Name: Hot Bacon Honey Red Wine Dressing
Ingredients: 2 ounces bacon grease; ¼ pounds red onion -- dice fine; 2 cups water; ½ cups honey; ½ cups red wine vinegar; 1 tablespoons Dijon mustard; 1½ tablespoons cornstarch; 1 tablespoon Tabasco

Why it works: Onion and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,259 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Hot Bacon Honey Red Wine Dressing

Ingredients

Directions

Make the base

Place the bacon grease in a saucepan over medium‑high heat.
Add the diced red onion and sauté until the onions start to blacken.
While the onions are caramelizing, place the water, honey and red wine vinegar in a mixing bowl.
Whisk the ingredients together with a wire whisk.
Add the cornstarch and whisk again.

Cook the dressing

After the onions have caramelized, add the Dijon mustard to the onions and stir together with a rubber spatula.
Add the water, red wine vinegar, honey and cornstarch to the mustard and onions and mix.
Continue stirring until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil.
Remove from heat and store in the refrigerator until needed.
To reheat, use a double boiler.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

612Calories

18 gProtein

5 gFat

123 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Honey	1 tbsp (21g)	64
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,259 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,067 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Red wine + vinegartop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together575 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Honey + vinegartop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,586 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Honey + red winetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together112 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Red onion: Caramelizing its sugars adds deep, sweet, savory flavor to the dressing.
Cornstarch: Thickens the liquid into a smooth, pourable dressing as it heats.
Dijon mustard: Adds sharp, tangy flavor and helps emulsify the dressing.
Red wine vinegar: Provides acidity that balances the sweetness of the honey.
Honey: Adds sweetness that balances the acidity of the vinegar.

The step that matters

Stirring the cornstarch mixture until it boils. Cornstarch only thickens fully once it reaches a boil, so stopping early leaves the dressing thin. Keep stirring to prevent lumps and scorching on the bottom of the pan.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (honey, red wine, vinegar, mustard):

Shallotfits better
Horseradishfits better
Broccolifits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against honey, red wine, vinegar, mustard. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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Hot Bacon Honey Red Wine Dressing