A well-made BLT sandwich is the king of all sandwiches. There I said it. To make a perfect bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich all you need is 5 ingredients. Plus a pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
A great slice of tomato is of absolute importance, hence my BLT days are usually limited to the summer after the first of many garden tomatoes come in.
All in all, it’s a pretty simple sandwich. Start with some nice crispy bacon, still warm from the oven. Slather creamy thick mayonnaise onto toasted bread with crispy iceberg lettuce and tomato slices that are fresh from the garden. Simple right? The trick is to get it all made before the toast and the bacon get cold!
What Do You Need To Make A BLT
To make a BLT, you will need only 5 ingredients. Bacon, lettuce, tomato, bread and mayonnaise. The simple ingredient list is the reason this sandwich is so popular around the world. That and it’s piled high with bacon!
Bacon
There are some great slabs of bacon on the market today. I like to have a crisp bacon on my BLT sandwiches, so I prefer a standard cut bacon instead of thick cut or hand cut bacon. When I cook it in the oven, its always crisps up perfectly for sandwiches. I learned the cold oven bacon trick from Chef Kim at my first full-service restaurant, the Williamsburg Restaurant, and it has never failed me.
Bread
I love all kinds of bread but for a summer BLT skip the artisan breads. For our BLT sandwich we want a soft interior and a bite through crust, almost in the style of Wonder Bread. Call it nostalgia, but a nice thick cut toasted white bread is the perfect sliced bread for a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Texas toast will do in a pinch.
Tomatoes
A great slice of tomato is of absolute importance, hence my BLT days are usually limited to the summer after the first of many garden tomatoes come in. I’m looking for tomatoes that have a deep red color and have been fully ripened on the vine. Those are the tomatoes that haven’t seen the inside of a refrigerator and are just bursting with flavor!
Lettuce
There are 3 ingredients inside a BLT sandwich and lettuce is one of them. Can’t make this sammie without it. Iceberg has gotten a bad rap over the years, but I love it shredded or roughly chopped. Iceberg lettuce brings a cool bright crunch that perfectly offsets the salty bacon and the sweet tartness of the tomato.
Mayonnaise
Thick creamy mayonnaise is a must spread for a BLT sandwich. Personally, I prefer Hellman’s over Dukes. If you hate mayonnaise, then a good substitute is Miracle Whip.
I like Hellman’s mayonnaise because it just seems creamier and not as tangy as Dukes mayonnaise. I’m already getting plenty of flavor from the bacon and the tomato, so Hellman’s it is.
How To Cook The Bacon
To make the perfect crispy bacon that you need for a BLT, use the cold start oven method. Lay out the bacon strips on a wire rack with a drip pan to catch the bacon drippings. Put the rack of bacon into a cold oven and then turn the oven to 400 degrees F. Cook the beacon for 22 to 25 minutes until it is just crispy all around. Take the bacon out of the oven and drain on paper towels. You’ll notice that the bacon has shrunk less and maintains a great shape for layering onto sandwiches.
How To Make The Perfect BLT Sandwich
Step 1
Cook the bacon slices (4) at 400 degrees until crispy. About 20 minutes. Drain the bacon on paper towels and keep in a warm palace.
Step 2
Shred the iceberg lettuce (1./2 cup) and slice the tomato (2 slices).
Step 3
Toast the bread (2 slices) and then spread mayonnaise (1 tbsp) on each slice.
Step 4
Layer the sammie by topping the bottom slice with iceberg lettuce. Then add the bacon strips and the tomato slices. Season the tomatoes with a pinch of Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Top the sandwich with the remaining piece of mayonnaise slathered toast. Cut the bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich in half and enjoy!
Watch How To Make A Perfect BLT Sandwich
Equipment
- Oven or Fry Pan
Ingredients
- 4 slices Bacon
- 2 slices Bread
- 1/2 cup Iceberg lettuce
- 2 slices Tomato
- 2 tbsp Mayonnaise
- pinch Kosher salt
- pinch Black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the bacon slices (4) at 400 degrees until crispy. About 20 minutes. Drain the bacon on paper towels and keep in a warm palace.
- Shred the iceberg lettuce (1./2 cup) and slice the tomato (2 slices).
- Toast the bread (2 slices) and then spread mayonnaise (1 tbsp) on each slice.
- Layer the sandwich by topping the bottom slice with iceberg lettuce. Then add the bacon strips and the tomato slices. Season the tomatoes with a pinch of Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Top the sandwich with the remaining piece of toast. Cut the bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich in half and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
For the first sandwich of the young season, this BLT was perfect! The bacon was crispy while still maintaining a little of satisfying chew. The tomatoes were juicy and made me reach for some paper napkins. The shredded iceberg lettuce provided just that cool crunch I wanted on a hot day while the creamy mayo made me lick my lips. What did I drink with this sandwich? Arnold Palmer’s of course. Enjoy!
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