Quick Mayonnaises

[Shalmanese]

Quite often in the course of cooking, I'm left over with significant amounts of rendered animal fat, whether it's from frying off some bacon or searing some chicken thighs or roasting a pork shoulder. If it was fairly neutral, I would sometimes save it and use it as a base for a later dish but sometimes the fat would be heavily spiced or flavored and I generally never figured out what to do with it so I threw it away. Recently, I came into the possession of a cuisinart miniprep and, tonight, I came up with the idea of doing a "quick mayo" with the leftover fat from a five spice rubbed rack of ribs. The result was rich, subtly spiced and deeply meaty mayo that has me curious about the possibilities.

The miniprep turns mayo making from a 10 minute affair to a 30 second one and it makes it possible to make a dazzling array of unique mayos from what I previously would have thrown away. I'm dying to try making a mayo from roast chicken fat and using it in a cold roast chicken sandwich the next day or making a potato salad with a bacon mayo.

Does anyone else do this? Have you had any stunning successes or failures?

[Tri2Cook]

Does anyone else do this?

No... but I will now. Cool idea.

[Jon Savage]

Outstanding idea- need to try this sooner rather than later

[Little Colleen]

Brilliant. I can't wait to try -- esp with bacon. But you're right; the possibilities are endless.

[jmolinari]

this sounds awesome, but how does the mayo act when refrigerated? Most of those fats are very solid at cold temps, so i imagine the mayo sets up like butter almost?

Duck fat mayo...hrmmmm....bacon mayo...hmmmm.

[michael_g]

Bacon mayonnaise was on Bitten a while ago. Sounds delightfully excessive...

[jmolinari]

I just thought of something brilliant: egg salad made with bacon mayo.....

[buffy]

I just thought of something brilliant: egg salad made with bacon mayo.....

Wonderful idea! And to think I just stumbled upon this thread while searching for a new recipe for egg salad.

Now have to go find some decent bacon.

[Blether]

Prawn shells & heads deep-fried so the oil can be used in mayo is pretty good.

[jmolinari]

Prawn shells & heads deep-fried so the oil can be used in mayo is pretty good.

Plus you hve the benefit of ending up with some tasty snacks:)

[Abra]

I like the idea but I'm wondering how it works. Do you make the mayo while the fat is still warm, so that it's liquid? If so, doesn't the egg cook? And then, as others have asked, doesn't it solidify in the fridge, or do you just use it immediately?

[Tri2Cook]

I like the idea but I'm wondering how it works. Do you make the mayo while the fat is still warm, so that it's liquid? If so, doesn't the egg cook? And then, as others have asked, doesn't it solidify in the fridge, or do you just use it immediately?

The fats wouldn't have to be hot to be liquid, they'd just have to be not cold. Even when most fats start to get that opaque look at cooler room temp, they're still somewhat fluid. A very slight bit above that and they're liquid. I'm curious about the fridge question as well. Even if it doesn't solidify in the fridge, I'm wondering if it gets a thick, greasy mouthfeel. I plan to try this so I'll stick some in the fridge and find out. Worst case, you could probably scoop some into a small bowl and whisk it in a just slightly warm water bath to loosen it up as needed.

[eternal]

how do you make may with the mini prep? Does yours have a spout on top to pour in the oil? Mine doesnt and there doesn't seem to be a way to slowly add the oil in.

[Shalmanese]

how do you make may with the mini prep? Does yours have a spout on top to pour in the oil? Mine doesnt and there doesn't seem to be a way to slowly add the oil in.

Mine has two small holes at the top which allow oil to drip in at the perfect rate.

[scott123]

So, what's the final word on refrigeration? Can these mayos be refrigerated without compromising texture?

I'm guessing they can't, but it would be nice to know for certain from someone who's tried.

As exciting as this sounds, I prefer my mayo chilled. If this has textural issues when chilled, count me out.

[Shalmanese]

So, what's the final word on refrigeration? Can these mayos be refrigerated without compromising texture?

I'm guessing they can't, but it would be nice to know for certain from someone who's tried.

As exciting as this sounds, I prefer my mayo chilled. If this has textural issues when chilled, count me out.

I finally tried this again tonight. The mayo sets up stiff when cold but the emulsion holds. With a pork fat mayo, it's about the texture of soft pate. It's still definitely spreadable but it's a different texture from oil based mayos.

[Shalmanese]

A request from someone on the east coast: Can you try making a lobster roll dressed with lobster mayo made from sauteing the shells/roe in a neutral oil and then report back about whether this is superior to the standard recipe? I feel like this would be the perfect use for a quick mayo.