I love macaroni salad especially when it has so much in it — celery, carrot, pickle relish, crushed pineapple, meat, cheese… I have to admit though that there are times when I want more — more color, more texture and more flavor. Bacon is the answer.
Connie’s notes
And I’m not just talking about bits of bacon tossed with the noodles. Sure, that will add color, texture and flavor to the salad but you can go a step farther.
I’m talking about bacon fat. You whisk a tablespoon of bacon fat into the mayo, along with softened cream cheese, and… Well, you just have to try it.
You will need fatty bacon for this macaroni salad. Belly bacon. The kind that renders fat almost as soon as the rashers touch the surface of a hot pan.
You will need only a tablespoonful of the flavorful fat, but don’t worry if you get a lot more than that. You can set aside and chill what you won’t use, and reserve it for another cooking project.
If you need some assistance in cooking the macaroni, there is a detailed post on how to cook pasta to full al dente perfection minus all the hype that the web is full of.
If you’re not a fan of raw carrot, peel your carrot and toss, uncut, into the pot of boiling pasta. Cook for five minutes, scoop out, drain, cool and chop.
Ingredients
- 250 grams belly bacon (about ½ pound)
- 250 grams macaroni (about ½ pound) cooked in salted water and drained
- ⅓ to ½ cup chopped carrot
- 2 to 3 stalks stalks celery thinly sliced
- 1 can crushed pineapple drained
- ¼ cup sweet pickle relish
Dressing
- 125 grams cream cheese (½ cup) at room temperature
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon bacon fat
- salt to taste
- white pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the bacon slices into half-inch wide pieces.
- Fry in an oil-free pan until browned.
- Scoop out the browned bacon, drain on a stack of paper towels and cool for a few minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, dump in the cooked macaroni. Add the bacon, carrot, celery, crushed pineapple and pickle relish. Toss to distribute the ingredients evenly.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, mayonnaise and bacon fat until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, and whisk to blend.
- Scrape the mayo-cheese dressing into the bowl with the pasta. Fold until all solid ingredients are coated with the dressing.
- Chill the bacon macaroni salad before serving.
