.
Amber says
Love COMEBACK Sauce. We have it at Jack’s Hamburgers in Bama and I always get it for my chicken, burgers, fries, etc. It’s WONDERFUL!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Caiti says
I don’t care for mayo… AT ALL. (don’t yell at me!) We don’t really eat condiments at all in my family but this sounds great as a sandwich spread for a little extra flavor or as a dip/sauce for various chicken savory dishes. I’d love to give it a try! Is there a substitution for the mayo? Like yogurt maybe? sour cream? What do you think?
Thanks!!
Jackie Garvin says
Caiti,
No yelling here! :). Both yogurt and sour cream are good substitutes. Since both are slightly more tart than mayo, you might want to add a dash honey. Just make up a batch and taste.
Caiti says
Oh… the honey is a great idea! I think i’ll try it with yogurt first. Thank you so much for the response! 🙂
Jackie Garvin says
You’re most welcome! 🙂
April says
Can’t wait to try! I miss Duke’s haven’t seen it since we left Connecticut.
Jackie Garvin says
You can order it online directly from http://www.dukesmayo.com.
Janice Gowens says
Jackie, I just found your site and am intrigued by your “Comeback Sauce” recipe. However, for some reason, I am unable to print it–when I click on the “print friendly” button, nothing happens. I’ll admit right up front, I’m basically computer illiterate. Help.
Jackie Garvin says
Janice,
Try it again. I think WordPress, my blogging platform, was having some issues yesterday. There were functions I couldn’t use yesterday that are working fine today. I tried Print Friendly just now and it works fine.
Madonna/aka/Ms. Lemon says
I made a version of this a few months ago with Vegenaise since I am soy-sensitive. I got the recipe from Cuisine at Home. It is delicious.
btw – Dukes is Hellemans, and Hellmans is also known as Best here in the West. They all have soy as an ingredient. 🙂 It is one thing I really miss being able to eat.
drummer says
hi, just found this site and so gonna make the comeback sauce today, wanted to let anastasia know if she still comes on here that you can get garlic powder here in the uk from a company called rye spice company, you can google them or find them on e-bay, hope this helps 🙂
Anastasia says
Thanks to Jackie Garvin , have looked at the site you suggested . Brilliant . Many thanks
Scott McDonald says
Here’s a recipe you might love. It came to me via my mother who got it from an older lady when she was a young girl ( a long time ago).
Chili Sauce
1/2 peck tomatoes
3 sweet peppers
2 red hot peppers
5 onions medium to large
1/2 Bunch celery
1 Cup vinegar
2 tablespoons salt
3 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons mixed pickling spices (put in bag)
1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon (add after cooking is done)
grind all through food processor and then simmer for 4 to 5 hours. Cook till thick may take longer or shorter time depending. Put into pint size canning jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
This is much better than commercially produced chili saucesand would be great it the comeback sauce.
Jackie Garvin says
Thanks for sharing this, Scott! It would be a great use for those end of season tomatoes when you’re up to you eyeballs. 🙂
Debbie Buckingham says
your Comeback sauce was one of my first pins on Pinterest! I love it! I had heard one of the stars from the movie “The Help” talk about eating Comeback sauce while making the movie. It is great! thanks..love your blog
Jackie Garvin says
Thank you so much, Debbie!
erin says
How long does this last in the fridge after you make it?!
Jackie Garvin says
Erin,
It will stay good for weeks but it won’t last that long. 🙂
Juliann says
Can you give me a guesstimate on how much lemon juice you use? I have two big bottles of lemon juice I need to use up 🙂 Thank you for this recipe! I can’t wait to try it! 🙂
Jackie Garvin says
Juliann,
The average yield per lemon is 2 1/2 tablespoons.