The Classic BLT Sandwich

Some things in life are best kept simple, like soap (none of this fancy, smelly stuff you have to carve off of a brick), instructions on building IKEA furniture, and sandwiches. I'm talking about the BLT, the second most popular sandwich in the United States and strangely enough the only sandwich my wife completely detests. (It only took 10 years of marriage and this blog post to find that out!) Personally I love them...it reminds me of a salad sandwich of sorts but leaves your mouth with that smokey after taste of bacon and little crunchy nuggets of sea salt.

I think everyone has there own preferred way of building the BLT, but mine must be on good chunky bread - the more seeds the better. I used a whole grain from La Brea Bakery, cut into thick slices. The bacon, an apple wood smoked variety, was baked in the oven until it turned jerky-like and got all chewy and caramelized,  while juicy slices of tomato and crisp fresh lettuce topped it all off. All in all it's a pretty simple recipe.

And that's where I split from the pack. Because sometimes simple is just too quiet. So I plopped a fried egg on top of my sandwich and it became the perfect brunch dish. I was half way through eating this when I thought some shaved Parmesan would have been perfect on it, too. Maybe next time! I'm a sucker for things with fried or poached eggs, from burgers to crab cakes the yolk is like nature's own sauce. It doesn't matter where I go for breakfast, I'll always order bacon and eggs with some kind of toast to make a sandwich. 

Simple.  

Recipe for an egg BLT Sandwich:

Prep Time- 35 minutes    Bake Time- 20 minutes    Serves- 2

1 large loaf of crusty bread
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 ripe tomato, or 2 if theyre the smaller vine variety
1 pound of smoked bacon
Lettuce
2 eggs
Salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lay the bacon on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until well done. Transfer to a pa[er towel and let drain.

Cut four 3/4 inch slices of bread and toast until golden. Spread the mayonnaise on two of the slices. Cut the tomato into thin slices and place on top of the mayo slices. Season with salt and pepper.

Take the bacon and lay 4-5 slices on the tomato. Add a good sized bunch of lettuce. Place a small pan on a medium heat and make the fried eggs.

Once the whites are cooked and the yolk is still soft, gently lift the eggs from the pan and lay one on each sandwich topping the lettuce. Season again with salt and pepper.

Place the other toasted slices on top and serve.