How To Wash And Cut Lettuce For Wedge Salad

Making a wedge salad? From cutting to washing, here’s everything you need to know about how to prepare lettuce for wedge salad.

I love a good wedge salad recipe, but if you’ve never made one before, you might be staring at your lettuce wondering, “how do you I cut lettuce for wedge salad?” or “how do I WASH lettuce for wedge salad?”

Well, I LOVE a good kitchen tip, whether it’s which gluten-free spaghetti noodles are the best or how to deep clean your kitchen, so today, we’ll walk you though exactly how to prepare lettuce for wedge salads!

The good news is that it’s easier than you think, and a few quick tricks can make this process as smooth as possible.

Here’s what you need to know about washing and cutting lettuce for wedge salads…

Here’s What You need To Cut Lettuce For Wedge Salad:

• A Whole Head Of Lettuce. You’ll start with an entire head of iceberg lettuce. Iceberg’s cool, crisp texture and round shape are ideal for making wedge salads. Other varieties of lettuce have too many ruffles and are too oblong to work well, so it’s best to stick with iceberg lettuce.
• A Cutting Board. Something sturdy you can use to cut the lettuce.
• A Sharp Knife. Obviously, a knife! I prefer a large knife (like a chef’s knife or santoku knife) for this job.

How To Cut Iceberg Lettuce For Wedge Salad, Step By Step:

1. Wash The Lettuce. Start by washing the outside of the lettuce.
2. Remove the outer layers of lettuce (any outer leaves that looks wilted, damaged, or extra dirty).
3. Trim off the tip of the stem, if needed (this sometimes looks an almost rusty-brown). Don’t cut off the whole stem end, just the rusty-looking tip.
4. Use a long knife to cut the lettuce in half top to bottom, through the stem end.
5. Cut each half into 2-3 wedges (3 for a large head of lettuce, or 2 for small).
6. Gently rinse each wedge of lettuce, letting the water run between the layers of lettuce to rinse them out. Drain extra water and set aside.
7. Serve or store. Use the wedges right away for wedge salad, or store in a zip-top bag in the fridge with a paper towel to absorb any excess liquid.

FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Wedge Salad:

How Many Wedges Can You Get From A Head Of Iceberg Lettuce? I large head of iceberg lettuce will make 6 wedges. A medium head will give you 4.

Can You Use Other Lettuce For Wedge Salads? I don’t recommend it. I love other varieties of lettuce (like Romaine hearts, green leaf, etc.) for other kinds of salads, but iceberg lettuce has the best shape and size for making wedges.

How Do You Wash In Between Layers For Wedge Salad? I recommend holding the stem end together with one hand, then using the other to gently separate the leaves as you run the lettuce wedge under cold water. This will help water get in between all the layers of lettuce.

How To Store Lettuce Wedges. My best trick (that I also use for all lettuce!) is to wash the lettuce, shake off excess water, and store in a zip-top bag (or airtight container) with a paper towel. The paper towel will absorb excess water and humidity, keeping the lettuce nice and crisp! Lettuce stored this way usually lasts 7-10 days!

⭐ Don’t forget to leave a star review and comment below when you try our wedge salad tutorial. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!

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