Brian Nagele
Deliciousness at Jack in the Box extends beyond the menu items. Their delicious assortment of signature sauces, which take every dining experience to new heights, is one of the best-kept secrets. These sauces, which come in flavors ranging from zesty and tangy to creamy and spicy, are the unsung heroes that give delicious fast-food creations their flavor. We cordially invite you to take a saucy culinary adventure as we introduce you to the world of condiments that have gained a devoted following among diners across the country. These sauces are a culinary journey unto themselves; they are by no means an afterthought. This guide will introduce you to the wide variety of sauces that improve every meal, whether you’re a devoted customer or brand-new to the flavor-packed world of these condiments.
Buttermilk House Dipping Sauce
If you’re a Ranch dressing fan, you know that Buttermilk Ranch is the cream of the crop. That’s why Jack in the Box’s signature dipping sauce is their tangy yet creamy Buttermilk House Dipping sauce. Jack in the Box makes a traditional buttermilk ranch sauce that is a mayonnaise-based sauce with whole buttermilk. Buttermilk is essentially milk that’s gone sour, which may not sound appealing, but it sure works wonders as an additive to baked goods and dressings. Jack in the Box features its Buttermilk House dipping sauce in various menu items, including the Homestyle Ranch chicken club sandwich. It tastes especially delicious as a salad dressing on the chicken club salad or grilled chicken salad or as a dipping sauce for the stuffed jalapenos.
Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
The pairing of sweet and tangy is a culinary testament to why opposites attract, and no sauce does this pairing more justice than Honey Mustard. Mustard is both acidic and spicy, adding an overpowering flavor that holds up well with anything. Honey plays a key role in countering mustard’s spiciness while accentuating its acidity. It’s a longstanding favorite for salads, chicken wings, and everything in between. You can use it on any of Jack in the Box’s salads or grab a few for dunking an order of breaded chicken tenders. It’s also my favorite sauce to slather onto a Cluck sandwich.
Franks Red Hot Buffalo
Buffalo sauce is, at its most basic, the combination of hot sauce and butter. It’s long been the favored dipping sauce at chicken wing restaurants. Jack in the Box’s Franks Red Hot Buffalo sauce may be the best fast-food sauce in history. While other fast-food dipping sauces have a chemically mass-produced taste, Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo sauce tastes like an artisanal small-batch condiment you’d find at an independent wing shop. Frank’s uses aged cayenne to supply a smokey heat that is complemented by a hearty portion of vinegar. You can turn an order of chicken tenders into wing night by grabbing a packet of Frank’s Hot Buffalo sauce and Jack in the Box’s homestyle buttermilk ranch sauce.
Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce
Another case of opposites attract, sweet and sour sauce, comes from Chinese cooking. Sweet and Sour Sauce is an iridescent and transparent orange-hued sauce with a myriad of sweet and acid ingredients that create a glistening glaze for meat and fish. It also has a distinctively thick and gelatinous texture due to the addition of corn starch. Sweet and sour sauces vary wildly in terms of ingredients, and Jack in the Box’s concoction uses brown sugar and pineapple juice mixed with white vinegar and citric acid. It tastes delicious as a dipping sauce for the jumbo egg rolls, chicken strips, or chicken nuggets.
Barbecue Dipping Sauce
A fan favorite, barbecue sauce comes in many styles depending on what region of the U.S. you’re in, and they all taste delicious in distinct ways. Jack in the Box’s Barbecue dipping sauce is a mix between Texas and Tennessee. Like Texas barbecue sauce, it’s got both a heavy tomato and brown sugar presence. However, it also packs a serious burst of vinegar like the barbecue sauces you find in Memphis. No matter what regional designation you want to apply, Jack in the Box’s Barbecue sauce is delicious and improves the taste of any sandwich, burger, onion ring, or French fry. It’s especially good on any handheld with bacon.
Teriyaki Dipping Sauce
While most of us go to Jack in the Box with a hankering for a sandwich, burger, or hard-shelled taco snack, we might overlook a hidden gem like their Teriyaki bowl. That’s right, Jack in the Box offers an authentic bowl of chicken Teriyaki with steamed vegetables over jasmine rice. Teriyaki sauce is a Japanese creation that is equal parts savory, sweet, and tangy. Its main ingredients are soy sauce and honey, but it also uses a corn starch thickening agent common in Asian sauces. If you don’t want to get it in the Teriyaki bowl, you can grab a few sauce packets to dip the breaded chicken tenders or to drizzle over every individual bite of the jumbo egg rolls.
Fire Roasted Salsa
Fire-roasted tomatoes take any salsa to the next level with a smokey, sweet flavor that pairs so well with spicy chilies, onions, and garlic. Jack in the Box’s Fire Roasted Salsa is a vibrant and fresh sauce featured in its newly added Chicken Fajita Pita. It’s far more delicious than the standard taco sauce you get on the hard-shelled tacos. Not that you’re going to a fast-food restaurant to count calories, but the Fire Roasted Salsa is by far the healthiest and lowest-calorie sauce on this list. I love it on the tacos, breakfast burritos, or the southwest chicken salad.
Tartar Sauce
Although you might associate tartar sauce as a condiment for fish sandwiches or fish fry baskets, it’s just as good when paired with any other protein. Tartar sauce is a mayonnaise-based white sauce mixed with chopped pickles, lemon juice, and herbs like dill or tarragon. It’s much tangier than buttermilk ranch, and the little bits of chopped pickle add a delightful texture. Tarter sauce tastes great on any fried chicken sandwich. It would also taste great as a dipping sauce for chicken tenders alongside buffalo and buttermilk ranch sauce.
