How to turn rendered bacon fat into a brilliant hot bacon salad dressing that makes you feel like a world-class chef. It's a warm, smokey, savory, and sweetened goodness that tastes like the famous Houston's (Hillstone) restaurant version!
If I'm making a more composed salad or want something special, I like to break out this Hot Bacon Salad Dressing. This salad dressing is unique because it’s served warm rather than cold. It's also the other half of the famous hot bacon and honey mustard salad dressing at Houston's (Hillstone) restaurants.
The first time I tasted this dressing was at a Houston’s restaurant when my husband took me on a lunch date before we were married. He needed to nudge me away from my usual ranch dressing to try it. The salty, smokey, sweet, and slightly tangy components were so satisfying.
I’ve made many versions of a warm or hot bacon vinaigrette. To get closest to Houston’s, I prefer white vinegar versus the traditional cider vinegar that most recipes suggest. This salad dressing recipe was inspired by The Joy of Cooking 1975 book and by Mary Duke Cooks's addition of cornstarch to thicken it.
Serve over fresh spring mixed greens, chopped romaine, chopped kale, or the traditional spinach topped with sliced mushrooms and boiled eggs. You can make this honey mustard dressing recipe to make the iconic pairing of a hot bacon and honey mustard traditional salad.
Beyond salads, this dressing also works wonderfully drizzled over crispy oven-roasted Brussels sprouts or as a sauce for perfect pan-seared bone-in pork chops.
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How This Salad Dressing Is Different
- Cooked bacon pieces are set aside and not combined with the dressing because their texture will change from crispy to soggy.
- A cornstarch slurry is essential to thicken the final product.
- There is a little less sugar in this ratio compared to most recipes.
- Water maintains a luscious consistency and tames the tang from the vinegar.
Common Problems
- Burning the bacon: Cooking bacon too quickly at high heat can burn it, creating bitter flavors in your dressing.
- Don’t strain the bacon fat: The small bits add to the texture of the dressing.
- Serving it too cold: This dressing should be served warm to prevent the bacon fat from solidifying.
Ingredients
You only need 5 staple ingredients to make this hot bacon salad dressing recipe.
- Bacon: If you don't have reserved bacon fat, you will need to cook some bacon. My favorite brands of bacon come from local smokehouses, but I recommend bacon from North Country Smokehouse at Whole Foods and Wright Applewood Smoked Thick-Cut bacon.
- Shallot: A small, coppery pink-skinned onion that grows in the form of a bulb-like garlic with 1-4 cloves to the cluster. They are more delicate and mild than red onions and will store for many weeks in the pantry.
- White Vinegar: Also called distilled vinegar, which has a strong acidic taste and lacks any sweet undertones. Aside from this recipe, I tend to use this type of vinegar for pickling brines and basting sauces for grilled chicken. A good substitute is cider vinegar.
- Granulated Sugar: This sweetener has a neutral flavor and dissolves easily.
- Cornstarch: A fine, white powder derived from corn. It’s in the baking aisle and is commonly used as a thickening agent in recipes. To prevent lumps, it needs to be mixed with a liquid like water to form a slurry before whisking it into your recipe. Then, it needs to be heated to a light boil before thickening begins. A substitute is arrowroot powder.
See the recipe card below for ingredient measurements.
Variations
- You can substitute turkey bacon for pork bacon.
- For a slightly spicy flavor, whisk in 1-2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard.
- If you are using this on a salad, add a crumbly, salty cheese like blue cheese or feta.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Place a large skillet on the stovetop and set your burner to medium-high heat.
Step 1: Slice the bacon into small pieces, about ½ an inch.
Step 2: Peel and chop the shallot.
Step 3: Add your chopped bacon to the skillet. Once crispy, remove the bacon and place it on a paper towel-lined dish, setting it aside to use later (like topping a salad or roasted vegetables). Measure the reserved bacon drippings in a Pyrex cup to see if you have ½ cup. If you are short on the volume, add canola oil to the bacon drippings to get ½ cup.
Step 4: Return the oil to the skillet and add the shallots. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until they have softened.
Step 5: Whisk in the white vinegar, water, and granulated sugar to the skillet of softened shallots in bacon drippings over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Step 6: Mix 1½ to 2 teaspoons of water with the cornstarch to make a slurry.
Step 7: Add the cornstarch slurry to the skillet. Allow the dressing to come to a low boil to activate the thickening traits of the cornstarch.
Step 8: Once thickened, reduce the heat under the skillet to warm until ready to serve or transfer to a jar with a lid to store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Reheat before serving.
Time-Saving Tip
Try slicing thick-cut bacon into ½ inch pieces before cooking them. This way, all of the bacon fits into the pan rather than cooking full strips in multiple batches.
Make Ahead Instructions
- Remove the crisp bacon from the skillet and finish making the dressing in the pan.
- Let the dressing cool to room temperature and transfer it to an airtight jar stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Store the bacon in a separate sealed container and rewarm in the microwave at 10-second intervals on a paper towel-lined plate until crisp.
- To reheat the dressing, microwave it for 30-60 seconds, then whisk or shake the jar to combine. Alternatively, you can warm the dressing in a small saucepan over low heat.
Storage Information
Transfer this dressing to a microwave-safe jar with a tight-fitting lid like a mason jar. Store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
FAQ
Use your bacon pieces for topping your salad or roasted vegetables. If you add it to the dressing, the bacon bits become soggy.
The fat can sometimes split from the vinegar mix, especially if it cools too much. To fix this, give it a vigorous whisk or shake in a jar. You might need to rewarm it for 30 seconds in the microwave.
Yes, though you'll need to supplement with olive or canola oil since turkey bacon produces less fat. The flavor profile will be slightly different but still delicious.
Did you try this recipe? Leave a comment and ⭐️ rating below to let us know how it turned out! Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Hot Bacon Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bacon (thick-cut is preferred)
- 1 shallot
- ½ cup reserved bacon fat (if needed, add canola oil or olive oil to the bacon fat to get to ½ cup)
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Slice the bacon into small pieces, about ½ an inch. Place a large skillet on the stovetop and set it to medium-high heat. Add your chopped bacon into the skillet and begin cooking. Once the bacon is starting to splatter, reduce the heat to low and turn occasionally. Keep an eye on it to prevent burning the bits.
- Once crisp, remove bacon from the skillet and place on a paper towel-lined dish. Reserve the bacon pieces for a salad or to top roasted vegetables.
- Measure the reserved bacon drippings in a pyrex cup to see if you have ½ cup. If you are short on the volume, add canola oil to the bacon drippings to get fat up to ½ cup.
- Peel and chop the shallot.
- Return the oil to the skillet and add the shallots. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until they have softened.
- Whisk in the white vinegar, water, and granulated sugar to the skillet of softened shallots in bacon drippings over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
- Mix 1½ to 2 teaspoons of water with the cornstarch to make a slurry.
- Add the cornstarch slurry to the skillet. Allow the dressing to come to a low boil to activate the thickening traits of the cornstarch. Once thickened, reduce the heat under the skillet to warm until ready to serve or transfer to a jar with a lid to store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Serve warm.
Notes
Make Ahead Instructions
- Remove the crisp bacon from the skillet and finish making the dressing in the pan.
- Let the dressing cool to room temperature and transfer it to an airtight jar stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Store the bacon in a separate sealed container and rewarm in the microwave at 10-second intervals on a paper towel-lined plate until crisp.
- To reheat the dressing, microwave it for 30-60 seconds, then whisk or shake the jar to combine. Alternatively, you can warm the dressing in a small saucepan over low heat.
Nutrition
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
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