FOOD NEWS
Elevate Your Salad Dressing With Umami-Packed Bacon Grease
BY KYLE GRACE MILLS
Combining the porky pleasures of bacon fat with a raw, crunchy salad may sound odd, but there are plenty of classic salad dishes that use bacon grease in the dressing.
The classic French Lyonnaise salad and the Appalachian salad called “Killed Lettuce” both use bacon grease, showing that this premise is reliably delicious.
When melted and combined with other vinaigrette standbys, like oil, vinegar, mustard, and lemon juice, bacon grease forms an uber-savory backbone to your classic salad dressing.
For a bacon fat dressing, the base of your recipe should be a 1:1 ratio of grease to vinegar. To balance out the smoky lard, use a sharp yet light white wine or apple cider vinegar.
Then, simply add a teaspoon or two of Dijon mustard and salt and pepper to taste. You can also mix in a teaspoon or two of honey, maple syrup, or brown sugar for sweetness.
If you'd like to up the richness of the salad without adding more bacon grease, you can add a glug or two of extra virgin olive oil to the dressing to get the job done.