Aunt Beryl’s 24 Hour Salad

Making a lettuce-based salad 24 hours before you eat it might seem a little strange, but you need to trust the process, because it works! The key is to layer the ingredients but to refrain from tossing the salad until ready to serve. The top layer of dressing acts as a temporary seal keeping the ingredients below fresh and crisp. My Aunt Beryl made the best 24 Hour Salad and I hope my adaptation does hers justice!

I can personally vouch for the fact that not only does this 24 Hour Salad remain fresh and wilt-free in the time between when you assemble it to the time when you decide to toss all of those delicious ingredients together before serving. I can also personally vouch for the fact that even hours after that salad is tossed and well-mixed, and the lettuce has lost some of it’s crisp texture, it’s still absolutely delicious!

This is a large salad and can easily feed ten people as a side, but I will prepare it just as it is right here just for the two of us. The first night, we can serve up a large portion and have this salad as meal all on its own. (John.e’s is bacon-free, of course!) And, then on the second night, we have plenty left over to serve it with a main. I love it the next night with some chicken or pork, while John.e likes his with a plant-based chicken or beef.

I don’t prepare this salad very often. I don’t know why, because it’s one of my all-time favourite lettuce-based salads. But, even if I tried, I could not tell you how much of this salad I ate in my childhood. My Aunt Beryl used to make this salad almost every Saturday for Sunday dinner. She was well-known for being one of the town’s best bakers, but she could certainly cook up a storm too!

Growing up, it was a very common practice for us to go to church three times a day on Sundays. We were Apostolic and there was a Sunday morning church service, followed by Sunday School for the kids in the afternoon, and then a Sunday night service as well. The nighttime service was better attended and I looked forward to that one. I hated going to church on a Sunday morning. I felt that the sermon was always aimed at older people, and with there being a smaller congregation, it was rather boring.

Another reason I favoured the evening service was because I knew as soon as it was over, me and my family would head to my Aunt Beryl’s house. She would always serve what could be considered a full meal even though it would have been close to 10 pm when we arrived. There were always leftover cold plates that she would serve. And, then came the sweets! She would have various sweets including coconut cream pie, mint squares, snowballs, and caramel logs, just to mention a few. It’s no wonder I looked forward to church on Sunday night!

LET’S GO TO AUNT BERYL’S HOUSE!

Certain foods, like this 24 Hour Salad, always makes me think back so fondly on my Aunt Beryl. She was one very special lady! Much like this salad, the smell of onions frying takes me back too. More specifically, it takes me back to the cold, winter months of my childhood when I was in grade three!

In the small town that I grew up in, in a few instances, I was paired with other grade levels at school.  For example, the grade two and three classes were hosted in the same room, and I can remember the same about grade five and six.  I’m not sure if it was because of limited classroom space, limited teacher budgets, or because the student number was so low.  Anyway, I digress!

In grade three, I had the most amazing teacher – in fact, most of my teachers were great throughout my academic years, but this one particular teacher was my favourite.  In fact, I still keep in touch via Facebook, more than 30 years later! I remember that the students in grade two would start class at 1 pm, after the one-hour lunch break.  The grade three students, however, were not required back to school until 2 pm.  (Remember, both classes shared the same room and the same teacher.)

Rather than stay home and wait for class to start, I would leave home with my older sister and younger brother who both started back to class at 1 pm, and head to my favourite aunt’s house.  I would stay with her while she ate her lunch.  I would leave about five minutes or so before class started. This was my daily, weekday routine for a very long time.  I can’t recall if it was the entire grade three school year, but I can be certain that it was at least for several months.

My Aunt Beryl had children too.  None of my cousins shared a classroom with me, so all four of them had eaten lunch and headed back to school.  This was when my aunt would have her lunch, and while doing so, she would take a break from her duties as a housewife, and watch Days of Our Lives.  She was the reason I became hooked on daytime soap operas; a habit I’ve since been able to break.

IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE ONIONS!

Right now, at this very moment, I’m sitting at my desk, and I can smell homemade French fries which have been deep-fried in shortening; I can smell the BBQ sauce that she used to dip her fries into (trust me, it works very well if the fries are cut thin and fried until they are crispy); and I can smell onions being pan-fried in a cast iron skillet.

Her home always smelled so good, because something was always cooking on the stovetop, or baking in the oven.  And caramelized onions, I think, were one of her favourite ingredients.  I remember well how much my uncle, her husband, would like to pan-fry onions and potatoes.

These memories and smells bring me right back to 1984 when I became too familiar with Bo and Hope, and watched adult, daytime television with my beautiful aunt.  I still think of her often and only with the fondest of memories.  Her memory evokes such a strong sense of comfort and a time when I had no responsibilities or worries.  My aunt passed away in October of 2002.  She will be forever missed, but my Aunt Beryl’s 24 Hour Salad will live on – even through my interpretation of it presented here!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Iceberg Lettuce – I suppose you could use other lettuces, but this is a classic and I wouldn’t prepare it any other way.
• Tomatoes – I like to use two large tomatoes. Get tomatoes that are good and ripe; firm still though!
• Green Peas – I’m sorry, but there is no substitute for canned green peas in this recipe. The flavour is not right if you use fresh or frozen peas. Period. Full stop.
• Corn – Like the peas, canned corn is best here. (I should make note that I don’t remember Aunt Beryl’s 24 Hour Salad having corn, but I have always added it to mine.)
• Bacon – Cooked until crisp and crumbled. Use low-sodium bacon to avoid an overly salty salad.
• Eggs – Hard boil the eggs. You can roughly chop them and add them to the salad as a layer or you can slice them and arrange them around the inside perimeter of the bowl for presentation.
• Cheese – I prefer to use shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
• Mayonnaise
• Ground Black Pepper
• Onion Powder
• Celery Salt – I can’t be sure if my aunt used this, but it adds tremendous flavour!

HOW TO MAKE AUNT BERYL’S 24 HOUR SALAD

Transfer the ingredients in even layers to a large bowl in the following order: iceburg lettuce, hard-boiled eggs, diced tomatoes, green peas, corn, crumbled bacon, and shredded cheddar cheese. (If you chopped the eggs, you can transfer them to the bowl as a layer. If you sliced the eggs, transfer half of the lettuce to the bowl and then arrange your sliced egg around the side. Add the remaining lettuce which will help to keep your egg slices in place as you continue to build the layers of salad ingredients.) Gently push down on the cheddar cheese layer to create a flat, even surface. It’s okay if the cheese sticks or clumps together. Set aside.

Next, whisk together the mayonnaise, ground black pepper, onion powder, and celery salt. Pour the mayonnaise mixture over the pressed shredded cheese layer and spread the mixture evenly over the top, sealing in all of the layers below. (I did reserve some bacon to pile into the center of the salad for presentation purposes only. You can do the same or add all of the bacon when building the layers of salad ingredients.)

Cover with plastic wrap and refridgerate for up to 24 hours before serving. This salad can be served immediately, but it’s best if left to rest for a minimum of 6 hours. Before serving, toss well to incorporate the mayonnaise layer evenly into all of the other ingredients. Enjoy!

STORING LEFTOVER SALAD

If you have any leftovers, the best way to store them would be to transfer the salad to a food-safe container with a tight-fitting lid. Place it in the refrigerator. From the time the salad is first prepared, it will last in the fridge for two days.

The ingredients will release some water, and the lettuce will wilt significantly, which will certainly impact the overall look of the salad. But, the salad is certainly still edible and still delicious. Be sure to toss the salad well each time you remove some from the bowl.

If you feel that you might not want any leftovers at all, take a look at the size of the recipe. You can just half every single ingredient to make a salad that’s half the size. As written, the recipe will serve ten people as a side.

QUESTIONS?

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