Venison Bacon Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
The Venison Bacon Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing is my twist on the classic wedge salad that is a permanent fixture at every steakhouse I've ever been to. It may look fancy but it's a simple salad that needs just a few fresh ingredients before getting on the table in less than 15 minutes. My venison bacon salad version of the iceberg wedge salad is drizzled with homemade blue cheese dressing and topped with venison bacon and tomatoes. The smoky, savory bacon goodness is a fun way to transform some of that venison burger in your freezer and have a great topping for lots of different summer salads.Our 8-year-old daughter isn't a fan of blue cheese, so she chooses to top her loaded lettuce wedge salad with ranch dressing. My wife and I love a good blue cheese salad, and you'll see from the photo that she has to add croutons on top of her portion. Whatever twist you want to put on it, this wedge salad recipe I developed using deer bacon is cool, crisp, and refreshingly tasty! I'm currently developing a lot of summer salad recipes for different clients using the huge variety of salad greens in our backyard garden. The salad ideas are endless, and the girls and I are enjoying eating all of them. But it's essential that when you make a wedge salad, you use iceberg lettuce. Do not substitute for something else. The iceberg lettuce shape is what gives the classic wedge salad its name.HOMEMADE BLUE CHEESE DRESSINGI love a good thick blue cheese dressing recipe, but I thinned this version out with a few tablespoons of buttermilk making it easier for the dressing to get into all the nooks and crannies of the iceberg wedge. I used fresh chives from our garden, but you could substitute fresh parsley. Both chives and parsley have a subtle flavor, and in the presence of something strong like blue cheese, neither one is all that noticeable apart from the color it adds.You can make the blue cheese dressing ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for 2 days.Pair this wedge salad with my Cast Iron Venison Steak, for a match made in heaven!If you make this venison bacon salad recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #wildgameandfishDid you enjoy this Venison Bacon Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing recipe? Be sure to leave a 5-star rating RIGHT HERE!
Ingredients
- 5 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
- 3 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
- 1 head iceberg lettuce
- 5 slices venison bacon, cooked
- 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup croutons (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine half of the crumbled blue cheese, buttermilk, sour cream, black pepper, salt, smoked paprika, garlic and 2 tablespoons of chives and stir to combine.
- Fry the venison bacon in a skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes per side, or until it's as crispy as you like it. On a cutting board, chop it into bite-size pieces.
- On that same cutting board, cut the core out of the head of iceberg lettuce and cut it into four wedges.
- Place one wedge on each individual plate for serving. To help all the toppings stick to the lettuce, top each wedge with 2 tablespoons of blue cheese dressing. Garnish with the venison bacon, cherry tomatoes, remaining half of the blue cheese crumbles, and remaining 1 tablespoon of chives. Serve immediately.
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