We challenged chefs of three different skill levels - amateur Desi, home cook Lorenzo, and professional chef Lish Steiling - to make us their best BLT sandwich.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 [crunching]
00:02 [upbeat music]
00:03 - Hi, I'm Desi and I'm a level one chef.
00:05 - Hi, I'm Lorenzo and I'm a level two chef.
00:08 - Hi, I'm Lish and I've been a professional chef
00:10 for 26 years.
00:12 [upbeat music]
00:14 - Today I'm making a crassy BLT, the way it should be.
00:17 - I'm making a BLT with candied chipotle bacon
00:21 and avocado mayo.
00:23 - I'm making a BLT with braised slab bacon,
00:26 fried green tomatoes, homemade aioli,
00:29 and homemade bread.
00:30 [bell ringing]
00:34 - Let's crisp this bacon up.
00:37 Bacon can be served at breakfast, lunch, dinner,
00:40 after hours, hungover, hangover, and hanging out.
00:42 - The star of the show, the bacon.
00:45 I'm just gonna lay this all down on my sheet tray.
00:47 - If bacon is gonna be the star,
00:49 let's make bacon the star.
00:51 So why not braise bacon?
00:53 Because it makes it sexy and delicious.
00:55 - I am starting with a whole slab of bacon.
00:59 Cut it in half, cut a diamond pattern in the top.
01:02 All of the goodness from this fat on top
01:04 is gonna go into the braise.
01:05 I'm gonna place this fat side down
01:07 'cause I want a little bit of the fat to render out.
01:10 - Put this baby in.
01:11 Cook for about 10 minutes.
01:15 Take a little nap, go online, play a little GTA.
01:18 You're done, come back, check on your bacon.
01:20 - Because I wanna candy my bacon,
01:21 and I wanna cook it a little bit first.
01:23 Before I do that, I'm gonna burn it.
01:25 So I'm gonna throw it in the oven at 400.
01:27 - Oh, look at that.
01:29 Ooh, and all of the flavor from that fat is now in the pan.
01:33 - This is what I need to candy my bacon.
01:37 How easy is this?
01:38 Brown sugar, chipotle.
01:40 I do not measure it.
01:41 - Sound like Lorenzo's trying to make bacon for Halloween.
01:44 - I'm just gonna cook my vegetables
01:46 right in that fat to develop the flavor.
01:48 Fennel is gonna add that licorice, a little sweetness,
01:51 a little something that makes you go, "Ooh, what's that?"
01:53 A little bit of onion, carrot, smashed garlic,
01:57 little salt, some coriander that I toasted and crushed,
02:01 five strips of lemon zest,
02:04 and one last touch, black pepper.
02:06 This is just gonna play off of the bacon itself.
02:08 All of these flavors are just gonna come together,
02:11 get to know one another.
02:12 A little white wine goes a long way.
02:15 Some for the pot, some for the chef.
02:17 So I'm gonna nestle in my pork.
02:19 Little chicken stock.
02:20 Gonna cover these bad boys.
02:22 Slide 'em in a 325 degree oven,
02:25 low and slow for about an hour.
02:26 Then we'll check on 'em and address 'em later.
02:28 - Bacon that's been cooking for 30 minutes.
02:31 Yum, yum, yum.
02:32 Now, I'm simply just going to coat my bacon.
02:36 And it'll absorb into that beautiful bacon
02:39 as it gets crispy.
02:40 - Yes.
02:42 I am ready for my pork facial.
02:44 This is gonna go back in for another hour.
02:50 And I'm telling you, this is gonna be one sexy dish.
02:53 After another hour in our 24-hour bacon process,
02:58 it looks gorgeous.
03:00 Wanna press this overnight for 24 hours,
03:02 'cause a braise is always better the next day.
03:05 - This looks and smells fantastic.
03:08 Oh, it's dripping with juices.
03:10 - I have my pork belly here that has been pressed overnight.
03:14 It is just sitting in all that juicy, fatty goodness.
03:18 Cut it across the grain
03:20 so that it looks like the bacon that it is.
03:23 That's a delicious big bacon slice.
03:26 I'm just gonna brown it a little bit,
03:28 because with bacon,
03:29 everybody kind of anticipates a little bit of crunch, right?
03:32 I just wanna add a little bit of sweetness to this,
03:35 so I'm gonna just glaze it with a whisper of maple syrup.
03:38 - Mm, sizzle.
03:42 Nice and brown, Bobby Brown, I call it.
03:44 Let it cool down for about four or five minutes.
03:46 - These three are ready for the sandwich.
03:47 I love tomatoes.
03:49 This is a beef steak tomato.
03:51 I'm actually gonna saute this tomato.
03:53 - I'm gonna use a green tomato,
03:55 and I am going to fry them.
03:57 - So I'm cutting it a little bit thick.
03:59 That way, whenever I saute it in the pan,
04:01 it won't fall apart.
04:02 - They shouldn't be doing that.
04:03 - A little salt, pepper.
04:04 - And now I'm gonna take some buttermilk, and then an egg.
