Baconnaise! (or just plain mayo for the less pork-enthused)

I am happy to bring you the third installment in my homemade condiment series! Never on time, always unexpected, but always delightful. My previous recipes are for ketchup (lacto-fermented!) and french onion dip. 

I'm pretty proud of this recipe. Like my ketchup, it's taken many trials to figure out exactly what I like. I've also tested different methods of making it. Recently I discovered a secret ingredient that makes mayo that is out of this world, and I have lovingly decided to share with my readers. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you...as I have affectionately dubbed it...

BACONNAISE!!!

This recipe is a conglomeration of the one found in Nourishing Traditions and on Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

First things first - the ingredients:

1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp vinegar 
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp palm sugar
(As always, I suggest cutting back on the amount of sweetener you use if you use something other than palm sugar, because the palm sugar is a very mild sweetener.)
1 Tbsp whey (optional, but recommended)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup of sunflower oil
And finally, several Tbsp's of melted bacon grease. *Psst this is the secret ingredient. I'm really bad about not measuring.
(And for those who are looking for a plain mayo, you can use a few Tbsp's of refined coconut oil instead. Refined since it doesn't have a coconutty flavor. You should also up the salt to 1/2 tsp, since the bacon grease is salty on it's own. While it isn't necessary, I highly recommend adding one or the other, because it helps thicken the mayo once it's chilled.)

Do not do as I did here and throw everything in at once and mix hoping to save time, unless you want soupy mayo. Stay tuned for further instructions.

 Instructions: 

There are several different methods for mixing this up, and I have tried them all, but my favorite is using an immersion blender, because I can make it directly in the jar I want to store it in, and it takes less time to wash the attachment. Your other options are a blender or a mini food processor. 

One more thing - before you start mixing, in order for the mayo to properly emulse, it helps to have the eggs at room temperature. Now. If you are ANYTHING like me, you will never ever ever remember to set your eggs out ahead of time. Period. Fortunately I've solved this dilemma by combining it with another step. If you've seen the movie "Julie and Julia," you will know that warming the container you are making it in helps out with the emulsification process as well. (If you haven't seen it, for Pete's sake stop making mayo and go watch it!) Here's where my magical trick comes in - put all the ingredients except the oil into the mixing container of your choice, whether it be jar, blender, or processor, and then put the container into a bowl of hot water like so, for several minutes.

If you happen to be heating your ingredients in an adorable red Pyrex bowl, you may want to use your minutes to sit there and admire it.

Again, my lack of precise instructions here will probably irritate you more Type A personalities, but if it helps, I've gone anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes. I usually pass the time by racing around my kitchen and seeing how much I can clean up in that time.

After your time is up, remove the container from the water and use your method of choice to mix these ingredients for about 30 seconds. Then it's time to add the oil(s), which can be mixed together beforehand. I find it helpful to put them in a glass measuring cup because a) it makes a nice, thin stream as you pour and b) it is easier to clean oil off glass than plastic. Sloooowly start pouring the oil in while mixing up and down with the immersion blender. If you are using a conventional blender, you can pour it in the hole your open in your lid while it is blending. If you use a mini processor...well...you have a little harder. You have to open, pour a little, close, blend for a few seconds, then repeat with the rest of the oil. I have heard of processors that have a little hole in the top for adding the oil, but I have yet to see one of these elusive gadgets. I'm perfectly happy with my immersion blender.

The mayo will start thickening about halfway through the oil adding process. In the end you end up with lovely mayo that will rival anything you get from the store. Just refrigerate and enjoy.

If you added the whey, you have one step left. Seal the jar and leave it out at room temperature for seven hours, allowing it to lacto-ferment, then store in the refrigerator. This turns it into a probiotic food, and I ask you, who couldn't use more probiotics in their life?

Le sigh

I hope this post doesn't seem too wordy for a simple recipe. I wrote it with people like me in mind, who feel like they need someone to hold their hand through making a "scary" recipe for the first time, as in something out of the ordinary realm of cooking, like kombucha, or yogurt, or...baconnaise.

If you try the recipe, let me know how it works for you! Were my instructions sufficient for walking you through mayonnaise-making?

This post is linked at Food Renegade's "Fight Back Friday September 28th" and The Healthy Home Economist's "Monday Mania 10/1/2012."