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Dutched Lettuce
Wash carefully two heads of lettuce, separate the leaves, and tear each leaf in two or three pieces. Cut a quarter pound of ham or bacon into dice, and fry until brown; while hot, add two tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Beat one egg until light, add to it two tablespoonfuls of sour cream, then add it to the ham, stir over the fire one minute until it thickens, and pour, boiling hot, over the lettuce; mix carefully with a fork, and serve immediately.
A hot bacon dressing poured over torn lettuce — the Pennsylvania Dutch wilted salad, thickened with egg rather than flour. Everything hinges on the last thirty seconds.
- The hinge: thicken, do not boilOnce the beaten egg and cream go into the pan the mixture will curdle if it reaches a rolling boil. Keep it moving over moderate heat and pull it off as soon as it coats the spoon; the original allows only one minute over the fire.
- Egg safetyFor the egg to be safely cooked the dressing needs to reach about 160F, which is also close to the point where it scrambles. A thermometer removes the guesswork: thick, glossy, no visible strands of white.
- What lettuce to useLeaf lettuce, butterhead or romaine; the two heads called for would have been loose leafy heads rather than tight modern ones. Iceberg will not wilt properly and turns watery.
- Sour creamThe original most likely means naturally soured cream, probably thinner and sharper than the modern cultured product. Commercial full-fat sour cream works; thin it with a spoonful of milk. Avoid low-fat versions, which break when heated.
- Ham or baconA quarter pound of dice, cut about 1/4 inch. Fry until the fat has rendered and the edges are crisp, and use the rendered fat as part of the dressing rather than draining it — that fat is the body of the sauce.
- VinegarThe recipe does not say which vinegar; cider vinegar suits the dish. Period vinegars varied in strength, so start with one tablespoon and taste before adding the second.
- Serve immediatelyWilted salads collapse within minutes. Have the lettuce torn and waiting in a warmed bowl before the dressing goes on the heat, and carry it to the table straight away.
- YieldServes four as a side, two as a light lunch course. Salt lightly if at all — the ham and its fat carry most of the seasoning.
"Dutched" here is generally taken to point not to the Netherlands but to the Pennsylvania Dutch — German-speaking settlers whose salads of leaves wilted with hot bacon fat and vinegar spread widely in nineteenth-century American cookery, thickened either with flour or with a beaten egg to keep the dressing from separating. The method suits warm-weather cooking: it uses a single small pan, needs no oven, and turns a glut of garden lettuce into something substantial enough to serve as a course.