The Perfect BLT Sandwich Needs The Right Type Of Bacon

The BLT sandwich is a simple — yet satisfying — tradition of summertime lunch fare. The blend of a juicy beefsteak, piping hot bacon pieces, and iceberg lettuce between two toasted slices of bread is a tasty, tried-and-true combo that might have been around since the Victorian era.

Some sandwich lovers swear by the BLT as the pound-for-pound champ in the ring of power — surpassing the popularity of heavy hitters like the club, Cuban, and Reuben. Even though the recipe is crystal clear in the name, it's an assignment that's easy to misunderstand. At first blush, the three-ingredient weave of crispy bacon, lettuce, and tomato seems simple and straightforward. But it's not as painless as slapping those fundamental ingredients on a slab of bread if you want a quality BLT.

Any great sandwich should be better than the sum of its parts. And selecting the right bacon can go a long way toward making your next BLT a lip-smacking, savory chance to chow down with every bite. The secret is thin-cut, wavy bacon that gets as crispy as possible when cooked, giving your sandwich a salty and satisfyingly crunchy component that juxtaposes the soft, fresh, juicy texture of the tomato. Those two dueling flavor palates complement one another in a way that breathes life into the sandwich's core and makes for a tantalizingly robust BLT taste experience. 

One of the fastest ways to get an even cook on your bacon is by baking the pieces in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 25 minutes. Slide the slices between two pieces of parchment paper and place them between two baking sheets to ensure they remain flat and cook evenly. 

But if you have the time and patience, using a slow-cook method might pay bigger dividends in the end. J. Kenji López-Alt, a popular chef who authored a New York Times best-selling cookbook that won a James Beard award, crafts recipes that literally break food down to a science. He shared his wisdom with Serious Eats and said slow-cooking the pork renders the bacon's fat, resulting in crispier, more evenly cooked slices. While López-Alt stressed that a well-seasoned, quality tomato is the most critical piece of the puzzle, he cautioned that "nothing that can ruin a perfect-looking BLT like a slice of bacon that pulls out of the sandwich."

Steer clear of cut-rate packages of bacon injected with brine because they tend to have extra moisture, which causes the slices to crisp on an uneven keel. Also try to avoid thick-cut or dry-cured bacon, which can be too chewy for a BLT, and you run the risk of ripping the bacon — along with the rest of the innards — out of the sandwich with each bite. López-Alt says the main objective is to find a high-quality brand of bacon that's not too meaty and complements the all-important tomato. Once you've found that balance, cook three slices on a stovetop sandwiched between a heavy griddle and a grill press to render them crispy.