BLTs redux

 

                 As promised, here is more of John Kass, Chicago Tribune, on BLTs.

                He calls it the “classically American” sandwich. “Salty, meaty, crispy with lettuce, rich with mayonnaise on thick toasted white bread—salad and meat in one bite.”

                A cursory online search reveals much more than anyone needs/wants to know unless said person is doing a term paper or a “how-to” essay. Or if one is merely interested in the origins of things.

                Kass’s wife Betty grows the tomatoes, and when they’re gone, so is John’s taste for the BLT. Who wants to bite into “pink slabs of tasteless cellulose and pectin?”

                Well, moi, for one. With a dash of salt, they’ll do for us plebian, non-gourmets.

But beware. At Cheddar’s in Little Rock, if you order a double-decker half-sandwich with a side, you’ll get a fourth of a sandwich—hardly worth the trouble of getting it to your mouth. When I asked the waitperson why it was a fourth rather than the advertised half, he said, “because it’s a double decker-- a half of a regular sandwich.

Duh! I won’t be eating there again.

                John Kass cites Paul Virant, chef and restaurant owner, who allows as how the key to the bacon is the way it’s cooked. “Medium crisp is good because it’s contained better in the sandwich. If it’s too crispy, then one bite and you lose the bacon.”

                I disagree. Crisp, pre-cooked bacon is my choice. Break the pieces to fit the bread. Voila! No spilled bacon.

                Tomatoes? Chef Virant says, “The juicer, the better. Big, big tomatoes. Growing your own or buying from a nearby farmers’ market is your best bet.”

                And if you have—as I do—a loving Uncle John who gardens and a sharing Aunt Frances who had to prepare all the produce of said garden, you might be lucky enough to be given a sack of home grown orbs once or twice during the season. Otherwise, Harvest Foods suits me just fine—any time.

                John Kass tells about a food truck that appears frequently around the Chicago Tribune Tower. Their BLTs include bacon, arugula, tomato, avocado and truffle aioli on buttered Texas toast.

                Oh, not for me, please. No avocado. And what in the world is truffle aioli? I went online. Similar to mayonnaise, the ingredients are garlic, kosher salt, lemon juice, egg yolks, olive oil and truffle oil. And the cook needs several appliances, utensils and a goodly amount of time.

                Variations of the BLT exist to please any taste, from the epicurean to the plebian. Or you could “invent” a one-of-a-kind BLT yourself. Some folks, however, believe that recipes aren’t invented, they “evolve.”

                My version would also include cheese and sweet onion.

                John Kass says whatever your pleasure, “don’t skimp on the bacon.”

                That’s good for me. Just so it’s pre-cooked and then heated.