I have for a very long time wanted to make mayonnaise from rendered bacon fat. Well, last week I made some smash burgers with a homemade mince of about 40% fat (to meat ratio). In this mince, I put loads of bacon and all of the fat. (I will write the recipe soonish!) In any case, whilst making these smash burgers, pure fat rendered out and I seized the opportunity to make some bacon (smash burger) fat mayonnaise. It is tricky to make mayonnaise from a fat source that is solid at room temperature. Maybe this is closer to a hollandaise. In either case, this is an awesome tasting sauce for an open-faced sandwich with some leftover meat! Please see below in the images the method of how I make the sauce (because mayonnaise is a sauce!) for this tasty lunch.
Ingredients
For the mayo you will need:
- Rendered fat (See how I make rendered fat.)
- Egg
- Mustard (See my homemade mustard recipe!)
- Pickled onion juice (or lemon juice)
For the Sandwich:
- Pickled onions
- Leftover meat (See how I make South African kookkos meat which I used in this recipe.)
- Sourdough bread
- The mayo we are making in this post.
(Bacon fat)
(Rendered beef fat)
Method: Making Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise is simply the emulsifying of egg and oil/fat. In my method, I mix the egg and mustard together. Also, I add some pickled onion juice. I then slowly add the warmed-up liquid fat. THIS IS CRITICAL, keep the bowl you are making the sauce in over another bowl with boiled water in. In the image you see below, the fat started to solidify again and it looks like it "curdled". This is similar to a hollandaise sauce, so keep it warm (I forgot the step and had a fright! But when I warmed up the bowl from underneath, the mayo resembled mayo again.)
(At this stage, you can adjust the consistency. I might have added a bit too much additional oil, so it was a bit too runny for mayo, but it was a very tasty sauce!)
Build your Sandwich
Building the sandwich is always fun. I start by toasting the bread with a layer of the mayo we just made. It gets nice and crispy, with a hint of sweetness and a hint of mustard, and a hint of bacon flavor.
I then add some of the shredded meat. You can use any type of meat. You can also use bacon! Anything would be tasty with this sauce and sourdough bread.
I then also add some pickled onions. These onions were pickled with some normal vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, and salt and pepper. It stood on the counter for three days (as I made them for Friday night smash burgers! But they were even better today after they sat on the counter for a while.)
Lastly, I top the sandwich with a generous helping of the mayonnaise-sauce we just made. The pairing of mustard, creamy, tangy and savory is just beyond this world.
Give this method and recipe a try! It takes some technique, and trials and errors, but once you get the hang of it it will come naturally! It opens vast plains of flavor combinations that most gourmet places will not even have! Experiment, and let your taste buds guide you. Making nice food for yourself is so rewarding. Let me know in the comment section if you have ever made your own sauces from scratch!
