The Best BLT Sandwich Ever| A Fancy, Gourmet BLT

The Best BLT Recipe…

…comes from using the best ingredients and the best bread.

It also means going the extra mile to add even more texture to your sandwich.

You already have a bit of creamy from the mayo, some crunch and chew from the thick cut bacon, crispness from the lettuce, and juiciness from the perfectly ripe tomatoes.

Add to that the savory bite of cheddar cheese and the buttery-creaminess of ripe sliced avocado, and now you’re cookin’ with gas.

Kid Sandwiches

As a kid, I did not have the most sophisticated palate.

My sandwich rotation was peanut butter and jelly, cream cheese and jelly, and peanut butter and honey.

With the occasional bologna and cheese sandwich (Greg’s favorite) thrown in when I was feeling fancy. Oh, and grilled cheese. And bread, butter, and sugar. You know, for snacks.

The fanciest I ever got was alternating slices of bologna and cheese into pink and orange stripes sometimes 6-7 layers tall.

Excess is not a thing when you’re a kid!

What Makes a Great Sandwich for Grown Ups?

I think the main difference between a kid sandwich (or this kid, anyway) and an adult sandwich is that adult sandwiches offer a variety of flavors, colors and textures that either complement or contrast with each other.

Toasted bread, crisp vegetables, soft cheese, the bite of a vinaigrette, salty/savory meats.

A smooth spread of mellow mayonnaise as counterpoint to the pungency of mustard. The Christmassy contrast of leaf lettuce and ripe tomatoes.

The crisp-crunchy brininess of pickles against rich, mellow roast pork.

Kids are often not fans of foods that have a lot of contrasting flavors and textures, so soft breads with soft spreads are generally the hallmark of a kid sandwich.

For me as an adult, it’s the very things I didn’t like as a kid that now make a magical sandwich for me.

Give me all the contrasting flavors, textures, and even temperatures. (Think hot bacon layered onto your blt at the last moment.)

I could go on, but I’m hungry. Let’s get to this gourmet BLT with cheddar and avocado, shall we? 

Equipment You May Need

Before we make this fancy sandwich, let’s make sure you’re ready to be a top-notch sandwich artist.

These spreaders are a great shape and size for slathering on all sorts of condiments.

A bacon press is nice to have to make sure your bacon slices lay flat in your sandwich (plus they’re just sort of cool).

A cheese plane is one of my favorite tools for slicing off sandwich-perfect thicknesses of cheese off whole blocks. I love mine and use it all the time.

And every gourmet sandwich maker needs a salad spinner for washing and drying all your salad and sandwich greens.

Always Use the Best Ingredients

You know how much I love living in North Carolina and how fortunate we are to have so many wonderful foods and beverages made by brands large and small here.

I am sure you can find local products in your area that will lend themselves to gourmet sandwich making, too!

I took full advantage of some Raleigh-area offerings to make this gourmet BLT truly gourmet. This isn’t a sponsored post, but these are the local brands I used:

• Multi-grain bread from LaFarm Bakery.
• Thick cut, house-cured bacon from The Butcher’s Market.
• Local, organic heirloom tomatoes at Lowe’s Foods.

I stuck with my beloved Cabot cheddar–their White Oak–because it is savory and wonderful with almost a Parmesan edge. And it warms up to a rather addictive creamy texture.

Of course, I used Duke’s Mayonnaise, the south’s favorite mayo. And an avocado.

And it goes without saying, if you love to bake bread, you can always bake your own loaves. Try my oatmeal beer bread made with an oatmeal porter, try my super easy grits bread made with leftover grits, or make a delicious, soft white bread with my Tangzhong pain au lait recipe.

My Best Tip for Adding Interest and Contrast to Adult Sandwiches

Toast the bread.

Seriously, it sounds pretty elementary, but toasting your bread before making the sandwich adds roasted, malty flavor to the bread.

And as long as you don’t over-toast the bread, it will give you two textures: crisp on the outside while still being soft/chewy on the inside.

Variation

Knock this sandwich up a few notches by substituting some spicy bacon jam as a spread in place of or in addition to the cooked bacon.

As good as even the best BLT can be, there’s almost always a way to make it even more extra!

Simple Sides

This sandwich is definitely the star of the show, but you may want to serve a couple of deli-style side dishes to go with it. My mom-style macaroni salad is always welcome, at least around here. If you’re a potato salad fan, my no mayo potato salad is pretty excellent, especially at room temperature.

Other likely side dish options I have my eye on Make-Ahead Corn Salad, Roasted Asparagus Salad, and Turmeric and Spice Cauliflower Rice.

Enough! Let’s make that sandwich, people.

I really hope you give this BLT a shot, you guys! It really is the best.

Questions?

If you have a question/questions about this or any other post, whether recipe or technique, don’t hesitate to get in touch. I’m happy to help.

You can leave a comment on the post, and I will respond within 24 hours. If you need an answer more urgently, please email me, and I will respond within about 4 hours (unless I’m sleeping) and often much more quickly than that.

Either way, I will answer as completely as I can. That’s why I’m here!

And there you have it, friends. This sandwich is a thing of beauty and a joy to devour.

Thanks for spending some time with me today. Take care, and have a lovely day.