The Appalachian Dish That Combines Lettuce And Bacon Grease

Salads don't have to be just for diets. You can eat a simple side salad of healthy kale, avocado, and citrus with a light dressing, or you can drown lettuce in bacon grease like they do in the springtime in Appalachia. Killed lettuce, also known as kilt lettuce or wilted lettuce, is a regional specialty that is both fresh and smokey.

It is incredibly simple and takes advantage of an overabundance of springtime greens. The first lettuce of the spring is the go to choice for the salad base — freshly picked and ready to be sacrificed. Toss in fresh spring onions or ramps, oniony-garlicky wild leeks, and you have the essence of the season in a bowl. Then, fry up some fatty bacon to get a pan full of the grease. Immediately pour the hot grease over the greens and that's it! The hot grease will slightly wilt the lettuce, hence the name. It is essentially a vehicle for delicious bacon grease as lettuce is generally light in everything — calories, nutrients, and fat.

The base of this salad is lettuce and bacon grease. If you somehow need more than that, there are many variations of the dish that add more levels of flavor. A common addition is vinegar. Whisk some red wine or apple cider vinegar into the bacon grease while it is heating up to add some pleasant tanginess to the salad. Salt and plenty of black pepper are often go-to additions.

To thicken the dressing, you can beat an egg then slowly temper hot grease in. To do this, slowly drizzle and whisk the grease into the egg mixture, bringing up its temperature until it is ready to pour into the pan. This keeps them from fully cooking, resulting in a rich, unctuous bacon grease to coat your lettuce. Then, of course, plenty of people toss in the bacon they cooked to get the delicious grease from. Enjoy your hearty, springtime salad. If you liked it, make sure you check out our list of 10 Appalachian foods every needs to taste at least once in their lives.