Does Anyone Know What's In Raising Cane's Iconic Sauce?

It may share a color with the goop orthodontists use to make a mold of your teeth, but Cane's Sauce is an integral part of the Raising Cane's experience. It's difficult to describe what, exactly, it tastes like — tangy, sweet, and creamy certainly all apply — but as succulent as Cane's chicken fingers may be, they just don't hit the same without a healthy dip in the pink stuff. It's enough to make the chain's devoted fans order truly grotesque quantities of Cane's sauce, including in 32-ounce containers. But what is it made of? Best as anyone can tell, it's made of ketchup, mayonnaise, and a bunch of other stuff.

The exact recipe of Cane's Sauce is a trade secret, but ketchup and mayonnaise are the two things anyone with taste buds can tell are in there. It has been compared to Russian dressing as well as Thousand Island dressing (which is not, contrary to popular belief, the same as Big Mac sauce), both of which are combinations of mayonnaise and some kind of tomato puree. But clearly it's not just that: We've all had Russian dressing on our salad before, and it didn't really taste like Cane's Sauce. So, what else is there?

A look inside the little plastic cup, as well as another taste, will give you clues. Those black specks mixed into the sea of pink are pretty clearly black pepper, and you can taste other spices in the mix as well: not only salt, but something garlicky as well. The various copycat recipes you'll find across the Internet are all more or less in agreement about this, although there are minor differences. These various recipes use either garlic powder or garlic salt, and the pepper is sometimes freshly cracked, and sometimes not. (Some copycat recipes also include paprika, while others do not.)

And what's that slightly vinegary tang in the background? It's not enough to be overwhelming, but is plenty to make your tongue tingle and your mouth water. That's another thing most copycat Cane's sauce recipes agree on: It's probably Worcestershire sauce, a classic umami booster used to add a little zing to just about anything. (Despite its ubiquity, Worcestershire is another sauce made with unexpected ingredients.) With a sauce that good (and that hard to pin down), it's no wonder fans keep flocking back to Raising Cane's. Though, with the information above, and a little experimentation, you might just be able to make yourself a batch at home.