The Jack in the Box secret sauce packet contains a magical, but not so mysterious combination of ingredients most people have in their refrigerator door.
The Jack in the Box secret sauce is a simple mixture of ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, A1 steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce and a dash of hot sauce. The addition of dehydrated onion and xanthan gum gives it the texture of the original.
If you’re a fan of Jack in the Box’s onion mayo sauce, formerly the star of the Ultimate Cheeseburger, check out my recipe for that.
The ingredients
The ingredients for this sauce are no mystery. Jack in the Box makes the list of ingredients for every one of their food items available via a link labeled “ingredients” at the bottom of this page
. As a result, it was super easy to figure out.
If you read food labels a lot, it’s easy to identify the various components of the sauce. The rest if combining them in the right proportions.
- Mayonnaise is mostly soybean oil, eggs and vinegar
- Ketchup is mostly tomato paste, vinegar and corn syrup
- Mustard is mustard seed, vinegar and turmeric (for color)
- A1 steak sauce is the only common sauce to use raisin paste and orange puree
- Worcestershire is the only common sauce to combine molasses and tamarind
- Hot sauce is red peppers, vinegar and salt
The only other ingredient that isn’t included in any of the above is dried onion.
The Jack in the Box secret sauce recipe
This sauce will get better the longer it sits in the fridge. A responsible blogger would say that it will last in the fridge up to a week. I, on the other hand, would leave it in there and use it until it looks and smells bad. There’s really nothing in it that’s going to go bad in less than a few months.
Jack in the Box secret sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tsp yellow mustard
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp dehydrated onion or 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 large drop A1 Steak Sauce
- 2 drops Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 drop Tabasco or Sriracha, or other hot sauce optional
- 1/4 tsp Xanthan gum optional
Instructions
- Combine vinegar and onion and allow for spices to rehydrate for 30 minutes.
- Combine all remaining ingredients with vinegar mixture except xanthan gum (if using).
- Slowly sprinkle xanthan into mixture while stirring constantly to avoid lumps
- Allow to sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes for the flavors to develop
Notes
- What does Jack in the Box secret sauce taste like?
Jack in the Box secret sauce tastes like Thousand Island dressing and mustard, but with the pickle relish replaced with onions. If you like most burger sauces but typically prefer onions over relish on a burger, you'll love it.
- Does Jack in the Box still have onion mayo sauce?
Sadly, no. The onion mayo sauce is long gone from all Jack in the Box restaurants. You can easily make your own following this simple recipe I created.