Never have I ever been into BLTs in my life. I was more of a tomato sandwich kind of girl. A simply super messy sandwich that glorified all the good in summer, peak tomatoes. Also, no one really gave me a reason to crave a BLT. They always seemed.. kind of.. boring? Romain lettuce (snooze), bacon (too greasy), meh tomatoes. I didn't get it.
That was all true until last summer I discovered a local market that grows their own tomatoes in a side yard. They grow them the same way I grew tomatoes as a kid, with a lot of patience, no pesticides, and the good old fashion sun feeding them until they become overweight dumplings of sweetness. And if I needed another reason, I had at about the same time, I discovered an epic local butcher shop with even more epic bacon.
I'm officially a BLT lover, ride or die.
From the Pantry
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch of crushed red pepper
4 slices of your preferred sandwich bread, I always lean towards a seeded, multigrain variety
1 beefsteak tomato
From the Fridge
5 slices of thick cut smoked bacon
1 lemon
10 kale leaves, stem and ribs removed
8 tablespoons of mayonnaise
Recipe
for 2 sandwiches
Place oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 400 degrees.
To make brown sugar rub for the bacon, combine brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
To make lemon mayonnaise, combine 7 tb of mayo and mustard with the zest of one lemon and the juice of 3/4 of that lemon. Refrigerate.
In a small bowl, massage kale leaves with remaining juice of the lemon. Set aside.
Place bacon on a wire rack set inside foil lined baking sheet. Bake, rotating baking sheets front to back and top to bottom. 30 minutes. At minute 25, pull bacon out and generously sprinkle with sugar rub. Finish baking. Rub should be thick and caramelized. Transfer to paper towel to absorb remaining fat.
With remaining mayo, spread a thin, even layer on all bread slices, both sides. On medium heat, toast both sides of the bread.
To arrange the sandwiches, spread a healthy layer of mayo on both interior sides of the bread slices, layer on the kale leaves, tomato slices, bacon, and a final layer of kale.
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