Wilted Lettuce with Hot Bacon Dressing is one of those things that I’ve seen at our family’s dinner table my entire life. All of the adults would drool over it and rave about how heavenly it was. I hated it (though I had never tried it). Bacon fat? On a salad? Sick. I didn’t try it until I lived with Pops (my grandpa) and his wife, Mary Carol, for a brief stint after college. Every night Mary Carol and I would come home from work and Pops would have a small feast waiting for us… usually fried chicken, grilled pork chops, spaghetti and meatballs, corn on the cob with a stick of butter- all of the good stuff. Early in the Summer he would make Wilted Lettuce. Normally I would not have even tried it – I had known for years that it was something I never liked, but for some reason as a guest in their home I didn’t feel like I could turn down dinner. So I tried it. And loved it. I asked him what was in it- he assured me I didn’t want to know, as Mary Carol and I were constantly requesting healthier dinner options. He was right! The ingredient list may seem strange, but you will love the result- salty, sweet, crispy bacon with fresh greens and onions. Some purists would say that you can only make “wilted lettuce” with garden lettuce in the Summer, but I make it all year long with leaf lettuce from the market.
Wilted Lettuce with Hot Bacon Dressing
1 head of leaf lettuce
1/4 cup of green onions, sliced
1/4 cup of red onion, sliced thinly (optional)
5 slices of bacon, chopped into 1/2″ pieces
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of white vinegar
Chop the bacon into small pieces (about 1/2 inch). Fry on medium-high heat, rendering the fat and crisping up the bacon. After about 4-5 minutes, turn off the heat.
Add the sugar to the bacon fat and pour into a glass bowl or pourable measuring cup. Wash lettuce and chop green onions, put in a bowl. Add vinegar to dressing, making sure it isn’t too hot, or it will splatter. The salad is ready to go – just toss with the dressing right before taking to the table.
If you are making it ahead of time, keep the dressing separate. Microwave the dressing for 20-30 seconds, stir, then pour it over the lettuce, bacon and onions just before serving.
Here is a version I made with lettuce fresh from our “garden.” We grow lettuce in large pots on our patio – so easy!