Comeback sauce is a dipping sauce used for fried foods or as a salad dressing in the cuisine of central Mississippi. Its main ingredients are mayonnaise and ketchup or chili sauce. It was created at the Jackson, Mississippi, restaurant The Rotisserie. It is generally known throughout the southern US.
Description
editThe sauce is orange-to-pink and typically a thick liquid.[1] It is spicier than ranch dressing and is creamier and less sweet than barbecue sauce.[2][3] The Takeout described it as "a spicier type of Thousand Island salad dressing".[4] Southern Living described it as "creamy, tangy, sweet, savory, and mildly spicy".[2]
Ingredients and preparation
editAccording to the New York Times, the essential ingredients are garlic and mayonnaise.[1]
Similar to Louisiana remoulade, the base of the sauce consists of mayonnaise and chili sauce and/or ketchup.[2][5] Many recipes also call for the addition of other ingredients such as Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, onion, lemon juice, and seasonings.[6][2][5]
Modern recipes typically call for ingredients to be assembled in a blender or food processor and processed until well-combined.[3]
Serving
editThe sauce was originally served as a dressing on iceberg lettuce or as a topping for saltines but eventually saw usage as a drizzle on crab cakes or tacos, a sauce for sandwiches, and a dipping sauce for crudites or fried foods.[1][2][5] In some restaurants it is served alongside a basket of crackers.[3]
History and importance
editThe sauce began to appear in Greek restaurants in Jackson, Mississippi from the late 1920s.[7] As of the 1970s and 1980s it was still most commonly found in Jackson's Greek restaurants.[7] It spread from Jackson into other parts of Mississippi and then throughout the south; it is not well known outside of the southern US.[3][4]
Its invention has been credited to one of two restaurants, either the Mayflower Cafe or The Rotisserie,[1][3] but in a 2016 interview with the Clarion-Ledger, Mayflower owner Jerry Kountouris said "It was The Rotisserie".[8][7]
In 2014 it was the subject of a lecture at the Southern Foodways Alliance symposium.[3]
Food historian Robert St. John called it "the Queen Mother of all Mississippi condiments".[3][5] The Washington Post called it a "Southern staple".[9]
Commercial versions
editSeveral restaurants in Jackson offer bottled comeback sauce.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Fentress, Ellen Ann (2014-01-07). "Revival for a Sauce That Never Left". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
- ^ a b c d e "Comeback Sauce". Southern Living. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Marquez, Susan (2022-07-14). "Comeback Sauce: A Southern Staple". EatDrinkMississippi. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ a b Lee, Dennis (2022-06-10). "How Comeback Sauce Keeps You Comin' Back". The Takeout. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
- ^ a b c d Mckee, Amberly (2023-09-14). "Comeback Sauce Is The Southern Staple You'll Slather On Everything". Mashed. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
- ^ "Comeback Sauce Recipe". NYT Cooking. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ a b c Harris, Bracey. "Comeback sauce: Mississippi's house dressing". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
- ^ Kimbrough, Kara (2023-06-14). "Iconic Restaurants Come and Go, But Comeback Sauce Has Endured 100 Years". Picayune Item. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
- ^ Krystal, Becky (2 September 2020). "Fried Green Tomatoes With Comeback Sauce". The Washington Post.