Bacon-Wasabi Slaw

Bacon-Wasabi Slaw

Here is a fact about me: I hate mayonnaise. Whole-heartedly. I am not really a fan of anything with a mayo-like consistency, but I have been able to work yogurt and sour cream into recipes so long as they are fully incorporated and not eaten off a spoon and allowed to slither down my throat leaving my tongue all slimy feeling. But it goes further than that just hating the texture of mayonnaise – I hate the taste of it.  I don’t love the taste of yogurt or sour cream, but it is mild enough and generally adds to dishes that call for it. Mayonnaise just tastes wrong. Something about two dozen eggs just sitting on the shelf in a Hellman’s jar just waiting for its next unfortunate victim really funkifies that rancid stuff. I use replacements for nearly every mayo recipe: yogurt is the ingredient in my chicken salad; Kewpie – Japanese mayo which is far superior to American mayo (and even then only gets in my mouth when combined with an alarming amount of Sriracha or wasabi paste), and yogurt for slaw. The only mayo I tolerated was Central Market’s Organic Garlic Mayo and really that was only a tablespoon that had gone into some tuna salad and eventually got thrown away from non-use. So we get it, I hate mayonnaise.

This brings me to cole slaw. As a Texan, I appreciate BBQ. Albeit, not as much as some people but  I just can’t eat ten pounds of meat without needing to go to sleep for at least 12 hours and I am just too busy for that. What gets me is that as good as BBQ is, how did cole slaw make its way into the mix? I have not EVER been able to understand why ANYONE would have any part of the cole slaw abomination. It manages to combine two things I dislike most – mayo and vinegar all in one soggy mouthful. I get it – a slaw of some sort is delightful with BBQ to cut the heaviness of the meat…just leave cole out of it.

Recently, I was lucky enough to cook the sides for a baby shower for some dear friends. Their menu wish was BBQ. James – the male host – made the most mind-blowing, crack-like, succulent pork shoulder I have ever enjoyed (read gorged on) and some delicious brisket on his Texas-sized smoker. The thing is so big it will not fit in the garage or back yard and lives attached to his truck. Hey, everything is bigger in Texas. I was in charge of making the sides (which included crockpot beans, Hatch Green Chili Mac and Cheese) and decided that to feed a crowd BBQ without slaw was an injustice to BBQ. Thus, in an attempt to be traditionally non-traditional, Bacon-Wasabi slaw lightly dressed with Greek yogurt and bacon grease is born. I actually had a taco recently that boasted “Wasabi Bacon Asian Slaw” and, though it was good, it lacked the flavor punch and crunch I was looking for. So, using Boss Hogs tacos as my inspiration, I went about making up a recipe for “cole slaw” that I could stomach. The result was awesome and I stomached it everyday for a week.

This slaw will match any number of things (tacos, bed for grilled chicken, topping to beans, topping to beans and pork shoulder, side salad, etc.), budget-friendly, bacon filled, fresh and …most importantly…..MAYONNAISE FREE!!!The bacon grease really gives the dressing a smokey, God’s meat quality but feel free to skip this step or reduce the amount you include for health reasons. This recipe made a ton of slaw, which I enjoyed for about five days after the party.

Bacon-Wasabi Slaw

Slaw

Half Head Red Cabbage or Radicchio
Half Head Savoy Cabbage
Three Cups shredded carrots
Two red apples, julienned
One package thick-cut, applewood smoked bacon, baked until crispy and roughly chopped (grease reserved)
A couple pinches kosher salt
Black pepper to taste

Dressing

Juice of one lemon
One cup Greek yogurt
One half cup wasabi paste (feel free to add more to taste)
Reserved bacon juice (aka juice of God’s meat)

Combine all veggies, bacon pieces and fruit in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl combine all dressing ingredients and mix well. Mix dressing ingredients together well, taste and adjust as desired. Add dressing to veggies, with salt and pepper. Stir well and then taste. Adjust seasoning as necessary.