It was one of those nights where nothing had been planned for dinner and we’re both scratching our heads at 9 p.m. wondering what we’re going to eat (and which one of us was going to pull kitchen duty). I always keep some hard boiled eggs in the fridge and if there isn’t bacon in our fridge, there’s always bacon in our freezer. Thankfully, because bacon is already cut into slices, it takes no time at all to thaw out. So, here you have it– a clean out the fridge salad, that really needs no recipe, so follow the quantities as loosely or as stringently as you’d like…you can do no wrong.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped small
- 4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
- 7 slices bacon, crumbled
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 3 green onions, choppped
For the Dressing
- 1/3 c bacon drippings
- 2 T Dijon mustard
- 1 T honey
- s&p
Method
First and foremost, get the bacon sizzlin’ in a saute pan. I usually use a sheet/cookie tray and pop the bacon in the oven–and that’s fine too, but for this recipe, I’m using the bacon dripping for the base of the dressing, so I figured it was easier to pour the drippings from a saute pan rather than from a cookie sheet. Once the bacon is crisped to your liking, remove it and let is drain on a paper towel lined plate. Turn the heat off the pan and let the bacon drippings cool.
While the bacon is doing its thing, go ahead and prep your lettuce and veggies, and toss them into your serving dish.
For the Dressing
Using a jar with a screw top lid (think jam, pickles, etc.) combine all the ingredients and shake the living day lights out of the jar. This is the least messy, most efficient way to emulsify the ingredients. A note about the dressing: because bacon fat is mostly saturated, it will solidify at room temp and in the fridge. It’s best to drizzle the dressing only on the portion of salad you’re eating…not on the whole thing, unless you plan to eat it all in one sitting.
Store the dressing in the fridge and reheat it in the microwave for a few seconds to get it nice and fluid again.
I’m in an anti-salad stage (they just don’t sound good right now) but I made the bacon-honey-mustard dressing and put it on Tilapia filets. WOW. Amazing. I was out of honey and used maple syrup instead, which was ok, but I can imagine the honey will only improve it. My husband loved the recipe too, so I can see this becoming a staple for meats and salads (when summer comes and I start desiring them again
i am a finicky salad eater myself…as i’ve said before, i need lots of ‘goodies’ in my salad and crunchy lettuce–not a big spring mix fan. i’m so glad you enjoyed the dressing! thanks JQ!
This was an awesome salad! I loved the dressing. My kids (7.5 and 6) gobbled this up! I had never used bacon drippings before but I found a little jar and let the kids shake the bajesus out of it and they were excited to have it. It is nice knowing I am giving my kids a salad dressing made of pure things and not sugar and preservatives. And one that they will eat and enjoy! Loved it! It was a family hit!
i seriously almost wrote ‘let your kids shake the bajesus out of the jar’, or something like that. hahaha…
thanks so very much kiley!
This was delicious! I added a few additional veggies that I needed to use up and had a fabulous dinner.
Thank you!
I really like the taste of the salad and the dressing, but unfortunately when I put the dressing on the salad, the bacon fat congealed on the lettuce, which made for a texture that wasn’t very appealing. The bacon fat added a nice flavor to the dressing, but I might use mostly olive oil instead next time.
hmmmm, that’s strange. but you can always microwave/re-heat the dressing and it’ll thin right back out.
I just made this as my very first homemade salad dressing and HOLY YUM! Thanks for the recipe. It was amazing and I know my husband will love it!
This was really great, thank you. I now also make a variant with the romaine, bacon, some chicken, chopped apple, and pecan with the same dressing. It’s sooo yummy. Thank you again, it’s delicious!
This was delicious!
thanks paige!
Hello,
I stumbled across your website via pinterest and boy am I glad I did. You have the most wonderful recipes and they translate beautifully into ingredients available here in Australia.
Thank you, I am always looking for tasty ways to sneak paleo meals into my non-paleo eating family’s diet.
fantastic. thanks michelle!