Blts Extraordinaire Recipes

BLT SANDWICH WITH THE BEST SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400˚F. Place bacon on a foil-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until browned and crisp then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to cool.
• In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients and set aside.
• Lightly butter both sides of the toast and toast on a dry griddle or skillet over medium-high heat just until golden brown.
• Arrange 4 slices of bread on a cutting board and spread 1 Tbsp of sauce over each toast. Add lettuce then tomato, bacon, avocado. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the avocado.
• Spread 1 Tbsp sauce over the remaining toasted bread and place over the sandwich, sauce side down. Cut in half if desired and serve.

THE BEST BLTS

Steps:

• Mix basil, mayonnaise and butter in processor until basil is finely chopped and mixture is well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels; drain.
• Spread half of mayonnaise mixture over 1 side of 6 bread slices. Top each with 2 tomato slices. Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and pepper. Top tomato slices with avocado, then with bacon strips, onion and lettuce. Spread remaining mayonnaise mixture over remaining 6 bread slices. Place bread slices atop lettuce. Cut sandwiches in half and serve.

THE ULTIMATE BLT SANDWICH

Steps:

• You can either bake your bacon (add 4 to 6 extra minutes to the cooking time for thick cut), or you can heat a skillet over medium heat and cook the bacon for about 6 to 8 minutes, turning it every few minutes until it is nicely crisp, but still pliable. Remove the bacon to paper towels to drain, then cut each slice in half crosswise.
• Spread about 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise on 1 side of each piece of bread. Spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium heat. In the skillet, place as many slices of bread that will fit, mayo side down, and griddle them up until the mayo side of the bread is nicely browned, about 1 minute. Remove the bread from the skillet, let rest browned side up, and griddle up any remaining slices.
• Place 4 of the slices of toast browned side down on a cutting board. Place a tomato on each piece, season lightly with salt and pepper, place 3 half slices of bacon on each slice of tomato, and top with a couple of pieces of lettuce. Generously spread the rest of the mayo on the non-browned side of the remaining slices of bread, and top the sandwiches with them browned side up. You now have a perfect BLT. Read on for some more ideas.

JUICY BLT

Steps:

• Working in batches if necessary, fry bacon in a large skillet over high heat until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a large cutting board.
• While bacon cooks, slice tomato crosswise into thin rounds. Transfer to a plate and marinate with red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Spread toast generously with mayonnaise on one side, follow with remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil.
• Divide the tomatoes with some of their vinegar marinade among 2 slices of toast. Top with the lettuce.
• Lay the bacon on the remaining slices of toast. Form sandwiches by piling the bacon-topped slices on top of the remaining toasts. Squeeze to close, cut in half and serve immediately.

EXTRA-CRISPY BLT

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil, including up the sides. Arrange the bacon in a single layer on the lined sheet pan, overlapping pieces slightly, if necessary, to fit them all on the pan. Transfer to the oven and cook, without flipping, until deep golden brown and curling in spots, 15 to 25 minutes. (You can put the bacon in as the oven heats up; it will help the fat render.) Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. (You can fold and curl the pieces onto the plate; this will add more texture to the final sandwich.)
• Meanwhile, season the tomatoes with salt and pepper. Cut four 1/4-inch-thick slabs of the iceberg lettuce crosswise. (Make a wedge salad with the rest.) Toast the bread in the toaster or directly on an empty rack in the oven, flipping halfway through.
• Spread one side of the toasted bread with mayonnaise and/or mustard. Add 2 slices of tomato to half the bread slices. Top with one slab of lettuce, then add the bacon. It will be tricky to lay the bacon flat, and that's good. Arrange them irregularly, so there are pockets of air between the slices.
• Top with the remaining slices of bread. Press down slightly, cut in half and eat right away.