With this simple tip, you can make a truly next-level BLT
The BLT is surely one of the absolute classics among sandwiches, right? I suspect that from the late eighties onward, but in any case by the early nineties, the Bacon Lettuce Tomato sandwich had flooded menus across the Netherlands. When I worked in the hospitality industry in the mid-nineties, they couldn’t be kept in stock—these sandwiches, along with the Club Sandwich and the much-loved goat cheese, honey and walnut sandwich.
I still genuinely think a BLT is incredibly delicious. Thick slices of toasted bread, a generous spread of mayo, the simplest butter lettuce (all other types of lettuce need to step aside for a moment), a perfectly ripe tomato, a little Maldon salt and a few generous twists of black pepper. Per.fec.tion.
Surely it could still be better
But what if you heard that this already perfect sandwich could be even more delicious? You’d run straight to the kitchen, wouldn’t you? Especially when you hear that you don’t even have to perform an official extra step for it!
Fat chance—deliciously so
Because here’s the tip: fry the toasted bread briefly in the bacon fat. Yes. So simple, but sooo delicious. Just make sure you use somewhat thicker slices of toast, so they don’t immediately become limp and soggy. Then serve fairly quickly, so you get exactly the right balance between the bacon-y crispy exterior of the bread and the fluffy softness of the inside of the crumb when you bite into it.
Use it as often as you can
And you’re not throwing that bacon fat away at all, are you?! Once it has solidified, you can easily keep it in a tightly sealed jar. You can then sauté onions in it when making chili con carne, for example, or heat a little with a splash of olive oil and some chopped garlic to pour over the green beans. You can use it for frying potatoes too, or roasting tomatoes for tomato soup. As long as, with sustainability and flavor in mind, you use as much of that precious fat as possible wherever you can!
Also read:
- Tried and tested: how to make the perfect cheese soufflé
- This bacon hack will make your life better
- How long can you actually keep bacon?
