Kilt Lettuce

Recipe from Ashleigh Shanti

Adapted by Korsha Wilson

Updated December 10, 2024

  • Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
20 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(37)
Comments
Read comments

“Kilt, as in ‘killed,’ is how mountain folk describe once-lively lettuce that has been forgotten and left to wilt on the counter (or in the back of the fridge for the modernists),”the chef Ashleigh Shanti explains in her cookbook, “Our South” (Union Square & Co., 2024). This dish speaks to the resourcefulness of Appalachian cooks, who found a way to make delicious meals out of produce that may have been past its prime. With a few staple ingredients, a head of iceberg lettuce becomes a tangy and slightly sweet salad that pairs well with a simple roast chicken or mustard-glazed pork tenderloin, and can also serve as a main course with simply cooked rice or roasted vegetables alongside. —Korsha Wilson

Featured in: Taking a Closer Look at Southern Cooking, One Region at a Time

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • ½ pound slab bacon, thickly sliced and then cut into ½-inch pieces, or 5 thick-cut slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces

  • 1 small yellow onion, halved and cut into ¼-inch slices

  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

  • 1 tablespoon honey

  • 1 head iceberg lettuce (preferably a few days old or left on the counter for a day), coarsely chopped

  • Salt and black pepper

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

10 grams carbs; 37 milligrams cholesterol; 269 calories; 9 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 21 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 526 milligrams sodium; 9 grams protein; 8 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large, high-sided stainless steel skillet or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels, leaving the rendered fat in the pan.

  2. Step 2

    Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Carefully and slowly pour in the vinegar, scraping to release any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the honey. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 30 seconds.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in the bacon, remove the pan from the heat and add the lettuce. Let stand for 3 to 4 minutes to wilt, then toss to coat (some of the lettuce will retain its “bite”). Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
37 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Bonnie Dodson

I have eaten kilt lettuce all my life but never from old lettuce. Living in the North Carolina mountains we highly anticipated those first leaves of fresh lettuce in the spring. We cut up spring onions with the lettuce and killed it with bacon grease or more likely fatback grease but never with store bought iceberg lettuce. Sometimes we could find wild branch lettuce which worked very well.

Carol Durusau

Kilt lettuce is made from fresh lettuce, straight from the garden. It is wilted by the hot bacon grease. Not from old wilted lettuce.

A. steffen

Romaine? Should be leaf lettuce straight from the garden. Wilted lettuce salad - first taste of spring in East Tennessee. Or killed salad, kilt is what bagpipers wear! Anyhow, always a favorite.

Kilgore Thomas

My Appalachian grandmothers would never have used iceberg lettuce. It was always fresh leaf lettuce straight from the garden with fresh green onion. Always a well-seasoned cast iron skillet.

TL

I remember my grandmother making this when I was a kid, but she only ever used wild dandelion greens, picked before they flower.

Cheryl

I always add radishes and never old iceberg.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Credits

Adapted from "Our South" by Ashleigh Shanti (Union Square & Co., 2024)

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.