Discover one of the best-kept secrets in Illinois dining with this incredible copycat Jan Sauce recipe. This legendary sweet and tangy dipping sauce has been captivating locals at the Candlelight Inn since 1967, turning simple fried chicken into an unforgettable culinary experience. With just four everyday ingredients and minutes of preparation, you can bring this beloved regional favorite to your kitchen and understand why people drive from across Illinois just to taste it.
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Table of Contents
What Makes Jan Sauce So Special
Jan Sauce occupies a unique space in the world of chicken dipping sauces. It’s neither purely sweet nor overwhelmingly tangy, but achieves a perfect balance that enhances rather than masks the flavor of fried chicken. The mayonnaise base provides richness and body, while sugar adds sweetness that vinegar’s tang perfectly offsets. A touch of Tabasco sauce adds enough heat to awaken the palate without overwhelming it.
Flavor Profile: The sauce delivers an immediate sweet note and a pleasant tangy finish with a subtle hint of heat. This progression keeps your taste buds engaged and creates an addictive quality that explains its devoted following.
Why Make This Sauce at Home
Unless you live in central Illinois, experiencing authentic Jan Sauce means making it yourself. This copycat version captures all the essential characteristics of the original using ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen. The simplicity is deceptive; each component is crucial in creating the final flavor profile.
Ingredients
- Mayonnaise – Forms the creamy, rich base that carries all other flavors while providing smooth texture
- Granulated sugar – Provides the essential sweetness that balances the tangy elements
- White vinegar – Adds the crucial tang that defines the sauce’s character and prevents cloying sweetness
- Tabasco sauce – Contributes subtle heat and complexity without overwhelming the other flavors
Step-by-Step Instructions
Mixing Process
- Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl, ensuring accurate measurements for proper flavor balance.
- Stir thoroughly until the mixture is smooth and uniform, with no visible streaks of individual ingredients.
- Check for lumps and continue stirring until sugar dissolves and the mixture appears homogeneous.
Chilling and Developing
- If desired, transfer to a storage container, or keep in a mixing bowl if serving immediately.
- Refrigerate for 15 minutes minimum to allow sugar to dissolve completely and flavors to meld together.
- Stir before serving to ensure even distribution of all components.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Refrigerator Storage: Store in airtight containers for up to 10 days, maintaining quality and safety
- No Freezing: Not recommended for freezing as mayonnaise may separate when thawed
- Room Temperature: Bring to room temperature before serving for best consistency and flavor
- Freshness Check: Discard if any off odors or separation occurs beyond normal settling
More Tasty Sauce Recipes
- Chick Fil A Dipping Sauce
- Papa John’s Creamy Italian Sauce
- Copycat TGIF Jack Daniels Sauce
- Red Robin Bistro Sauce
- Luther’s Barbecue Sauce
- Best Hooters Wing Sauce
- Onion Ring Dipping Sauce Recipe
- Red Sweet and Sour Sauce Recipe
- Benihana Ginger Sauce Recipe
Try These Chicken Tenders and Nuggets Recipes
- KFC Barbecue Chicken Tenders
- Whataburger Copycat Chicken Tenders
- Homemade Fried Chicken Nuggets
- Chick-fil-A Nuggets Copycat Recipe
Find more delicious copycat sauces and famous chicken recipes.
Copycat Jan Sauce – Famous Candlelight Inn Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons vinegar (white)
- 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients in a small mixing bowl.Let sit for 15 minutes in the fridge or until sugar dissolves.
- Mix again before serving…Enjoy!
Did you mean Clinton, Iowa? The Candlelight Inn is famous for their Chicken George. *I think the Key to what we always called George Sauce is the heating of it.*
I first had Chicken George at a restaurant called Maude’s in Clinton, Iowa, owned by my best friend’s family. I think the first time I had it was about 27 years ago. Thank you so much for posting this! We lost my friend’s mom 5 years ago, and this is one of the recipes I never got the chance to write down. (And yes, I was the “daughter” that got the recipes and still make them on the regular, though her daughters do now as well.)
Hi. Grew up in sterling and probably have a couple percent jans special sauce content in my blood. I have a recipe for the sauce my mom gave me 30 years ago that she got from a “reliable” source. Same ingredients as the OP’s, but the sugar is way off. With two tablespoons, it’s basically just mayonnaise. I took that recipe and just kept adding heaping tablespoons of sugar until I hit the magic number of 12. Heated up in the microwave and it was perfect! Enjoy!
Thank you for creating this copycat recipe. I moved out of state a while ago and have been looking for something like this.
Another former Sterling resident here. I use a similar recipe, but I use 1 cup Hellmann’s mayo, 1/2 cup powdered sugar (not granulated), 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (not white, it’s too harsh) and hot sauce to taste. The apple cider vinegar is what gives the sauce it’s distinct taste. This is as close as I can get to having jan sauce without travelling. I have a feeling that Candlelight heats the sauce somehow and that’s what gives it that perfect flavor, but I can’t confirm it and this recipe is close enough that I don’t mind.
I tried both recipes. I had a cup of the real jan sauce sitting there as a reference and I have found the recipe from Kat is the Best! It matches exactly and they are using apple cider vinegar.
Thanks Todd!
Yes, this is spot on. Kat is right. The apple cider vinegar is the key. As is Hellmann’s mayo. Or Best Food’s Mayo for us west of the Rockies. Interesting fact. Denver is the only town in the country where you can buy both Hellmann’s and Best Foods:)
I miss the real jan sauce from the candle light in sterling Illinois. This is a great recipe but nothing like the candle lights!
-Scott S.
I was told by my relatives after eating at the Candlelight in Sterling, that it was mayo, hot sauce, and powdered sugar. IDK – worth a shot maybe.
Okay we as a family are at Peppermill in Mount Morris Illinois discussing the Jan sauce that comes with chicken jockey and was wondering if you came to a conclusion as to what was in the recipe
Dixon/Sterling. I’ll resident I worked at a place that made this without the vinegar,(o’learys closed in 2010) attempts at home isn’t quite the same due to normal mayo we get has a slight texture and flavor difference to heavy mayo that restaurants use.
This was really good I made a mild batch for me and a hotter batch for my husband.
We really enjoyed it on our chicken tenders.