Learn to Make Wilted Lettuce Salad With Hot Bacon Dressing (aka "Killed" or "Kilt" Lettuce) (2024)

FAQs

Learn to Make Wilted Lettuce Salad With Hot Bacon Dressing (aka "Killed" or "Kilt" Lettuce)? ›

Steps to Make It

Soak your sad, droopy greens in hot—not cool, definitely not cold—water and watch them resurrect like a time-lapse video in reverse. Try it for yourself. Fill a large bowl with very hot tap water (around 120°F) and plunge your wilted greens. Let them soak for 10–30 minutes, then drain.

I believe the origin of wilted lettuce salad is either Germany or the Germans who immigrated into eastern Pennsylvania around 200 years ago. We incorrectly named these people the Pennsylvania Dutch. This salad is best served either very warm or hot. In a sense it serves as both a pungent appetizer and as a salad.

Dressing, more specifically the acid in dressing, makes greens wilt in a hurry. The vinegar or citrus juice you used in your dressing breaks down the cell structure of the leaves, releasing water trapped in the greens.

If your lettuce has wilted, this tip will help to revive it: Simply soak the lettuce in ice water for 15 minutes (or up to an hour, depending on how wilted your lettuce is), and its crispness will be restored.

Whether it's butterhead or baby iceberg, don't wash this type of leafy lettuce before storing it in the fridge. Its high water content helps preserve its crispness, but external moisture can make leaves wilt. Hold off on washing the lettuce until you're ready to use it.

Marie Callender's Hot Bacon Dressing (1 serving) contains 12g total carbs, 12g net carbs, 3g fat, 1g protein, and 80 calories.

Salad dressing is made with the same basic ingredients as mayonnaise. However, it has more water by weight than oil. It is also sweeter than mayonnaise, usually with high fructose corn syrup.

Lettuce was first cultivated in ancient Egypt for the production of oil from its seeds. The plant was probably selectively bred by the Egyptians into a plant grown for its edible leaves, with evidence of its cultivation appearing as early as 2680 BC.

The fragile nature of leafy greens makes them sensitive to being jostled or crushed during picking, packaging or transport, Craig said. As a result, the greens might look wilted, dark green or soggy, but they're not necessarily unsafe. However, dark or wet leaves can signal spoilage, Sabatini said.

Why do you soak lettuce in vinegar? ›

Adding vinegar to the water (1/2 cup distilled white vinegar per 1 cup water), followed by a clean water rinse, has been shown to reduce bacterial contamination but may affect texture and taste.

Put your dressings together in mason jars, then label and store in the fridge. I personally like to dress my salads the day of because your veggies won't get soggy. If you have a tougher green (example kale) you can dress it on prep day.

Best practice for removing germs

A safe way to reduce the number of bacteria on your fruits and veggies is to soak your veggies in a 1 part vinegar, 2 parts water mixture. You can use distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, whichever you have on hand. Then, rinse thoroughly with clean water.

The ice water will help rehydrate and crisp the leaves. After soaking, dry the lettuce as you normally would, and make sure to use it as soon as possible.

submerge leaves and stems in cold water, making sure that any cut ends are fully submerged. if you're in a hurry, try adding some ice cubes to the water. soak for at least 30 minutes. Note that heavy and extremely wilted leaves may take more time.