BLT (or BLAT)
My dad’s favorite sandwich. ‘Nuff said.
2 servings, 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1, 12 oz package of bacon
4 slices bread, I chose Richaud’s
2 roma tomatoes, sliced
1 avocado, sliced
1 head of iceberg lettuce, you’ll need about 6 leaves
Spicy Mayo
1/4 cup mayo
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp sriracha or hot sauce
2 tsp pickle juice or lemon juice
1/2 of 1 garlic clove, grated (can use whole clove)
1 tsp of cayenne pepper
Optional: butter
The Blistered Peppers Take:
Honestly, is there anything better than a BLT? Yep - you knew it was coming, a BLAT! For me, I grew up on avocado, and so every sandwich is just better with it. Throw it on a burger, amazing. Add it to your eggs, delicious. Whip up a quick guac…obviously! Throw some into your salad, this is a must. But, incorporating avocado into your every day bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich brings a layer of freshness (and additional creaminess) that you always knew you needed. If it’s not already stated somewhere that BLTs are the sandwich of the summer, I’m here to declare it. Why the summer? Because crunching through fresh crusty bread, crispy lettuce, and perfectly cooked bacon, on a warm summer day is epic. I loveeeee a BLT when sitting poolside, or curbside (in NYC), or beach side (in CA) or even from your run of the mill diner. Sidebar: BLTs and grilled cheeses are my go-to at any diner - make sure to order the grilled cheese with tomatoes though! For me, a BLT is always a good idea.
The BLT also happens to be my father’s favorite sandwich. I have vivid memories as a kid of him dousing the bread in butter (yes butter!) and then covering it again with a thick layer of mayo. And obviously stacking it high with bacon. A heart attack waiting to happen, perhaps. Delicious, most definitely.
If I told you once, I told you a thousand times. I am not here to deter you from spending time in the kitchen. But, rather to inspire you to get cooking. And there’s nothing more simple than the BLAT. What elevates a simple meal like this, is making sure you use the freshest ingredients.
Avocado
I won’t bore you with my avocado info, again. For that you can go to my guacamole recipe here (and whip yourself up some while you’re at it. Great way to satiate your hunger while the bacon cooks 😊).
Iceberg Lettuce
Let’s be real - NO ONE goes for the iceberg lettuce when they’re making a salad. It’s really the stepchild of all the lettuces. It was big in the 80s and early 90s and then it was shunned. Because it’s basically just crunchy water. But, (good) iceberg is the best shredded on a crunchy taco, as a vehicle for spicy chicken cups, and as a much needed layer on this BLAT. It’s hard to pinpoint what makes the “right” iceberg, but once you get that green ball home, you’ll be able to find the right pieces. I like to take the loose leaves off the top (they tend to be less crunchy), cut the bottom root off, and search through the leaves for the crunchiest pieces. The lettuce here is a key ingredient so make sure you get yourself the six best pieces.
Tomatoes
Like most things here at Blistered Peppers, the type of tomato is interchangeable. But I tend to lean toward the roma tomato for sandwiches. It’s just the right shape, not too big, not too small. And it’s almost always the right amount of juice. To me, these tomatoes are flavorful enough to eat on their own. Just add salt, pepper, and olive oil and you’ve got yourself a meal. Roma tomatoes are also the tomatoes found in this large can of san marzano tomatoes - the most famous canned tomato and THE tomato used for the perfect marinara.
Bacon
If you’re a vegetarian now’s the time to turn away. The star of this sandwich is the bacon. So though it may be frightening, you have to cook it right. Choose your favorite bacon. I tend to get generic uncured bacon from Whole Foods, but my favorite bacon and definitely superior quality is this one from Farm To People. The key here is to not crowd the pan because then you end up boiling the bacon and not frying it. Depending on the size of your frying pan, don’t cook more than four slices at a time. And bacon is a lot of fat and muscle and because of that, you do not need to pre oil your pan. You should always place bacon into a dry pan for best results. (There’s also an oven bake option which helps with cleanliness, but doesn’t always result in the crispiest bacon, in my opinion).
The Bread
Use your favorite bread. If you are a rye bread connoisseur - go for it. If you’ve got a bakery you love and they make the best sourdough - use it. A BP follower recently recommended Richaud to me and I got to say their bread is out of this world and made this BLAT that much better. My main recommendation is to use a bread that will hold up. You don’t want it to fall apart when grilled and even worse, when eaten! (as a New Yorker I will admit that I have even piled up these ingredients on a bagel and it’s a winner!).
As always, make this sandwich yours. Show me how you changed it up. Tag me on social. Can’t wait to see (and hear) what you think. Enjoy!
Steps:
Make the spicy mayo. Whisk together the mayo, mustard, hot sauce, pickle/lemon juice, grated garlic, and cayenne pepper until smooth.
Heat a large skillet on medium heat for about 2 minutes, then add the bacon strips. Cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Allow the strips to cool on a paper towel lined plate or wire rack.
Instead of flipping the strips only one time, I like to flip the bacon strips regularly to get them extra crispy. Should take about 5-7 minutes total and appear almost burnt.
Grill the bread in the same skillet to absorb the bacon fat and flavor. If desired, spread a thin layer of butter on either side of the bread before grilling in the bacon skillet. Meanwhile, if you haven’t already done so, slice the avocado, tomato, and remove the bottom root/stem from the head of iceburg lettuce.
Cover both sides of the toast with spicy mayo. Layer the avocado, tomato, about 6 pieces of bacon, and a few slices of iceberg lettuce on top.
