Here's Why Almost No One Knows The Secret Of Raising Cane's Sauce

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As seemingly one of the most secretive recipes in the realm of fast food, the "Cane's sauce" at Raising Cane's has activated online sleuths in a major way. Since the chain opened in 1996 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the creamy-yet-slightly-spicy sauce has been beloved by customers of the chicken finger chain. We know that it is blended each morning by general managers only, yet reports claim that the only physical copy of the recipe is a 30-year old handwritten note locked away in a safe.

Broadly confirmed on Reddit by alleged former employees, a top-secret spice mix is produced somewhere offsite from the restaurant. When it's shipped in, managers mix with it with wet ingredients, then store it in the fridge. Those managers reportedly have to sign non-disclosure agreements to keep the ingredients and preparation of the sauce and a legally enforceable secret.

There seems to be somewhat of a consensus online about the wet ingredients, but when it comes to the seasoning blend, no one can quite agree. "Used to be a manager at Cane's, mayo, ketchup, Worcestershire, pack of mystery spices (more than likely salt, pepper, garlic powder)," alleged one Redditor. Another agreed with this combination of ingredients but said that black pepper and paprika were also in the mix.

Since Raising Cane's (which is named after the founder's dog) started in Louisiana, unsurprisingly, many Cane's fans online have compared the sauce to that typically served with a crawfish boil. To that end, many online discussions mention Creole or Cajun seasoning as a likely component of the top-secret spice mix. One disgruntled ex-employee bluntly stated the recipe was: "Ketchup Mayo Worcestershire Salt, pepper, tony chachere's creole seasoning, garlic powder and MSG. Add a bit of vinegar based hot sauce to take it up to the next level. I recommend Tabasco."

Another opinionated Redditor claimed that "The answer is lemon pepper seasoning. I think someone on this subreddit a long time ago posted about finally cracking the code [...] I tried it myself and I think he's correct." The mention of lemon or lemon pepper is repeated on several threads. Copycat recipes also often include garlic powder, onion powder, and freshly cracked black pepper. One insider tip seems to be that "heavy duty" mayo is used, which is a richer (harder-to-find) mayonnaise that fast food restaurants get from private suppliers made with extra yolks. 

If the amount of opinions and copycat recipes online is enough to exhaust you, that's understandable. Fortunately, it's been reported that Walmart's Great Value chicken dipping sauce is a close second to Cane's sauce — so consider grabbing a bottle of that if you're making chicken fingers at home (and use this retro tip for golden fried chicken from scratch while you're at it).