How do you like your honey dill sauce? Heavy on the honey? Mostly mayo? Extra dilly? Explore Manitoba from your kitchen by making this signature Manitoba dipping sauce at home. Pop the chicken fingers in the oven and whip up a batch of honey dill sauce, easy peasy.
Honey dill what?
OK, let’s take a step back. If you’re not from Manitoba, you may be wondering “what is this?” The answer is, it’s exactly what it sounds like — a delicious dipping sauce for chicken fingers (or anything really) made from the quirky yet comforting combination of honey, dill, mayo and lemon.
The sauce was originally served at Mitzi’s. The story goes that one of the owners of the Winnipeg restaurant tasted a sauce and tried to replicate the recipe. He was never able to re-create what he had tasted but one of his failed attempts was so good on its own he started serving it in his restaurant. And so, honey dill sauce was born.
Now you can find the sauce at restaurants across the province and some Manitobans won’t eat chicken fingers without it (yes, it’s that good!) But in times like these when going out to eat isn’t an option, you can still fulfill your honey dill craving by making it at home.
We’ve got four different ways for you to prepare this quirky taste of Manitoba. But you don’t have to stick to the recipes, use them as inspiration to create honey dill sauce just the way you like it!
Sauce 1: Just the basics
When you’ve only got time to make the simplest of sauces, this is the one to turn to. The ratio of honey to mayo makes it creamy and sweet.
Ingredients:
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. chopped fresh dill
a squeeze of lemon
Directions:
Mix mayonnaise and honey together until completely combined. Add dill and lemon and mix again. Let chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes for best results.
Sauce 2: Hello honey!
This dilly delight offers a bit more saltiness to offset the sweetness of the honey. The addition of worcestershire sauce and the higher ratio of honey to mayo makes this sauce a bit thinner than (but just as tasty as) the basic recipe
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. chopped fresh dill
1/4 tsp. worcestershire sauce
a squeeze of lemon
Directions:
Mix mayonnaise and honey together until completely combined. Add dill, lemon and worcestershire sauce and mix again. Let chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes for best results.
Sauce 3: Mostly mayo
This sauce is best for those who don’t enjoy sweet sauces as much as the rest of us. The higher ratio of mayo and the added mustard powder make this dip more of a traditional creamy dipping sauce than the original Manitoba favourite.
Ingredients:
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
1/2 tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh dill
1/4 tsp. mustard powder
a squeeze of lemon
Directions:
Mix mayonnaise and honey together until completely combined. Add dill, mustard powder and lemon and mix again. Let chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes for best results.
Sauce 4: From the jar
Greetalia honey dill sauce is most similar in texture and taste to our first basic sauce recipe. You can get it at certain grocery stores in Manitoba (good luck finding it if you aren’t in the province!) and it’s often the sauce served at Manitoba restaurants when it isn’t made in-house.
Ingredients:
1 jar Greetalia honey dill sauce
Directions:
Open jar. Enjoy.
— Travel Manitoba