You may think of Bacon Vinaigrette as a guilty pleasure. But really, should it be? The pleasure is not at issue, but is guilt really necessary? Of course not! You’re just drizzling it, and you’re drizzling it over delicious, fresh, and crunchy vegetables. How bad could it be?
Well, discretion is yours. This recipe calls for 4 strips of bacon, which you cook to render the fat that is the base of this vinaigrette. Once crispy, the bacon is removed from the pan and is no longer needed, unless you decide that you want to not only dress your salad with Bacon Vinaigrette, you also want to garnish it with crispy bacon. Who could blame you. It would be wasteful otherwise!
Bacon Vinaigrette is always served warm, so if you have any left over, store it in a heat-proof container so that you can easily warm it back up in the microwave before adorning your next salad. My favorite way to use this vinaigrette is to dress a spinach salad, but it’s great with almost any salad. It’s also wonderful drizzled over roasted or steamed Brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots…
And if you still feel guilty, that’s on you.
Bacon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 4 strips thick cut bacon
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 T maple syrup
- 3 T Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 t coarse ground black pepper
- 1 t kosher salt
Instructions
- Mise en place – Dice the bacon into small cubes. Peel and mince the garlic.
- Crisp the bacon – Place the bacon in a medium saucepan over low heat and stir until some of the fat begins to render from the bacon. Raise the heat to medium and cook the bacon, stirring frequently, until it is crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the crisp bacon to a paper towel lined plate, keeping all of the fat drippings in the pan.
- Make the vinaigrette – Return the pan to the stove. Add the garlic, swirl, and immediately add 3 T maple syrup, 3 T Dijon, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, and 1 t each of salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it cook for 1 minute, or until the dressing coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the bacon (optional).
- Finish – Use immediately or transfer to a heat proof jar with a tight fitting lid and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, gently reheating and stirring before serving.
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