Cinco de Mayo-nnaise

Happy Cinco de Mayo-nnaise day! Instead of posting margaritas and nacho recipes (although, we are working on the latter), we decided to discuss mayonnaise; how it’s made and what you can do with it. It is NOT hard and does NOT take long. Please don’t be afraid.

Store bought mayonnaise is quite tasty, but unfortunately, we haven’t EVER found a brand that didn’t contain canola or soybean oil. So we like to make our own. We either use bacon fat (click here for the recipe) or the only other fat that’s healthy and affordable enough to use at 1/2 cup intervals: avocado oil.

Mayonnaise is an emulsion of tiny drops of some type of liquid fat into egg yolk, along with a  bit of acid and some salt. Yes, the yolk is technically raw. It does get slightly cooked by the acid you add, but it is important that you source eggs that don’t have any cracks, are from pasture grazing chickens and are from a source you trust, preferably a local farm. The basic recipe below yields about 1 cup of mayonnaise and keeps in the fridge for about a week.

Ingredients

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/4 c – 3/4 c avocado oil, almond oil, macadamia nut oil or liquid, cooled bacon fat
  • 1 t lemon juice or vinegar
  • salt

Method

In a blender or the smallest bowl of your food processor, burr the egg yolk and salt. Slowly drip in the oil. Please look at the stream of oil in the picture for my definition of slow. It is very important to drip-drop the oil into the egg yolk at the beginning, making sure the yolk and the oil have thoroughly combined before adding more oil. Once you start to see the yolk thickening, you can add the oil at a slightly faster rate.

Once all the oil is gone, add the lemon juice. Now the mayo is done! It should be thick, slightly yellow and incredibly yummy.

What else can you do with mayo?

Tartar Sauce

1 C mayo + 3 T chopped dill pickles + juice from 1/2 lemon + 1/4 t garlic powder

Spicy Mayo (think Spicy Tuna Roll)

1 C mayo + 2 T chili garlic sauce (spice to taste)

Mix-In Ideas

  • curry powder (yellow, red or green)
  • rosemary + garlic
  • blue cheese
  • chipotle peppers
  • basil
  • pesto
  • caramelized onions

What do you eat with mayo?

Bread-less Sandwich Roll-Up

Using a piece of Bibb lettuce, smear mayo, add some lunch meat, crunchy veggies and roll up

Chicken Salad

shredded chicken + almonds + herb mayonnaise

Double BLT

bibb lettuce +  bacon mayo + bacon + tomato and roll it up

Sushi Salad

spicy mayo + sushi grade tuna or baby shrimp + avocado + green onions + cilantro


Comments

29 responses to “Cinco de Mayo-nnaise”

  1. This looks great. I’ve been thinking about trying to figure out how to use bacon fat in mayo… thanks for the great recipe. Just got really hungry for that BLT roll-up!

  2. We tried this twice last night, and I don’t think we have the right equipment to do it! The first batch (in the food processor) failed right away because the egg yolk just splashed against the side of the bowl, out of reach of the blades. We tried a second batch in the blender (figuring a smaller diameter would give us better success, but again we just couldn’t get enough mixing. Despite dripping the oil in as slowly as possible, we still just ended up with oily egg. In the end, we just had to use plain yogurt as a substitute to make our crab cakes.

    1. i would definitely recommend using the small bowl/blade insert in your food processor. gives the yolk less room to slosh around.

      1. Dana Marie

        You can totally just do it in a bowl with a whisk and arm speed

        1. very true. brandon actually prefers this method.

    2. You an also double up on the ingredients and make more. I had the same issue where the blades in my food processor just went over the tops of the egg yolk and unless you pored in a bunch of oil, it would not blend… and putting in a bunch of oil makes it not come out as it should. I just tripled the ingredients here and took my time and it turned out well enough for me 😉 Made plenty of mayo for me to play with in meals.

      1. i’ve actually started making mayo in the blender…b/c i was having similar issues from time to time. blender is WAYYYYYYYYY better. definitely try it out.

    3. You could just do it by hand with a whisk.

  3. or there is always the wisk option. this accomplishes two things 1. you get a workout 2. you have delicous, healthful mayo.

  4. Virginia

    I only have one bowl for my food processor! I’ll have to look and see if they make accessories I can buy.

  5. Third time is a charm! My food processor isn’t small enough, but the KitchenAid mixer worked great!

  6. Or, you can layer the ingredients in a jar (egg yolk, lemon juice, any seasoning, oil on top) and using an immersion blender, start at the bottom, let mix for about 10 seconds, then slowly start lifting up. The mayo will solidify right there in the jar. Magic!

    I haven’t tried avocado oil. Added to shopping list, thanks!

  7. Brittany Rogers

    Hello,

    Do you know how long this is good for in the fridge after you make it?

  8. I have to say that making mayo has intimidated me, I’m not sure why… Plus, my food processor is huge and I really didn’t want to wisk it. I tried the immersion blender in a jar method that Jenn mentioned with a triple batch and it worked great! Now, thanks to the team effort, I can have great mayo!
    I can’t wait to try the sushi salad!

    1. haha..glad everything worked out for ya bridget.

  9. Can coconut oil substitute for the oil?

    1. it’s quite doubtful, in my opinion. well, i take that back, perhaps it would, depending on the application.

      coconut oil is semi-solid, similar to butter, at room temp. and in the fridge, so it is highly likely that if you’re using it for anything that would require refrigeration (or leftovers) it would solidify and that would be weird. but, if you’re going to eat it all in one sitting, and the flavors lend themselves to coconut, then, perhaps it would be alright. it must be, as i’m sure you know, melted before you emulsify it into the yolk(s).

  10. Ahhh I NEED HELP! I tried to make this with the food processor and although I used two egg yolks, I ended up with a complete runny mess! I don’t know what to do, and I really want to eat this with the Chipotle slaw!

    1. recently, i’ve found that making mayo in the blender is way faster and a bit easier. just make sure you drip, drip that oil in at first.

  11. Caiti Jayne

    Do you have to drizzle the oil in while the blender is on and mixing? I have a magic bullet and you dont have access to drizzle things into it while its blending. Would an electric mixer work?

    1. you do have to incorporate the oil slowly…so yeah go with the mixer over the bullet.

      unless you’re in the mood for a nice workout…in that case you could do it with a wisk!

      1. Caiti Jayne

        No thanks lol! i will try the electric mixer, and come prepared with patience!
        thanks!

  12. Can you use Olive Oil for the oil?

    1. It may end up bitter.

  13. Hi –

    I use a blender and half walnut, half light olive oil, it turns out super yummy. I also put about a half teaspoon of mustard powder in it. I find letting the egg and lemon juice warm up to room temp helps.

  14. I’m pregnant but trying to do Paleo, is this mayo safe for pregnant women since it contains raw eggs, also for children, I have a 1yr and a 6 yr!! Thanks!!

  15. A belated response, but here is a good egg-less version if necessary:
    http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2013/10/27/egg-less-homemade-mayo/

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