Bacon Blue Cheese Dressing
Backstory:
Bleu Cheese Dressing is my favorite dressing! Decided to make my own version with some extra flavors that I love such as bacon and thyme.
Ingredients:
1/4 good quality naturally smoked bacon
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayo
4 ounces of good blue cheese crumbled
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 large garlic clove grated
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 tsp MSG
Black pepper, Fresh cracked, to taste
Method:
Cut bacon into matchstick thin strips (lardons). Starting in a cold pan add your bacon and place over medium heat. Slowly render the bacon until very crisp. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Reserve bacon fat for a later cook.
Once cooled, mince bacon as fine as you'd like it in the final sauce.
Pick enough fresh thyme leaves to fill a teaspoon once minced. You will need probably 1.5 teaspoons pre mince. Mince and measure your thyme.
In a large mixing bowl combine creme fraiche/sour cream, buttermilk, mayo, thyme, lemon juice, salt, msg, black pepper, bacon bits, and grate in 1 clove of garlic. Mix well to fully combine.
Crumble in blue cheese. Whisk well. You want to break up some of the blue cheese to combine into the sauce while leaving some whole chunks.
You can serve immediately as a dressing or dip but the sauce will thicken and improve in flavor as it sits. Best served the next day.