Baconer & Wisconsin Blue Wedge Salad
This salad is absolutely perfect on its own or as a side dish for a steak dinner. It checks all the boxes – it’s crunchy, creamy, salty and full of umami and tang — both refreshing and incredibly satiating, hitting all the marks from crunchy to salty and tangy, creamy and fresh and, most importantly, bacon-y.
Ingredients
1 head of iceberg lettuce, quartered (or in 1/8ths as a side dish)
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
1 package of Baconer ground bacon
1/3 lb. wedge of Buttermilk Blue
4 oz. Buttermilk Blue crumbles
1/3 c. crème fraîche
1/3 c. mayonnaise
Splash of buttermilk
2 cloves of garlic, grated
Splash of wine vinegar (sherry, white wine, red wine, or cider)
5 chives, chopped
Fresh black pepper & sea salt
DIRECTIONS
Cook the ground bacon until well browned. Drain through a fine sieve to save the fat and dry the crumbles on a paper towel. Place to the side.
In a medium bowl, crumble the wedge of Buttermilk Blue and whisk with crème fraîche and mayo. Once well-combined, switch to a spoon or spatula. Mix in the garlic and a splash of buttermilk. Spoon about a teaspoon or two of the reserved bacon fat and a few splashes of vinegar. Add fresh cracked pepper and taste. Add salt, vinegar, or buttermilk as needed.
On the serving dish, place 1/4 of the head of lettuce. First, spoon the dressing over allowing it to sneak into all the cracks and crevices. Top with tomato halves and the crumbled Buttermilk Blue. Add a generous few spoonfuls of the ground bacon and a pinch of chives. Buon Appetito!