One of my New Year's resolutions is to eat more fat. I'm quite serious. To that end, last night I worked on refining the recipe that follows. I ran across the original idea here, but when I tried that version, I wasn't quite satisfied. It was too strong-tasting, and I didn't love the texture.
So last night, I incorporated the bacon fat concept into the Mayonnaise recipe that appears in my cookbook Comfortably Yum, substituting lemon juice for the vinegar in the original. The results were fabulous: smooth and subtly bacony.
To what use might one put such a condiment, I sense you asking. Let me count the ways. Last night I spooned some over freshly steamed broccoli to accompany our roast beef and scalloped potatoes. You could add it to chopped apples, pecans, and celery for a liberated Waldorf Salad, or mix it with hard-boiled egg yolks to create the best Deviled Eggs of all time (I did this today). Tuck a schmear into an otherwise humble Turkey Sandwich. Potato Salad, Tuna Salad, Egg Salad--I can't think of any mayonnaise-based recipe that wouldn't be better with Bacon Fat Mayonnaise. (Well, except for that Mayonnaise Cake my friend Deb Barshafsky is always on about.)
As I look over this recipe, I realize it is perhaps not for the faint of heart. Personally, I'm not frightened of raw eggs, since I buy them directly from farmers I trust.
And I don't want to hear any moaning about your thighs or your hardening arteries. I'll warrant my bacon fat from happy, pastured pigs is a far sight healthier than any tortured soybean oil in that flabby glop they sell in the supermarket. Julia Child once said this about her heavenly Scalloped Potatoes Baked in Cream: "I, for one, would far rather swoon over a small spoonful of this ambrosia than a large ladleful of instant mashed made with skim milk!" Amen, sister; her sentiment certainly applies in this case.
Bacon Fat Mayonnaise
1 large egg
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
The juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup bacon fat, close to room temperature but still liquid
1 cup olive oil (NOT extra virgin)
Freshly ground pepper
Put the egg, yolks, and mustard in the blender and mix it on low for 30 seconds. Add the salt and the vinegar and mix for another 15 seconds. Stir the bacon fat and the olive oil together. With the machine running on medium low speed, pour the oil in the blender in the thinnest stream possible.
When you’ve added all 1-1/2 cups, stop the blender and check the sauce. If it seems overly thick, add a bit more oil. Taste the mayonnaise carefully for seasoning, and add more if needed, turning on the blender for the briefest amount of time possible. Scrape any mayonnaise you're not using immediately into a Mason jar and store it in the fridge. Use within two weeks.