Thousand Island Dressing

September 7, 2019 by Madeline Horszt 6,299 Comments

As a newly converted lover of Thousand Island dressing, I am proud to present you with South Shore Kitchens most current passion a creamy, tangy full-flavored dressing recipe we are ready to slather on everything. It is bursting with a rich zesty flavor and everything the bottled version is lacking. This one is thick and chunky just begging to be spooned over a hearty wedge of iceberg lettuce. We did a creamy blend of silken tofu and mayo blended with eggs, sweet relish, and spices to bring you a gem of a recipe.

To be totally honest, I wasn’t initially sold on this whole Thousand Island dressing thing. In fact, I would say I have an aversion to it. If Thousand Island dressing is mentioned as a good idea, I am immediately jumping ship. For as long as I can Mama M has been singing the praises of Thousand Island dressing and every time, I roll my eyes and say, “people don’t really eat that stuff”. However, she swears by it and throws out her go-to question, “how will you ever know you don’t like something if you don’t try it?”. Ok, fair enough because I haven’t ever actually tasted it. I have spent my whole life judging it based on the horrifying salmon-colored bottles lining local grocery store shelves.

Born Again Taste Buds

I should be a better person and try new things more often. So here we are in the South Shore Kitchen attempting scratch-made Thousand Island dressing. After doing a little online research, digging through old recipe boxes and listening to Mama M regale us with stories of her childhood filled with homemade Thousand Island dressing. We came to one conclusion when it comes to Thousand Island dressing people do whatever they want. The only consistency being it has mayo and ends up salmon colored.

Armed with a basic idea of what we wanted to put in our dressing we set out on a mission to create a South Shore Kitchen version of Thousand Island dressing even I could love. Feeling good about the progress we were making I heard this nagging voice in the back of my head. It was Mama M standing behind me saying, “eggs, it needs eggs”. What? No! She says, “I clearly remember my mom peeling a dozen eggs when she made the dressing”. We then went on to debate if she was making egg salad, the validity of her dusty childhood memory, why aren’t people doing it now, and how much dressing was being made that it called for a dozen eggs? Ultimately, she reigned victorious and we now have another ingredient to add to the list. Hopefully, she won’t read this, but it was a good call and by good, I mean
absolutely genius.

Tofu or not Tofu?

In our recipe, we cut back on the amount of mayonnaise by using silken tofu. If you are unfamiliar with silken tofu, it can be found in most grocery stores either in the refrigerated case with the other tofu products or sold as shelf stable in the natural foods or Asian section of your local market. Silken tofu has a thick consistency almost like a custard. With a creamy texture and little flavor, it makes a great substitution for dairy products. You still have a rich flavor in your finished product but with less fat and no one will know the difference.

Once your hard-boiled egg is cooled. Peel it and then press through a fine-mesh strainer. Some of the egg will stick to the backside of the strainer. Simply, scrape it off and add it to the rest of your egg mash. The result should be almost a curdled texture, it is a very delicate blend of mashed egg with the whites and yolks still visible that will blend nicely in your dressing. Do not skip the fine mesh strainer and mash by hand. Your eggs will be too mushy.

Grating onions isn’t for the faint of heart or people with sensitive eyes. It’s best to work quickly and carefully before your eyes start burning. We grated our onions on a 4-sided box grater using the smaller holes. Grate over a container to catch the liquid that comes out when grating your onions. You will add both the liquid and onion bits to your mixing bowl.

The Devil’s in the Details

Quick note on sweet pickle relish, if you are using store-bought read your label. We noticed some of the major brands are using artificial sweeteners. There is no added sugar in our recipe, so we are relying on the sweetness of the relish. As a personal preference, we used the organic version from our local Kroger’s because it contained cane sugar instead of corn syrup.

There you have it, South Shore Kitchen Thousand Island dressing! Not only is it great for a dressing on salad but also as a sauce or condiment. If you are looking to use up any extra dressing check our rye crust Reuben pizza. What are you topping with Thousand Island dressing? Comment down below or tag us on social media and show us what you are cooking.