Recipe archive
Loading
Setting the table...
Fetching the latest recipes from the archive.
Loading
Fetching the latest recipes from the archive.
Recipe archive
America's Melting Pot
Special Sauce hero image coming soon
1946-1969 - United States cooks and food communities connected to burger, fry, sandwich, and drive-in sauces.
Special Sauce is a sandwich sauce with real American table personality: Thousand-Island-like burger sauce, fast food, diners, and backyard burgers. It brings flavor from coast-to-coast American tables to cookouts, counters, lunch plates, potlucks, and weeknight suppers.
No featured photo yet. Upload a photo with your review. The highest-rated community photo may become this recipe's hero image.
Difficulty
Easy
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
10 minutes plus chilling
Servings
About 1 1/2 cups
Region
American hamburger-chain and drive-in burger sauce kitchens
Era introduced
1946-1969
Introduced by
United States cooks and food communities connected to burger, fry, sandwich, and drive-in sauces.
Recipe tools
Log in to save this recipe to a collection.
Special Sauce proves that the little things on the table can carry a lot of American character. Thousand-Island-like burger sauce, fast food, diners, and backyard burgers. Across the country, recipes like this help define the meal: brightening sandwiches, dressing salads, crowning burgers, spooning over biscuits, or turning a simple spread into something people remember. It is practical, proud, and built for the kind of generous table where a sauce, jam, relish, pickle, dip, or dressing can steal the show.
Share family changes, regional twists, or pantry-friendly adaptations as full community recipes.
Log in to submit a community recipe.
No community recipes yet. Submitted recipes are published right away.
Rate this recipe and share how it worked at your table.
Log in to review this recipe.
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate this recipe.
Recipes matched by era, region, occasion, ingredients, and cultural roots from the archive.
Same era
1950s-present
Celery sticks filled with peanut butter and topped with raisins, the classic American kid snack.
America's Melting Pot
Arby's-Style Horsey Sauce photo coming soon
1964-1970s
Arby's-Style Horsey Sauce is a sandwich sauce with real American table personality: Fast-food horseradish mayo tradition. It brings flavor from coast-to-coast American tables to cookouts, counters, lunch plates, potlucks, and weeknight suppers.
America's Melting Pot
Bacon-Wrapped Water Chestnuts photo coming soon
1946-1969
Crunchy water chestnuts wrapped in bacon, baked until crisp, and glazed with a brown sugar, soy, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce.
Same region
America's Melting Pot
Au Jus photo coming soon
1800s-present
Au Jus is a sandwich sauce with real American table personality: French name, but American diner/roadhouse French dip culture. It brings flavor from coast-to-coast American tables to cookouts, counters, lunch plates, potlucks, and weeknight suppers.
America's Melting Pot
Stuffed Celery photo coming soon
1950s-present
Stuffed celery was a popular American appetizer during the postwar era, often featuring celery stalks filled with cream cheese or other savory spreads. This simple, crunchy hors d'oeuvre reflected mid-century preferences for light finger foods suitable for cocktail parties and social gatherings.
America's Melting Pot
Stuffed Mushrooms photo coming soon
1950s-present
Stuffed mushrooms became a favored appetizer during postwar American cocktail parties, using mushroom caps filled with seasoned breadcrumbs, cheese, herbs, or sausage. This easy, elegant dish reflects mid-20th-century tastes for finger foods combining fresh vegetables with savory fillings.
Same table
America's Melting Pot
Animal-Style Spread photo coming soon
1900s-present
Animal-Style Spread is a sandwich sauce with real American table personality: California drive-in burger culture. It brings flavor from California, Hawaii, and the West Coast to cookouts, counters, lunch plates, potlucks, and weeknight suppers.
America's Melting Pot
Au Jus photo coming soon
1800s-present
Au Jus is a sandwich sauce with real American table personality: French name, but American diner/roadhouse French dip culture. It brings flavor from coast-to-coast American tables to cookouts, counters, lunch plates, potlucks, and weeknight suppers.
America's Melting Pot
Chili Dog Sauce photo coming soon
1900s-present
Chili Dog Sauce is a sandwich sauce with real American table personality: Regional hot dog sauce from diners, drive-ins, and ballparks. It brings flavor from Texas and the Southwest to cookouts, counters, lunch plates, potlucks, and weeknight suppers.