If you’ve lived in Utah very long, you’ve certainly encountered fry sauce, but did you know that it was invented right here in the 1950s? The iconic Beehive State condiment has spread across the country, and can even be purchased at grocery stores now, but it got its start at a little hamburger stand called Arctic Circle.
Don Carlos Edwards got his start in the food service business on Pioneer Day in 1924, when he opened a cart to feed people during the festivities. In 1940, he opened a permanent food stand called Don Carlos’ Barbecue, and in 1950, he opened his first Arctic Circle restaurant.
Edwards had some creative food ideas, and while he was running his BBQ restaurant, he came up with the sauce we now know as fry sauce. He later introduced Utahns to his Ranch burger, brown-topper ice cream cone, and kid’s meals.
While all of Arctic Circle’s unique menu items are delicious, fry sauce is the item that set the restaurant apart from others. The combination of white sauce and ketchup quickly became popular.
The recipe is much more than just mayonnaise and ketchup, and it’s a closely-guarded secret. The company’s website states that the sauce includes tomato concentrate, eggs, lemon juice, and “a whole bunch of other ingredients.”
While it’s easy to make homemade fry sauce, you won’t be able to exactly replicate Arctic Circle’s sauce. Luckily, the company sells it by the bottle at Arctic Circle restaurants.
Today, the little company that Don Carlos Edwards started in the 1950s has blossomed into a large operation with more than 70 locations in seven states.
If you don’t have the time or inclination to visit the dining room for your meal, you can still get your fry sauce fix from the drive-thru window in any of the Utah locations.
