This salad is famous, at least in the Detroit, Michigan, area. It was created at the the J.L. Hudson company, which was a local department store. Hudson’s has since been bought out several times, and is now Macy’s. It was served in the Hudson’s restaurant, and continues to be served even after they have been bought out.
When my children were still at home, we would go there for lunch just to get this salad. I have since found several copy cat recipes and combined various elements to create what we consider the perfect Maurice Salad, just like at Hudson’s.
The most important part of this recipe is the dressing. And, the ingredient that makes it different from other dressings is the addition of a very, very finely chopped hard boiled egg.
I use this chopper I purchased from Tupperware years ago. You can find similar choppers at kitchen stores. It really makes getting the egg very finely chopped so easy.
This is how finely chopped the egg should be.
The other ingredient that helps to make the dressing special is onion juice. You don’t want pieces of onion in the dressing, which can be too strong. It can sometimes be found in stores, or even liquor stores (since it is used in some cocktails), but I make my own. It really is very easy and so much less expensive. I place a grater in a bowl, then grate the onion into it.
Once grated, there will be onion juice and pulp in the bowl. I place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl, pour the onion contents into it, and use a spoon to squeeze out all of the juice. Done!
Then, just mix the dressing together. It will have some small lumps in it from the egg. That is as it should be.
Now, on to the salad, which has very simple ingredients – lettuce, ham, turkey and swiss cheese. It is garnished with slivered gherkins and green olives.
The meats and cheese are julienned. I usually make them all about the same size, just because I like to.
The lettuce, always iceberg, is shredded fairly finely.
I prefer to mix all the salad ingredients, but you can also do a more fancy presentation. I mix everything, plate, and garnish with the gherkins and olives. Sometimes I chop the olives and mix them in with the salad so that I get some in every bite. For a fancier plating, mix the lettuce with the dressing and plate. Then add the meats and cheese in pretty rows on top of the lettuce. Again, add the gherkins and olives as garnish. When I do this I serve extra dressing on the side.
I prefer dill pickle or cornichons instead of the sweet gherkins. My husband likes the sweet gherkins. In either case, I hope you enjoy!
Maurice Salad
- Dressing
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons onion juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons white sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon-style prepared mustard
- ¼ teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1 hard-cooked egg, very finely chopped
- Salad
- 1 pound cooked ham, cut into strips
- 1 pound turkey breast, cut into strips
- 14 ounces Swiss cheese, cut into strips
- ½ cup sweet gherkin pickles, cut into thin strips
- 1 head iceberg lettuce , rinsed, dried, and shredded
- 12 pimento-stuffed green olives
| 1. Prepare the dressing by whisking together the vinegar, lemon juice, onion juice (see step 2), sugar, Dijon, dry mustard and mayonnaise. Add the parsley and egg; mix well. |
| 2. To make onion juice, place a box grater in a bowl. Grate or shred the onion. Using a small mesh strainer placed over a bowl or ramekin, strain the onion mixture, pressing down on the solids to extract all the juice. Alternately, onion juice can be purchased. |
| 3. In a large bowl, combine the ham, turkey, cheese and lettuce. Add the dressing and mix well. Divide among plates, top with gherkins and garnish with olives. |
| 4. Alternately, divide the dressed lettuce among serving plates. Arrange ham, turkey, and cheese over top. Garnish with pickles and olives. Serve dressing on the side. |
Pam's Kitchen Creations 