German Salad 2

A wilted lettuce salad of the hot-bacon-dressing family, written in the shorthand of a camp cook who assumed you knew the proportions. Two things need judgment: how long the salt sits, and how sweet the vinegar gets.

• Cut the salting timeTwo hours of salt collapses lettuce into limp, aggressively salty ribbons. Fifteen to thirty minutes is enough to draw water and soften the leaves while they still hold shape; press out the liquid and taste before adding any more salt.
• Which lettuceThe recipe does not say. A loose-leaf or Boston lettuce wilts kindly and suits the method. Romaine hearts also work. Iceberg gives up water without gaining much flavor.
• "Sweetened vinegar" quantifiedThe original gives no ratio. A workable dressing is about 1/4 cup cider vinegar to 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar for a large head of lettuce, adjusted to taste. Some versions thin it with a spoonful of water.
• Use the bacon fatFry 3 or 4 slices of bacon cut in small squares. Related versions whisk the vinegar into the hot drippings and pour the whole thing over the leaves at once; this recipe does not, keeping the vinegar and the bacon as separate additions.
• Serve immediatelyA wilted salad is at its best in the first ten minutes. It does not hold, and it does not refrigerate.
• Hard-cooked eggsTwo eggs, cooked 10 minutes in barely simmering water and cooled in cold water, slice cleanly without a gray ring.
• YieldOne large head of lettuce dressed this way serves four as a side.