dasherHampton

Platinum Member
Jan 19, 2018
2,543
488
96
I just that stupid Guy Fieri commercial where the guy makes a BLT and it looked really good. I want one for dinner. I'd like to make as perfect of a BLT as I can.

So, as a shot in the dark here:

Ingredients: Do you have a favorite brand of bread, bacon, a favorite type of tomato and mayo? Ones that really lend themselves to that crisp BLT experience?

Speaking of crisp: Is there a way to prevent the sandwich from getting soggy?

For BLT experts: any other tips? Maybe an extra ingredient? Some extra steps during preparation that helps?

My stomach thanks you for any advice.
 

herm0016

Diamond Member
Feb 26, 2005
8,385
1,011
126
best bacon.

we like a hearty sourdough bread lightly toasted

lightly toasted sourdough, buttered on the sandwich side
mayo
bacon
tomato, whatever is in season and ripe. lately our gin fiz have been perfect. they are meaty, not too wet and very tasty, a bit less acidic than some others.
mayo
lightly toasted sourdough buttered on the sandwich side

to me, lettuce is optional. if you have good lettuce go for it.
I like to add avocado and an over medium fried egg from our hens
a little high quality sea salt on the tomato slices
high quality mayo, we like the stuff made with olive oil. or just make it yourself in a blender. super easy to do.

The butter and mayo help keep the bread dry. so does a nice meaty and ripe tomato, others that come to mind are cherokee purple, black krim, beefsteak.

i'm thinking some of their country ham for dinner tonight. its seriously good.
 

Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,244
10,748
136
For BLT's my favorite is a plain (but decent quality) white bread like Pepperidge Farm lightly toasted in the oven, fresh Romaine lettuce and Boars Head bacon done under the broiler.

*(1lb per person MINIMUM!) :p
 

herm0016

Diamond Member
Feb 26, 2005
8,385
1,011
126
For BLT's my favorite is a plain (but decent quality) white bread like Pepperidge Farm lightly toasted in the oven, fresh Romaine lettuce and Boars Head bacon done under the broiler.

*(1lb per person MINIMUM!) :p
No.

Bacon should be loveingly rendered until just crisp on a rack in an oven or on a pellet grill at about 325 degrees.
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
82,854
17,365
136
sugar+free+canadian+bacon+-+page+001_0002.jpg
 

SamQuint

Golden Member
Dec 6, 2010
1,155
45
91
You must layer properly. The tomato cannot touch bare bread. Typically I will go Bread, mayo, tomato, bacon, lettuce, mayo, then bread. If you have the tomato touching plain bread (especially non toasted bread) then you will get a soggy sandwich. The bread most definitely should be lightly toasted. If you toast it too much the sandwich falls apart when you eat it.
 
Mar 11, 2004
23,031
5,495
146
Mmm, yes, but you must follow these steps. Fuck all the uncultured heathens telling you to buy shit.That's for peasants and people with no taste. You must have your help raise the swine, feeding them only the best, not the slop that sad pathetic modern farmers feed theirs. And then you have it butchered at just the right time. You of course have been growing your own vegetables, as well, and will have them monitored hourly, with the tomatoes picked at peak ripeness. Now, you only make one slice from each tomato, any more and you might as well be licking the toilet of an italian restaurant (which incidentally is also where "true" olive oil comes from). Only the lowest dregs of society eat more than one slice out of a tomato. The lettuce, well I can't even actually tell you the specifics of that, either you're a proper person and will know, or you will go on forever shoveling the weeds that you dare to call lettuce into your maws. They mayo, well that can only be made via a proper egg, not this horrible thing squeezed out of the backside of a chicken that society has ingrained in you. But it must be from you impregnating the...oh dear I've said too much already. Well you pathetic normal (or rather sub) humans will find out soon enough. And then you put that on two slices of untoasted Wonderbread (that you stole from a starving family, preferably an orphan) with the crust cut off.

And there is how you make the perfect BLT. Anyone telling you differently has never actually had a BLT, but rather a shit sandwich. Do not let them convince you that they've eaten anything but shit.
 
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dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
24,998
3,325
126
i use miracle whip instead of mayonnaise
If you need to add sugar to your mayo, then you aren't using ripe tomatoes in your BLT. Fix the real problem. Don't band-aid it with Miracle (that people buy this) Whip.
 

Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,244
10,748
136
No.

Bacon should be loveingly rendered until just crisp on a rack in an oven or on a pellet grill at about 325 degrees.


Having done it both ways MANY times and preferring my bacon crispy but not dried out I'll stick with the broiler thanks. (also it takes 1/10th as long to cook)

The exception would be in the case of preparing the bacon for use in sauce/dip in which case I find it works better to have it come out a little "chewy" thus low-temp baking is more effective.
 

Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,244
10,748
136
Mmm, yes, but you must follow these steps. Fuck all the uncultured heathens telling you to buy shit.That's for peasants and people with no taste. You must have your help raise the swine, feeding them only the best, not the slop that sad pathetic modern farmers feed theirs. And then you have it butchered at just the right time. You of course have been growing your own vegetables, as well, and will have them monitored hourly, with the tomatoes picked at peak ripeness. Now, you only make one slice from each tomato, any more and you might as well be licking the toilet of an italian restaurant (which incidentally is also where "true" olive oil comes from). Only the lowest dregs of society eat more than one slice out of a tomato. The lettuce, well I can't even actually tell you the specifics of that, either you're a proper person and will know, or you will go on forever shoveling the weeds that you dare to call lettuce into your maws. They mayo, well that can only be made via a proper egg, not this horrible thing squeezed out of the backside of a chicken that society has ingrained in you. But it must be from you impregnating the...oh dear I've said too much already. Well you pathetic normal (or rather sub) humans will find out soon enough. And then you put that on two slices of untoasted Wonderbread (that you stole from a starving family, preferably an orphan) with the crust cut off.

And there is how you make the perfect BLT. Anyone telling you differently has never actually had a BLT, but rather a shit sandwich. Do not let them convince you that they've eaten anything but shit.


Careful .... some folks around here will take this post seriously! :p
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,387
5,255
136
@Kaido some time this week you need to show us all how to make a proper BLT.
Video or pictures please.
Edit: @Kaido , @WelshBloke and @ElFenix have a strong showing. You got it in ya to beat them?

Oddly enough I'm not a huge BLT fan. However:

1. The first rule is to use tomatoes with flavor. I didn't get "introduced" to tomatoes until like 5 or 10 years ago. I only ever had the perfectly round red ones from the store that tasted like water. Then a lady I used to work with brought in a basketful of homegrown tomatoes to share and OH MY GOSH MY EYES WERE OPENED! BLT's never made sense to me before that: lettuce? no flavor. tomatoes? no flavor. Bacon on...toast? Really? It just fell apart in your mouth & eating delicious bacon on dry toast was pretty meh. But with a REAL tomato? NOW we're talking! Be sure to season the tomato with salt and pepper.

2. Shred the lettuce. With a sharp knife. Re: Serious Eat's BLT Manifesto:


3. Hellman's mayo, of course. Copious amounts of it. Optionally, an atom-thin layer on one piece of toast of Thousand Island dressing. Just enough to give it a Lacroix-esqe hint of tang & sweetness. A whisper of flavor. I like mayo & extra mayo, so I put mayo on both sides: one to hold the shredded lettuce on & one to hold the bacon on, like a bit of glue.

4. As far as bread goes, a lot of options. Wheat, honey wheat, white, sourdough, etc. I will say that a good piece of bakery bread can really make or break a BLT. RideFree's bread machine toast-bread recipe is actually really good for this:


This is an unpopular opinion, but I not only like mine toasted, but I do it using my triple-fat grilled cheese (but no cheese in this sandwich) method (mayo/butter spread on the outside with hot oil in the pan to fry in) on a cast-iron pan:


5. Bacon: this is a bit tricky. Too crispy & it all falls apart in the sandwich. Too soft & it's too hard to tear with your teeth, which ruins the sandwich experience. I either do the oven method on a rack in a pan or else do it sous-vide & then just fry it up, as that makes it crispy-soft. Especially with the sous-vide method, you can stack more bacon together because of the crispy-soft texture...doesn't fall apart into shards, but there isn't any teeth-pulling pieces, so you can get a good bite in. Only catch is, and this may be in my head, I feel like the sous-vide process detracts a noticeable amount of bacony flavor. I may need to revisit this process with better bacon lol. As the BLT Manifest says above, "There's nothing that can ruin a perfect-looking BLT like a slice of bacon that pulls out of the sandwich".

A well-crafted BLT can be a pretty decent sandwich. Personally I can take it or leave it tho. Lately I've been hooked on triple-decker grilled cheese sandwiches. The coma they put me in is amaaaaazing lol.
 

snoopy7548

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2005
8,048
5,043
146
Mmm, yes, but you must follow these steps. Fuck all the uncultured heathens telling you to buy shit.That's for peasants and people with no taste. You must have your help raise the swine, feeding them only the best, not the slop that sad pathetic modern farmers feed theirs. And then you have it butchered at just the right time. You of course have been growing your own vegetables, as well, and will have them monitored hourly, with the tomatoes picked at peak ripeness. Now, you only make one slice from each tomato, any more and you might as well be licking the toilet of an italian restaurant (which incidentally is also where "true" olive oil comes from). Only the lowest dregs of society eat more than one slice out of a tomato. The lettuce, well I can't even actually tell you the specifics of that, either you're a proper person and will know, or you will go on forever shoveling the weeds that you dare to call lettuce into your maws. They mayo, well that can only be made via a proper egg, not this horrible thing squeezed out of the backside of a chicken that society has ingrained in you. But it must be from you impregnating the...oh dear I've said too much already. Well you pathetic normal (or rather sub) humans will find out soon enough. And then you put that on two slices of untoasted Wonderbread (that you stole from a starving family, preferably an orphan) with the crust cut off.

And there is how you make the perfect BLT. Anyone telling you differently has never actually had a BLT, but rather a shit sandwich. Do not let them convince you that they've eaten anything but shit.

When do we add the potassium nitrate?
 
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