THANKSGIVING 2019 UPDATE: I was unable to find Durkee’s this year at any of my local stores so ended up ordering from Amazon for delivery on Friday, in time for turkey sandwiches. Here is an affiliate link if you would like to do the same. It’s a bit pricey but the thought of being without Durkee’s is priceless, in the wrong way.
I was introduced to Durkee’s Famous Sauce as a college freshman at the home of my roommate Reynold. His mother invited a homesick boy into their home for Thanksgiving and I discovered a ritual which included eating leftovers in sandwiches the day after with turkey, cranberry sauce, last night’s wilted salad, reheated dressing and gravy if you wanted it… all served on sturdy bread with a generous slathering of Durkee’s. That day their ritual became my own tradition.
Duke’s Famous Sauce jars through the decades. Click for a larger version to read the ingredient lists.
Durkee’s Famous Sauce is a niche product, literally, that somehow manages to hold onto a sliver of shelf space in many supermarkets year after year. It is a mayonnaise-mustard combination with extra richness that tastes like additional egg yolks… but the effect in a sandwich is more complex than that. It’s the sauce that holds its own when a lot of flavor notes are present. And though I know there are other uses, it is such a perfect partner with turkey (smoked as well as Thanksgiving leftovers) that I have never wanted to venture further.
There is lore suggesting Durkee’s is a traditional American recipe that was served, among other places, in the White House by Mary Todd Lincoln. [There used to be a lively history on the website, but it appears the current owners of the brand have purged most of it. If you’re concerned about Durkee’s disappearing, this copycat recipe looks promising.] But in fact the recipe has been through some changes over the years, as has the provenance of the expensive little jars. During my time the proprietorship has shifted from Burnes Foods of San Francisco (but manufactured in Canada), Tone Brothers of Ankeny IA, and currently ACH Food Companies of Memphis. The ingredient list shows that corn oil has been replaced by soy oil and water has moved ahead of vinegar as the second component with subtle changes in the preservatives further down the line.
By the time I am ready to open a new jar, the old one is either empty or pretty well past its prime so I have never been able to do a head to head taste test. But I do believe that the taste has remained consistent through all these permutations. Hats off to the food chemists… and Thanksgiving leftovers!
This post originally appeared on my marketing blog, Otis Regrets… or Not. If you want to read about marketing instead of eating, click here.
it used to be part of the Glidden Paint company. The Plant in Jacksonville, Florida used to hand out bottles as part of their tour of the chemical plant.
Harry, that is fabulous information. I had to check it out first and found this page http://www.soyinfocenter.com/HSS/glidden.php as a starting point. In the good old days apparently folks did not have any squeamishness about their paint and salad dressings coming from the same source, and the company’s motto was “Everywhere on everything”.
It also was made in Louisville where a great deal of it is consumed. The plant was on South Shelby Street and was owned by Glidden which was owned by SCM, the typewriter people.
Thanks Charlie. This is great stuff. Makes you nostalgic for the good old days of conglomerates when a typewriter company, paint manufacturer and food purveyor could happily fit under one umbrella….
Love Durkee’s on a perfect summer tomato, always have.
Two other uses for what my dad and grandfather always referred to as “Durkee’s Dressing:
As a dip for raw cauliflower florets, and instead of both mayonnaise and mustard in deviled eggs.
Yep, those are two great uses… thanks!
My father always put Durkee’s on his scrambled eggs! I can’t eat my eggs without it.
That’s a new one! Do you spread it out or just put a glop on top?
I spread mine and it’s also great on an egg sandwich
Thanks, I will try that!
We use Durkee’s in chicken salad and cole slaw. It can be difficult to find in grocery stores, but I know where to buy it.
Good for you Lynn! Because I am a tightwad, I would probably try to get the same effect with mayo and brown mustard and a hard boiled egg yolk (in the chicken salad). But nothing wrong with using the real thing.
