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An icon of American steakhouses since its 1930s inception at New York’s Delmonico’s Restaurant, it’s long been acknowledged that the wedge salad comeback is overdue. A classic wedge salad traditionally consists of a carefully cut wedge of iceberg lettuce, bacon pieces, and blue cheese dressing, but you can amp up the flavor with a kick of heat. Tasting Table spoke to Andrew “Kappy” Kaplan, founder of Culinary Advisors LLC and host of Beyond the Plate Podcast, for expert advice on spicing up your next wedge salad. Per Kaplan, “spice can definitely bring excitement to a traditional creamy and crunchy salad.”
A modern wedge salad recipe updates the dressing, herbs, and seasonings for a newer flavor profile. Kaplan mentions that, “there’s no single ‘best’ way” to add heat to your salad, but offers a few options that you can easily try on your own at home. One involves spicing up the dressing. Another introduces spicy, crunchy toppings to vary both the taste and texture. Finally, you can add more flavor to your bacon with a spicy glaze.
Kaplan notes that, “the beauty of a wedge salad is its simplicity” and, to be careful that your addition of spice is, “not too overpowering as to diminish the taste of the crisp iceberg, bacon, and blue cheese.” Depending on your tastes, there is a lot of room for more heat and many ways to balance this with the creamy dressing and refreshing lettuce.
Kappy’s tips for spicing up your wedge salad
Kaplan cites both a staple salad of his childhood home and time spent living in New York as his introduction to spice in salads. Of his mother’s salad dressed with a mixture of olive oil, red wine vinegar, Parmesan cheese, and crushed red pepper flakes, he mentions, “that bit of heat always stood out.” He also references spicy dressing and house-made hot sauces from a couple of his favorite chains, including Chopt and Sweetgreen.
Kaplan advises those preparing a salad to amp up the blue cheese dressing with, “various chili powders, cayenne, or the right hot sauce to give the creamy base a kick.” Much like adding furikake to give your wedge salad a seasoning upgrade, you can also add other toppings infused with heat to create more of a crunchy consistency. On the modern side, consider something like crushing up a handful of Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Crunchy for a topping. Keeping it more traditional, you can crisp up your favorite brand of peppery bacon and glaze it with a spicy sauce to chop up and sprinkle over your lettuce.
The best way to keep all of these tastes and textures balanced is to consider how each flavor works with one another. If you find your salad overwhelmed by heat, adding more creamy dressing and dairy elements will help to temper this. Any way you choose to infuse a basic wedge salad with heat, it will surely become a go-to dish.
