Chef Klaus
Bratensoße (Dunkle Bratensauce)
A proper Bratensoße begins with the brown bits in the pan, not a packet: bones roasted dark, wine scraped clean, stock reduced until it coats the spoon.
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Deutsche Remoulade
Created by
The northern fish-counter sauce made properly: egg yolk, oil, mustard, gherkins, capers, and herbs, sharp enough for fried fish and steady enough for cold beef.
Sauces & Condiments
German
Weeknight
Picnic
Make Ahead
20 min
Active Time
0 min cook•20 min total
YieldAbout 350ml, enough for 6 servings
Remoulade belongs beside Backfisch, fried fish, cold roast beef, boiled eggs, and a picnic plate with rye bread. In the north it leans toward fish: dill, parsley, capers, a little gherkin sharpness. In the west and on Sunday tables it often gets chopped egg and more chives, built for cold meat. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. Good. That means people still care.
The whole sauce stands or falls on the emulsion. Add the oil slowly at the start, drop by drop, because egg yolk can only take in fat gradually before it thickens and steadies. Rush it and the sauce breaks into oily sadness. Once it has body, the rest of the oil can go in a thin stream. Erst verstehen, dann kochen.
The pickled things are not decoration. Gherkins, capers, mustard, and a spoon of brine are the German larder doing its work: acid, salt, crunch, and preservation brought back to the table. Nicht aus dem Glas, at least not the finished sauce. The cucumbers may come from the jar, the Remoulade doesn't.
Chop the herbs fine, dry the gherkins before they go in, and season at the end. The sauce should be cold, creamy, green-flecked, and sharp enough to cut fried batter. Schön ist, was schmeckt.
Remoulade came into German kitchens through French sauce cookery in the 18th and 19th centuries, when bourgeois cookbooks took French names and fitted them to the local pantry. By the time German fish stalls and Backfisch counters made it everyday food, the sauce had shifted from courtly cold-sauce technique into a practical mayonnaise sharpened with mustard, gherkins, capers, and herbs. The northern version stayed closest to fish, while inland versions often grew richer with chopped hard-boiled egg for cold meat and picnic plates.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large egg yolk
Quantity
1
at room temperature
medium German mustard
Quantity
1 teaspoon
white wine vinegar
Quantity
1 teaspoon
neutral oil, rapeseed or sunflower
Quantity
200ml
gherkin brine
Quantity
1 tablespoon
small gherkins
Quantity
3
finely diced and patted dry
capers
Quantity
1 tablespoon
rinsed, drained, and chopped
shallot
Quantity
1 small
very finely minced
hard-boiled egg
Quantity
1
finely chopped
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons
finely chopped
dill
Quantity
1 tablespoon
finely chopped
chives
Quantity
1 tablespoon
finely snipped
lemon juice
Quantity
1 teaspoon
or to taste
fine salt and pepper
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large egg yolkat room temperature | 1 |
| medium German mustard | 1 teaspoon |
| white wine vinegar | 1 teaspoon |
| neutral oil, rapeseed or sunflower | 200ml |
| gherkin brine | 1 tablespoon |
| small gherkinsfinely diced and patted dry | 3 |
| capersrinsed, drained, and chopped | 1 tablespoon |
| shallotvery finely minced | 1 small |
| hard-boiled eggfinely chopped | 1 |
| flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 2 tablespoons |
| dillfinely chopped | 1 tablespoon |
| chivesfinely snipped | 1 tablespoon |
| lemon juiceor to taste | 1 teaspoon |
| fine salt and pepper | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Medium mixing bowl with a steady base
- •Balloon whisk
- •Sharp knife and cutting board
Instructions
- 1
Start the base
Put the egg yolk, mustard, vinegar, and a pinch of salt in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Use a room-temperature yolk because cold yolk tightens the fat too slowly, and the sauce is more likely to split before it has strength.
- 2
Build the emulsion
Whisk in the oil drop by drop at first, then in a thin stream once the sauce thickens. The yolk has to catch the fat gradually, or the oil stays separate and you get a greasy bowl instead of Remoulade. If it gets too stiff, loosen it with the gherkin brine, a few drops at a time.
- 3
Prepare the larder
Pat the diced gherkins dry, then chop the capers, shallot, hard-boiled egg, and herbs fine. Dry gherkins matter because their extra brine thins the mayonnaise after you've worked to thicken it. Weggeworfen wird nichts: use a spoon of that brine for sharpness, not a flood.
- 4
Fold and season
Fold the gherkins, capers, shallot, egg, parsley, dill, and chives through the mayonnaise with a spoon, not a whisk, so the sauce stays thick and the herbs don't bruise into sludge. Taste with lemon juice, salt, and pepper at the end. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss.
- 5
Chill briefly
Cover and chill the Remoulade for at least 30 minutes if you have the time. The rest lets the mustard, herbs, and pickles settle into the fat, so the sauce tastes like one thing instead of chopped bits in mayonnaise. Stir once before serving with Backfisch, cold beef, boiled eggs, or fried potatoes.
Chef Tips
- •Use a neutral oil. Olive oil turns bitter under heavy whisking and pushes the sauce south in the wrong way; rapeseed or sunflower keeps the mustard, herbs, and pickles in charge.
- •If the mayonnaise breaks, start one fresh yolk in a clean bowl and whisk the broken sauce into it slowly. The new yolk gives the fat a second net to catch in. No drama.
- •For fish, lean on dill and capers. For cold roast beef, use more chives and keep the chopped egg. Same sauce family, different table.
- •Keep it cold and use it within two days because it contains raw egg yolk. For children, pregnant guests, or anyone who needs the safer route, use pasteurised egg yolk.
Advance Preparation
- •Make the Remoulade up to one day ahead; the flavour settles well overnight, and the herbs stay bright if they were chopped dry.
- •Do not freeze it. Mayonnaise sauces split after thawing, and then you've made work for nothing.
- •Hold it covered in the refrigerator and stir before serving. If it tightens too much, loosen it with a few drops of gherkin brine or lemon juice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 58g)
Calories
305 calories
Total Fat
32 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
29 g
Cholesterol
62 mg
Sodium
260 mg
Total Carbohydrates
2 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
2 g
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