BLT
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There is something I love about life’s simple pleasures: Sunsets, road trips, beer, etc. The perfect sandwich for simplicity? The BLT. Sure, one could argue PB and J is easier to make. While that may be true, one thing stands out. It doesn’t have bacon on it. Although it’s unclear when and where we started using the term BLT, the first recipe for this type of sandwich appeared in a 1903 cookbook entitled Good Housekeeping Everyday Cookbook. Only thing different from how we know it today is that the recipe called for a slice of turkey which really made it more of a club. But who cares? The BLT was born.
There is really only one hard and fast rule I abide by when making this sandwich and that is to use only the best ingredients available. I very rarely eat this sandwich outside of tomato season. Good bacon and greens are fairly easy to find year round. Tomato on the other hand can be a bit of a chore to come by in say…December. Although, thanks to hydroponic gardening, good maters are a bit easier to find than they used to be. Heirlooms are my all-time favorite tomato. I’ll buy them every time I have the chance.
I only go for the best bacon for a BLT. Thick cut bacon that preferably has been dry cured. That can be really tough to find so if you can’t locate that, no prob. Stick with whatever thick stuff you can find and it will be fine.
Now for the greens. I say greens because I usually always use arugula instead of lettuce. This is just a personal preference. I friggin love arugula. (On this recipe I used micro arugula.) I think it goes perfect with any sandwich, especially a BLT. But if you can’t find it or don’t like it, lettuce is fine. Only for goodness sake, try to find some red oak or butter lettuce. I’m not a fan of iceberg lettuce.
Lastly, with the bread, there is a good bit of forgiveness in this category. You can pretty much use whatever simple, white bread you can find. However, let me give my two reasons for a ciabatta roll. First, it’s delicious. Second, it’s a very tough and chewy bread. It holds up a lot better when you’re taking bites of tough and chewy bacon. Regular old sandwich loaf will disintegrate pretty easily on a BLT. So there are my rules. Well, one rule and some suggestions. Enjoy.
Ingredients
(For 2 sandwiches)
- 4-6 slices of thick cut bacon
- 4-6 heirloom tomato slices
- Handful of arugula
- 2 ciabatta rolls split down the center (or whatever bread you’re using)
- Mayo
Instructions
Cook the bacon until just crispy in a skillet. (I use this splatter screen from Zulay to keep the bacon grease from popping on me.) When bacon is done, remove with a slotted spoon. Remove all but about one teaspoon of bacon grease from skillet.
Toast bread slices in skillet until golden brown. Alternatively, you can do this in an oven or toaster, but c’mon, it’s bacon grease! When bread is nice and toasty, spread a good layer of mayo on both slices and stack with bacon, tomato, and lettuce. Enjoy warm.