Legendary Michigan Recipes: How to Make Hudson’s Iconic Maurice Salad

Michigan loves food, plain and simple. Because we are all about our taste buds, certain dishes and recipes are just synonymous with the Mitten state in some way or another. From the iconic coney sauce or the infamous Detroit Style pizza, some things are just timeless.

Growing up my mom and I would always go shopping on a Saturday and that would include a stop at Hudson's department store for lunch. I never needed a menu because it was ALWAYS going to be the Maurice Salad. I was obsessed right up until most of the Hudsons/ Macy's closed their restaurants leaving me searching for the "secret recipe'.

Get our free mobile app

Although the mega department store did bottle the delicious salad dressing, I was hoping to recreate the dish at home. Luckily I wasn't the only one searching and stumbled upon the step-by-step recipe.

In case you’re wondering who was Maurice? That’s still up for debate, but most believe he was a chef at one of the original J.L. Hudson department stores where the salad was invented and first made its debut. Once on the menu, it became the number-one favorite for diners.

Keep in mind the key ingredient to this popular Detroit salad is obviously the dressing. Every once in a while you can still find a bottle to buy if you’re lucky, but it might be more rewarding and impressive for you to make the dressing on your own. We grabbed this Detroit Free Press test kitchen-approved recipe from the official Marshall Field's Cookbook. (Hudson's was re-branded as Marshall Fields in 2000)

Maurice Salad

Serves: 6 (generously) / Preparation time: 40 minutes / Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

■ 2 teaspoons white vinegar
■ 1½ teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
■ 1½ teaspoons onion juice
■ 1½ teaspoons sugar
■ 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
■ ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
■ 1 cup mayonnaise, reduced-fat or regular
■ 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
■ 1 hard-cooked egg, diced
■ Salt and freshly ground black pepper
■ 1 pound ham, julienned
■ 1 pound cooked turkey breast, julienned
■ 1 pound Swiss cheese, julienned
■ ½ cup slivered sweet gherkin pickles
■ 1 head of iceberg lettuce, shredded
■ 8-12 pimiento-stuffed green olives for garnish (optional)

Directions

To prepare the dressing, in a small bowl combine the vinegar, lemon juice, onion juice, sugar, Dijon, and dry mustard; whisk well to dissolve the sugar.

Whisk in the mayonnaise, parsley, and egg, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a large bowl, combine the ham, turkey, cheese, and pickles and toss lightly. Pour the dressing over the salad and gently fold it together.

Arrange a bed of lettuce on each plate. Top with the meat and cheese mixture and garnish each serving with 2 olives and serve.

I will say, one of the best versions of the salad I have found locally is at Blondie's Food & Spirits on Hill & Torrey Road.

."}" data-sheets-userformat="{"2":33554688,"11":4,"28":1}">