I make a Durkee sauce. It is the Durkee, vinegar, lemon juice, white pepper, garlic powder, sugar and a stick of butter. All ingredients are to taste. It may take some tweaking depending on your taste. Hear ingredients on low. NEVER LET IT BOIL. It will separate. I serve it on grilled chicken. Is also good a chrarbroiled steak. Don’t count the calories. But its worth it!!
Thanks Toni for this comment submitted a while ago… we missed it when first submitted. Since Durkee’s contains egg, it’s not surprising a sauce using it would separate at high heat. Your variation sounds great and also a way to stretch out this expensive stuff.
My uncle grew up in St. Louis and is 75 at the moment… my aunt recently asked me to get a jar or see if I could find a Jar. Luckily, you can get it through Walmart online as a 6 pack for $25. Never had heard of it until my aunt asked me to track it down for him. Have to say, after trying it once (and I’m 47 years old never heard of it before just about 2 weeks ago) i’m hooked. Told my uncle we would be fighting over it, but the next 6 pack of jars is mine to buy. He hasn’t had any of Durkee’s in over 45 years due to stores taking it off the shelves here in California. When it was still enroute my uncle had said it probably had changed and wasn’t the same as he’d remembered it, but, once it arrived, said it was almost exactly the same as he remembered it. Thank god for the internet. Great ideas, I used this sauce as a dip for my fries and it’s fantastic. Gotta’ love that zip and tang.
Wow, that’s a great price at Walmart. We’ll check them years from now, when the stash we bought last Thanksgiving eventually runs out.
I am 68 years old. My father’s family moved from Montana to Arizona during WW2, so this is an old information.
As far as I know, Durkee’s Dressing was for:
Turkey sandwiches*,
Bacon Lettuce and Tomato (BTL) sandwiches
Turkey sandwiches
Deviled eggs**
Turkey sandwiches
Fried Egg sandwiches
Turkey sandwiches
Potato salad***
Turkey sandwiches
*Yes, you need sturdy bread to accommodate cranberry, mashed potato/gravy and stuffing/dressing
** Recipie: Mashed yolks and Durkee’s. Optional: white pepper or a few grains of cayenne pepper. You can use black pepper if it is just family.
*** Mayonnaise + Durkee’s. I sprinkle the cut potatoes with cider vinegar and/or dill pickle juice, and included finely diced dill pickles so the ‘dressing’ does not need to be especially tart.
Last I looked, we could get Durkee’s in Phoenix, but I have no bothers muck in the last several years. It is seldom used, expensive and requires refrigerator room.
I have not tried the readily available cooked cornstarch recipe.
I have never really done a teste comparison, but …
My on the fly substitute has been Mayonnaise, prepared mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Maybe a little black pepper. I always use Best Foods/Hellman’s mayo which is a little tart.
If you use other brands, or Miracle Whip you may need a bit of vinegar or lemon juice. I
would avoid distilled white vinegar; it tastes harsh.
My mustard preference would be brown mustard, over Dijon mustard over yellow mustard. Dry mustard may be the best, but it should mellow overnight before using.
Good luck
Wow, what a great bunch of info and tips. Thank you! Will definitely try some of these hacks…. especially like the idea of incorporating Worcestershire sauce.
Wouldn’t be a proper ham and cheese sandwich without Durkee’s!
I like the way you think!
They have discontinued Durkees! WTF! The companies flagship product, are they nuts!? Bring it back!
I see it’s currently unavailable on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FCENB36/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 And their facebook page reports shortages in various areas, but someone spoke to their consumer affairs department which said they’ll be back in production end of September… in plenty of time to stock the shelves for Thanksgiving. https://www.facebook.com/durkeefamoussauce/
I communicated with the company that makes Durkee’s. And they will be resuming production in late September.
thanks, great news.
With the company this morning and I was told that it was retired and it was not coming back. September 11 is the ultimate stop date. They do have a website that you can try to locate some
that’s contrary to what other readers have reported… source? and where’s the website where you can locate some?
We bought a bottle thru WalMart on line. Damned bottle cost $16 but we got some.