the ultimate BLT hack

... because the T can at times be pesky, if always delicious

Every time I think tomato season is about to be over, a new cluster of bright-yellow buds appears on one of my plants. I’ve noticed it across my neighborhood, this wave of fall-flowering fruit that may or may not make it to full ripeness, and I’m cheering for it. That’s because there’s no season like tomato season, and once it’s over, I pretty much refuse to consume another raw tomato until it’s summer again.

So in the spirit of enduring tomatoes, I decided to put together a kind of loose framework for one of my favorite tomato-based meals: a BLT. It’s similar to what I did with guacamole over the summer in that there’s no hard-and-fast recipe, just a loose framework for how to make a great BLT on your own terms. Unlike the guacamole formula, though, this one contains an ingredient hack that I’m pretty damn proud of.

look just above the BLT for an out-of-focus glimpse of my cat, Harriet, mid-nap (also, there’s tomato in this sandwich, I swear)

the BLT formula

active time: 20 minutes

total time: 20 minutes

serves: as many people as you’d like

There are few things better than a BLT made with fresh ingredients: good bread, tomatoes right off the vine and bacon that’s just the right kind of crispy. I’m leery, though, to declare what makes a BLT great. For some people, it’s the tomato that matters most, for others the bacon, for others the lettuce. Plus, everyone’s preferred ratios are different. And that’s all okay! The beauty of sandwiches is that they’re easily personalized.

This BLT method, inspired by Spanish pan con tomate, probably isn’t for someone who thinks the tomato needs to make up the substance of the sandwich. It’s also not for someone in a rush. It is, then, for those of you who love the taste of tomatoes but are sometimes troubled by their shape and texture and non-uniformity. It’s for people who might declare a meal ruined if an errant bite were to pull an entire juicy, red slice out from between the bread. There’s no going back at that point; you’re stuck with a BL and hearty dose of disappointment.

Here’s what you’re going to need for these alternative BLTs:

• some crusty, but not super crusty, white bread — you want the sandwich to have a backbone, but not to injure the roof of your mouth

• a big, juicy heirloom tomato or two

• good olive oil — use the stuff you’d use for a salad dressing, not the stuff you’d use to roast veggies

• kosher salt and black pepper

• thick-cut bacon, preferably uncured and applewood smoked

• butter lettuce — this, I think, yields the perfect level of crunch and heft while still offering some actual flavor

• mayonnaise (optional)

• a large box grater

1. Grate your tomato (or tomatoes) using a large box grater. (I’ve found that one large heirloom tomato is enough for 2-3 BLTs, depending on how much tomato you want on your sandwich and how big your sandwiches are and how juicy your tomato is.) Discard the skins.

2. Pour your grated tomato through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing out as much of the water as you can. Discard the water, and scoop your concentrated tomato into a medium-sized bowl.

3. To your tomato, add some olive oil. I think 1 tablespoon per large tomato is a good ratio, but you might have reasons to want more or less. Add a pinch of kosher salt and some freshly grated black pepper. Stir to combine, and then add more salt and pepper if necessary.

4. Set the tomato mixture aside, and fry some bacon. Or make it in the oven. I aspire to be an oven bacon person, but I always forget that aspiration until my bacon is on the stove and beginning to splatter.

5. Let your cooked bacon drain on a paper towel.

6. Slice your bread. If you really want to take this exercise seriously, you could even bake your own bread. When I made these BLTs recently, I baked New York Times Cooking’s updated no-knead bread, and it was a fantastic option.

7. Begin to layer your ingredients. I think the order here is important, because the last thing you want is for the tomato mixture to make the bread soggy. To avoid that, start with the bacon. Place a layer of the crispy stuff across one slice of bread, overlapping pieces slightly (or overlapping them a lot if you’re a bacon-forward eater).

8. Spoon the tomato mixture on top of the bacon, tucking it in to the meat’s crevices and piling it as high as you’d like. Your mixture should have enough substance to it that it can hold it’s shape well; that’s why draining the water is important.

9. After that, lay a few leaves of butter lettuce on top, covering the tomato. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on the remaining slice of bread (this isn’t totally necessary, I don’t think, what with the olive oil in the tomato, but it also can’t hurt). Top the lettuce with the bread, slice the sandwich in half, and you’re in business. I will never make a BLT the typical way again.