Supposedly April is National BLT Month. A Google search to verify this fact produces very few results, but one source is enough for me. Because as far as I’m concerned, BLTs are awesome and worthy of an entire month of celebration. So Happy National BLT Month!
And how else would I celebrate Day 1 of BLT Month than with a BLT?
A traditional BLT usually consists of thin crispy strips of bacon, tomato slices, and iceberg lettuce stacked between two slices of sandwich bread. But as good as the classic is, I sometimes like to experiment with variations on the traditional approach.
For this particular BLT, I used a slab bacon from Jacob’s in Louisiana. A friend was there recently and brought me back a small slab of smoked bacon. Jacob’s smokes their bacon over aged pecan wood. It has a nice smoky scent and flavor, and the balance between fat and meat is excellent.
I really enjoy buying bacon by the slab because it allows you to slice the bacon in a variety of ways depending on your needs. Although the last couple times I’ve used slab bacon it has made me realize that I need to invest in a meat slicer. But in the absence of a slicer, I cut the slab with a carving knife which produced a few thick slices. Then I baked the bacon in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
For the other ingredients, I used standard vine ripened tomatoes, butter lettuce, mayonnaise, and sourdough bread. To mix things up a bit, I also added an olive tepenade spread.
It’s gonna be a good month. Enjoy.