BLT Breakfast Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

February 2022. Winter in Memphis, 63 years old, and the cold has settled into the house on Deadrick Avenue the way cold settles into old bones — persistently, without malice, just the physics of aging and December. Rosetta has the thermostat set at 74, our eternal compromise, and I cook warming things: stews and soups and slow-braised meats that fill the house with steam and flavor.

Rosetta beside me through the week, steady as ever, the woman who runs this household with the precision of a hospital ward and the heart of a mother who has loved fiercely for 38 years of marriage.

Smoked turkey wings this week — big, meaty, brined and rubbed and smoked at 275 for three hours until the skin crackled and the meat pulled clean. Turkey wings are the working class of BBQ: cheap, underrated, and transformed by smoke into something extraordinary. Uncle Clyde served them on Fridays at his stand, and I serve them on Saturdays in my backyard, and the tradition bridges the gap between then and now.

Sunday at Mt. Zion, the choir sang and I sat in my pew and let the music hold me. The bass notes I used to add are quieter now — my voice is aging, the way everything ages — but the listening is its own participation, and the church holds me the way the church has held this community for a hundred years: faithfully, unconditionally, with room for everyone who shows up. I show up. That is enough.

The smoked turkey wings on Saturday fill the house with that particular warmth only wood smoke and rendered fat can produce, and by Sunday morning after Mt. Zion, I want something that carries a little of that same spirit into the new week—something with crunch and smoke and a brightness that cuts through the gray Memphis winter. This BLT Breakfast Salad does exactly that: the bacon brings the smoke, the tomatoes bring the color, and the honey mustard dressing brings the kind of sharp sweetness that wakes you up the way the choir’s first notes do. Rosetta approves, which, after 38 years, remains the only review that matters.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

6 strips thick-cut bacon
6 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
4 large eggs, hard-boiled and sliced
1 cup seasoned croutons
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook the bacon. In a skillet over medium heat, cook bacon strips 4–5 minutes per side until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate to drain, then crumble into bite-sized pieces.
Hard-boil the eggs. Place eggs in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit 10 minutes. Transfer to an ice bath, peel, and slice.
Make the honey mustard dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together Dijon mustard, honey, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil until smooth and emulsified. Season with salt and black pepper.
Build the salad base. Spread chopped romaine across a large serving platter or divide evenly among four plates. Scatter red onion over the greens.
Add the toppings. Arrange cherry tomatoes, sliced hard-boiled eggs, and crumbled bacon over the romaine. Top with croutons.
Dress and serve. Drizzle honey mustard dressing over the salad just before serving, or serve on the side. Finish with a few cracks of black pepper.

Nutrition (per serving)

BLT Breakfast Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing — The Smoky, Satisfying Plate That Carries a Saturday Morning