Mignonette Sauce Recipe: 3 Tips for Making Mignonette Sauce

Mignonette sauce is a condiment traditionally made from shallots, cracked black peppercorn, and vinegar (either red or white). Mignonette is a traditional accompaniment to raw oysters or clams that helps accent the seafood’s briny flavor with acidity, heat, sweetness, or some combination thereof.

Raw bars typically serve thimbles of mignonette alongside freshly shucked shellfish on a platter of crushed ice with lemon wedges and other condiments like cocktail sauce.

A traditional mignonette is always a good place to start: From there, you can get creative with the flavors you include. Here are the most popular types of mignonette sauce:

• Classic mignonette. Like a vinaigrette without the oil, a classic mignonette—with its minced shallots lightly pickled in vinegar and seasoned with cracked black peppercorn—lends a bolder acidity than lemon juice alone.
• Spicy mignonette. To bring heat and dimension to a classic mignonette, add one teaspoon of freshly grated horseradish or a tablespoon of finely chopped chile pepper to the mix, like Fresno, jalapeño, or serrano pepper. The pickling effect will tame the raw heat and transform the natural essence of the oyster. Add finely chopped herbs like cilantro or chives to round out the flavors.
• Fruit mignonette. Fruit is a popular add-in to mignonette to impart a small amount of sweetness or celebrate the season. Diced yuzu peel and a bit of yuzu juice echo the lemon wedges served with raw oysters but bring a floral aroma, while diced green apple adds a hint of tart sweetness and extra crunch.
  

Mignonette recipes are straightforward and customizable. Here are a few tips to help take your mignonette sauce to the next level:

1. 1. Pick suitable vinegar. Since vinegar is the dominant ingredient in mignonette, choose a good quality option that you can sip straight. White wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, and champagne vinegar are all suitable choices for mignonette sauce.
   
2. 2. Knife cuts for shallots. The key to a great mignonette is the size of the diced shallots: Too big, and the taste of onion overwhelms the oyster, too small, and the flavor is lost completely. Aim for a neat, small dice by slicing your shallot longways in half, then placing the cut side of the half down on a cutting board. Place your palm over the shallot to hold it in place, and make three even horizontal slices parallel to the board, stopping just before you reach the root end (this will keep the layers together and allow for easier slicing). Make 4–5 vertical slices, slice across the shallot; you should have small cubes.
3. 3. Use whole peppercorns. To capture the best expression of black pepper, start with whole peppercorns. Spices lose their potency when they’re cracked open, so steer clear of pre-ground black pepper for the best results.