How to make the classic perfect BLT is all about crisp bacon and vine ripened tomatoes!
Who doesn’t love a classic BLT?
Who hasn’t hated the clean up or burning those delicious bacon slices?
Tip#1 for perfect bacon for blt
Tip #1. Bacon on the stove top should always be made in a heavy bottomed skillet for an even crisp. Cast iron is really good too.
The trick to cooking perfect bacon without lots of splatter came from my Daddy.
You see, I was always in a hurry. My biggest cooking burns usually came from being in a hurry. You know, where you turn the heat up just a little.
My cooking bacon also involved spitting and splattering making one big mess! Simple advice often comes in a few simple words.
Linda, if you turn the heat down it won’t splatter as much.
Mentally I am thinking really, that’s it? Daddy was right.
Tip #2 for perfect bacon for BLT
Tip #2. If you turn down the heat your bacon will cook more evenly and won’t curl up as much.
See my burned bacon…it can happen in a flash. I walked away.
Guess what? I didn’t follow Daddy’s advice.
Why, oh why did I think I had a few seconds longer when I walked away?
Perfect bacon just takes a little bit longer at medium heat with steady watching for time to flip and to take out of the skillet.
It is so worth the wait for a delicious perfect classic BLT!
tip#3 for perfect bacon for blt
tip #3 Broil in oven for large amounts using a sheet pan
I have been using my sheet pan for more than cookies recently with success at keeping cleanup easy. No oil leaks to burn on the pan.
Why not try it for bacon? Using a foil lined sheet pan to broil bacon as a trial might just be a better option for easy clean up. I had no idea if the bacon would still be crispy.
My foil wasn’t wide enough so I doubled it by foiling over the edges several times to seal the gap so the bacon grease would not leak into the pan. It worked. I only had to fold and toss and wait for the pan to cool before I put it up. How easy it that!
When cooking in the oven, use the broil setting. Broil, then flip for about 6-8 minutes on each side. Watch carefully because every oven is different! The edges may curl so if you smash them it may help to prevent burnt ends.
I was able fit a entire package on the pan; don’t let the slices touch!
I broiled the entire package so I can refrigerate extra slices. Not that much is left to save!
making a classic perfect blt
Our tomatoes are ripening fast so we are eating lots of BLT’s. We never get tired of them!
Have a good medium toast on your bread. Too light? The bread can get soggy. Too brown..way too crunchy. Using a multigrain bread instead of white is the only update to this classic sandwich.
Use your favorite mayo.
Layer lettuce and thick sliced tomatoes warm from the garden. That is a seasonal fabulous taste. No salt is needed.
Don’t be stingy with the bacon.
take a big bite of your perfect blt
Take a big bite and enjoy the taste explosion.
Have a wonderful summer day!
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Congrats Linda, just to let you know that your post will be featured on Monday at SSPS 325 https://esmesalon.com/tag/seniorsalonpitstop/
Wow! Thank you so much. Made my day.
I’d love for you to join us over at the Creatively Crafty Linky Party every Wednesday through Sunday
https://creativelybeth.com/creative-crafts-linky-party/
Followed and Pinned!
Creatively, Beth
Morning Beth! Looking forward to joining you weekly. Thanks for your visit and pinning too.
Thanks so much for participating and sharing at SSPS 320. See you again next week at #321 https://esmesalon.com/tag/seniorsalonpitstop/
Always have been and will be a huge fan of a BLT
Our tomatoes are so juicy this year. Thank you so visiting!
Good morning Esme. See you then!
Some tips to go along with my sister’s fine account for an awesome BLT.
For flatter bacon strips start w a cold pan or skillet. Put in cold oven or on cold stove burner and turn to medium heat. Patience as Linda and our Dad advised is a special ingredient.
About mayonnaise, I will share a Southern secret and tell you our favorite is Duke’s. It has just a good amount “pucker up” tangy taste. At Buford Highway Farmers Market cooking demos here in Atlanta we polled cooking demo participants and locals favored Duke’s overwhelmingly. After some taste tests folks from other parts of the country agreed.
For bread, I have go with day old homemade bread toasted well but not too dark. But then again I make some darn fine bread.
Crisp, full bodied and mild flavored lettuce. Romaine or iceberg whole pieces not shredded.
Juicy home grown tomatoes !!! And warm from the garden like Linda advises! Dad would tell us about going into the garden as a kid and picking tomatoes off the vine and eat them like an apple the juice dripping off you chin. I think some things probably were better back in the day.
Iced tea, maybe coffee. Potato salad.
Thanks for all the tips!! Funny, I don’t remember Daddy telling that story
That does sound perfect! We’ve been eating more BLT’s than usual with all the garden fresh tomatoes we’ve been getting too. Thank you for sharing with us at Talking About it Tuesdays!
You’re welcome! BLT’s this year are so good becasue the tomatoes are extra juicy!
I love a great BLT – hard to choose betweent this and a great Reuben as my favorite.
Onefor summer, one for colder days!
I am a fan of baking in the oven for a crowd…and the microwave is my favorite for small amounts cooked in a stone bacon dish. BLTs are my favorite, too!
So many great tips! My tomatoes are also ripening and I’ve been thinking about what to do with all of them. BLTs are an awesome idea. <3
Oh I LOVE bacon! Such great tips. I am a fan of preparing it in the oven.
I’m a toaster oven bacon cooker myself! Thanks for sharing your tips!
Bacon is the BEST!!!!! but I also have a tendency to burn it. It’s such a fine line between crisp and charcoal 😀 Thanks for the lips, Linda.
Patience really is a virtue. I’m guilty of hurrying things along with high heat. And, then the spatter mess. Oof. Well, you’ve inspired me … sounds like BLT’s are on the menu tomorrow! Yum! xo
Great post Linda! I love using the oven to cook large amounts of bacon. It makes cleanup so easy! That sandwich looks so good! Pinning!
I’ve never made bacon in the oven! I will have to try this!
I love bacon, who doesn’t. Thanks to you and your daddy I won’t get splattered anymore. I will also no longer have curled bacon.
Pinned!
Thank you for these great tips. I’m going to try your oven method this weekend. I’m also now craving a BLT thanks to this post.
A BLT is my absolute favorite! When we have a large group, my bacon goes into the oven on parchment paper. It always comes out perfectly. A real game changer. If it’s just the two of us, I use a Pampered
Chef stoneware bacon cooker. Love it! Your Daddy would be telling me to slow down if I used a skillet, too! Happy Wednesday!
Great post and so interesting. I am doing keto at the moment so I have bacon everyday. I love it crispy so will be trying these methods. I also use a microwave plastic plate in the microwave for 2 minutes and it is just as good. You do need to put som paper towel over the plate.
This is making me really hungry for bacon right now!
And now it is so easy to cook!
I love a BLT with fresh garden tomatoes. I do both of these and never really knew I was doing it right. lol! Thanks for sharing with Share Your Cup.
hugs,
Jann
Ha, I can relate! I usually cook my bacon in the oven now, 350 on parchment lined pan for 20 25 minutes, no baby sitting or flipping, and it’s perfect everytime!
Jenna, this is how I cook my bacon as well, and you are right – it is perfect every time! I usually use tin foil, but might have to try parchment paper as that could go in our composting can instead of the garbage. Thanks for the tip!
it does work well Kim. I thought about parchment paper but wasn’t sure if it would work.
Great tips…I am so impatient, I ALWAYS burn my bacon….