Ice-Cold Iceberg Wedge with Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A steakhouse-style wedge built the right way: iceberg chilled until it shatters when you cut it, bacon crisped ahead and drained flat, sweet cherry tomatoes, sharp slivers of red onion, and a thick, from-scratch blue cheese dressing that stays chunky instead of soupy. Everything but the assembly happens in advance, so the salad hits the table in five minutes, cold and loud.

Ingredients

• 4 oz blue cheese (Gorgonzola or Danish blue), crumbled
• 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp buttermilk, plus more as needed
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 clove garlic, grated on a microplane
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt

• 6 slices thick-cut bacon
• 1 large head iceberg lettuce
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 small red onion, shaved paper-thin
• 2 tbsp fresh chives, thinly sliced
• 1 oz blue cheese, extra crumbles for finishing
• to taste flaky sea salt and coarsely cracked black pepper

Instructions

1. Make the dressing first so it can chill: in a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, buttermilk, white wine vinegar, Worcestershire, grated garlic, black pepper, and kosher salt until smooth.
2. Add 3 oz of the crumbled blue cheese and fold it in with a rubber spatula, pressing about a third of the cheese against the side of the bowl to melt it into the base while leaving the rest in visible chunks. Fold in the remaining 1 oz whole. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (up to 3 days); if it thickens past a spoon-coating consistency, loosen with buttermilk 1 teaspoon at a time.
3. Crisp the bacon: lay the slices in a single layer in a cold 12-inch skillet and set over medium heat. Cook 10 to 14 minutes, turning every few minutes, until deep brown and fully rigid. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate in a single flat layer — stacking steams the crisp out of it. Cool completely, then chop into rough 1/2-inch pieces. Can be done up to a day ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
4. Shave the red onion paper-thin, then soak the slivers in ice water for 10 minutes to knock down the raw bite. Drain and pat very dry.
5. Chill the lettuce hard: remove any bruised outer leaves from the iceberg but leave the head whole and the core intact. Rinse under cold water, shake dry, wrap in a clean kitchen towel, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight). Cold, dry lettuce is the entire dish.
6. Just before serving, set the head stem-side down and cut it into 4 equal wedges through the core with a large sharp knife. Trim away the tough white core from each wedge but keep enough to hold the leaves together. Pat the cut faces dry with a paper towel so the dressing clings.
7. Stand each wedge cut-side up on a chilled plate. Spoon 1/4 cup of the chunky dressing over the top and down the layers, letting it settle into the leaves rather than smoothing it out.
8. Scatter the bacon, tomato halves, drained red onion, extra blue cheese crumbles, and chives over each wedge. Finish with flaky salt and a heavy crack of black pepper and serve immediately, with extra dressing on the side.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

More from Sprig Originals

Dark Roux Seafood Gumbo with Quick Shrimp Stock

One-Skillet Blackened Cajun Chicken Pasta

Char-Grilled Oysters with Garlic-Worcestershire Butter

Are you this recipe's original author or publisher? Report a problem