Enhancing Steak with Creative Sauces

When a steak comes sizzling off the grill and onto the plate, many will instinctively reach for a bottle of steak sauce to augment the rich, meaty flavor. However, if you crave a more creative dressing for your steak, there are 17 sauces you can try to boost your meal. These can include the herbal, citrusy chimichurri, a delicious red wine reduction sauce with butter and rosemary, and even tartar sauce.

The Unique Flavor of Tartar Sauce on Steak

Tartar sauce is often recognized for its abilities to complement seafood, but it can also be an excellent addition to a freshly grilled ribeye or flank steak. Because it’s both creamy and herbal, it can naturally support the rich flavors of beef while enveloping each bite in a smooth, velvety mouthfeel. For added ease and convenience, try creating your own tartar sauce with just three ingredients: mayonnaise, pickle relish, and lemon juice.

This simple combination will always be some sort of creamy, herbal, and tangy delight. Just as a steak Diane sauce adds a rich, creamy texture to any steak, the mayonnaise in tartar sauce helps create a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth consistency. The strong acidity in lemon juice gives the sauce its characteristic tang, akin to how other marinades bolster meat’s flavors. Herbs such as rosemary, thyme, and parsley add fresh, clean notes to the otherwise heavy or fatty flavors of beef.

More Unique Ways to Use Tartar Sauce

The same qualities that make tartar sauce excellent on steak also work well on a burger — perhaps a mushroom Swiss burger. Tartar sauce can add the right amount of acidity and herbal notes to complement the sweetness of caramelized mushrooms, creating a sumptuous topping for a juicy ground beef patty cooked to perfection. The creamy, herbal sauce also excels as a dip for crispy fried chicken tenders, providing an outstanding creamy foil for the chicken’s crunch.

Furthermore, try one or more tricks to make potatoes extra crispy and pair them with tartar sauce to round out the savory starch. Mayo itself can be used as an on-the-grill marinade, becoming a secret ingredient for moist tuna steak, with tartar sauce as a reliable option to serve on the side. Truly, almost any protein can serve as a noble carrier for this excellent but often overlooked sauce.