By Thomas Shess, PillartoPost.org -- Illustration by Normie Stonewall--Some sandwiches are meals. Others are architectural projects requiring skewers, special sauces and jaws capable of unhinging like a python’s.
The bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich needs none of that nonsense. Added nonsense may include two generous slices of avocado.
In all, it needs five or six dependable ingredients: bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and bread. Assemble them properly and the result is one of America’s great contributions to lunch.
In a New York Times article circulating yesterday, food writer J. J. Goode asks his readers to reconsider “the secret to a perfect BLT.” His conclusion challenges the sandwich’s initials: bacon receives top billing, but the tomato determines whether the production succeeds.
He has a point.
Bacon is dependably bacon throughout the year.
Lettuce remains lettuce.
Mayonnaise stands ready in the refrigerator.
But a tomato purchased in January can resemble a pink tennis ball. A ripe August tomato, still carrying the warmth of the garden, supplies sweetness, acidity and enough juice to make the sandwich gloriously difficult to eat without leaning over the plate.
That is why late summer is the BLT’s natural season—and why its popularity seems to be soaring again.
The sandwich fits the current appetite for food that is familiar, affordable and easily understood. We live in an era of elaborate menus requiring lengthy explanations of foams, reductions and ingredients harvested by moonlight.
The BLT explains itself in three letters. It also travels comfortably between generations and occasions. Feed BLTs to the family on a Saturday afternoon. Serve them to friends beside a pitcher of iced tea or cold beer. Put out the ingredients and allow guests to build their own. Carry them to an office lunch. Present one to a spouse who has had a miserable day and watch domestic relations improve before the second bite.
And, the BLT is democratic. It can be prepared with supermarket white bread and ordinary bacon or elevated with sourdough, heirloom tomatoes and thick slices from the butcher. Neither version invalidates the other.
Its appeal also rests upon balance. Bacon supplies salt, smoke and richness. Tomato contributes sweetness and acidity. Lettuce provides coolness and crunch. Mayonnaise softens the sharp edges and unites the ingredients. Toast gives the enterprise enough structural integrity to reach the mouth. Avocado adds protein and adventure.
Each ingredient performs a distinct assignment. Remove the bacon and you have a tomato sandwich. Remove the tomato and you have bacon on toast. Remove the lettuce and some enthusiasts will applaud, but the essential contrast of hot, salty bacon and cool, crisp greens has disappeared.
There is also nostalgia in every bite. The BLT recalls lunch counters, diners, summer kitchens and mothers who prepared food without announcing that it had been “curated.” It belongs beside potato chips, potato salad, a sour pickle and a cold drink.
It does not require a sommelier.
Modern cooks naturally have begun tampering with it. Avocado, fried eggs, cheese, basil, hot honey and flavored mayonnaise now appear between the bread. Some additions are delicious, but there is a point at which the sandwich ceases to be a BLT and becomes something needing a press release. The classic survives because it does not require improvement. It requires good ingredients and attention.
HOW TO BUILD A CLASSIC BLT (with or without avocado)
For one sandwich:
• 4 slices of bacon
• 2 slices of toasted white, wheat or sourdough bread
• 2 slices of ripe tomato •
2 slices of ripe avocado (if adventureous)
• 1 or 2 leaves of iceberg, romaine or butter lettuce
• Mayonnaise
• Easy on the salt and liberal amounts of freshly ground black pepper
Step 1: Cook the bacon. Fry or bake four strips until browned and crisp but not cremated. Transfer them to a paper towel.
Step 2: Prepare the tomato. Cut two generous slices. Season them lightly with salt and pepper, then let them rest for several minutes. Blot excessive surface moisture if necessary, but do not squeeze the life out of them.
Step 3: Prepare the lettuce. Wash the leaves and dry them thoroughly. Wet lettuce is an unnecessary contribution to a soggy sandwich.
Step 4: Toast the bread. Toast it lightly. The surface should be firm enough to resist tomato juice without becoming roof shingles.
Step 5: Apply the mayonnaise. Spread mayonnaise on the inside of both slices. Besides adding flavor, it provides a modest barrier between the bread and the tomato.
Step 6: Assemble. Place lettuce over the bottom slice, followed by tomato and bacon. Add the second slice of toast and press gently.
Step 7: Serve immediately. Cut diagonally if that is the law in your household. Add potato chips and a pickle. Supply napkins.
Then secure your socks beforehand.
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