04:08 Whisk that up really quick.
04:09 - Once you got the vegetables in there,
04:11 this is considered healthy.
04:12 - And now we dredge.
04:13 I find that rice flour yields a much lighter crust.
04:16 - I have some cornmeal.
04:17 I season both with a little bit of salt.
04:19 To the hot oil with this guy.
04:21 Woo-ee!
04:22 - I'm gonna add a little bit of olive oil.
04:25 Transfer my tomatoes into my pan.
04:29 So I'm just going to saute this
04:31 for a couple minutes on each side.
04:33 - Sauteed tomatoes on a BLT.
04:36 Would be interesting.
04:38 - I cut it thick, so it's not gonna be so mushy.
04:40 This is good enough.
04:41 There's no char here.
04:42 That's yummy, that's taste.
04:44 - Woo!
04:45 - Yeah, you see that?
04:46 Nice and crunchy.
04:48 Give her a flip.
04:49 - Fried food always needs a little bit more salt at the end.
04:53 - Fried green tomatoes, check.
04:55 - I like the crunch that a regular iceberg lettuce might have
05:00 or a romaine lettuce.
05:01 - All right, I'm not gonna do nothing fancy
05:02 with my lettuce neither.
05:04 Take a few pieces off.
05:05 Go thick, go skinny.
05:06 About one, two pieces of these, and you're good to go.
05:09 - But guess what?
05:10 I also like the spiciness and pepperiness of an arugula.
05:14 - No, 'cause no, it's BLT.
05:16 It's not BT arugula or BT, no, it's lettuce, no.
05:21 - Arugula has this very peppery taste to it.
05:24 This doesn't quite look like lettuce, 'cause it's not.
05:26 It's basil.
05:27 Who doesn't like basil and tomato?
05:29 - For me, there's nothing better than little gem
05:31 because it really holds its crunch.
05:34 - I cut my basil in small ribbons,
05:37 and then I just add it in.
05:39 All those flavors are gonna play together,
05:41 and it's gonna be yummy.
05:42 - We got our store-bought bread, got our toaster.
05:46 Let's finish this thing out.
05:47 Toasted bread is a go-to, it's a must.
05:49 If it's too dark, then it's too hard.
05:51 It's gonna be crunchier than the bacon.
05:52 - Pullman loaf is great for a BLT
05:53 because it has a nice neutral flavor
05:55 so that you're not competing with the beauty
05:58 of the B, the L, or the T.
06:00 We're gonna start with a little bit of water
06:02 and sprinkle in our yeast,
06:03 and to that, we're gonna add some honey.
06:06 And then set that aside.
06:08 - I as well baked my bread here.
06:11 I already cut it, I just didn't wanna show it on camera.
06:14 (laughing)
06:18 - We have some bread flour, all-purpose flour,
06:21 dried milk, it's pure protein,
06:23 which'll help the bread rise.
06:24 We have some kosher salt,
06:25 and then we have some unsalted butter
06:27 because fat is flavor.
06:29 Yeasty water.
06:32 So this is gonna come together into a very rough dough.
06:35 It's almost like a magic trick.
06:37 I am just working this into a cute little ball,
06:40 then I'm just gonna put it in a bowl
06:41 with some olive oil, rub it around.
06:44 I'm gonna let this proof for an hour.
06:46 - I like Italian loaf.
06:47 My brothers and sisters hate me
06:49 because I go right for the middle
06:51 because it's the largest slice in the bunch.
06:53 That's why I do that.
06:55 - An hour later.
06:56 Knock it down a little bit.
06:58 I let it rise, and then I'm pushing it down
07:00 to get rid of the large air bubbles.
07:02 I'm gonna put it back in, flip her over,
07:05 and another hour.
07:06 Third time's a charm.
07:07 I need a pan too.
07:10 I'm just greasing it up a little bit.
07:12 A Pullman loaf has a nice, fine, tight crumb,
07:16 and it gets that from actually swirling in on itself
07:18 and folding it in.
07:20 And voila.
07:23 It will fit perfectly into my pan.
07:25 So just a loose cover.
07:26 I'm gonna let it rise for another hour,
07:28 and it'll be ready for baking.
07:29 - Okay, I didn't do that.
07:32 - I wonder if my bread is proofed yet.
07:36 Oh look, it is.
07:38 - I'm fine with going to Stopper's Shop,
07:39 the corner store, spending three dollars to get this bread.
07:42 - What I'm gonna do is just slide her
07:43 into a 500 degree oven.
07:45 Once we put it in, we're gonna turn it immediately
07:47 down to 375 for about 30 to 40 minutes.
07:50 - That's it.
07:52 Nice and crispy toast.
07:54 It's ready for some nice little spread
07:57 to go on it perhaps.
07:59 - Bread, voila.
08:00 It sounds hollow, and that means that we're there.
08:04 So I'm just gonna cool it on its side.
08:06 You don't wanna slice it while it's warm.
08:08 Resist, resist, resist.
08:10 - You cannot have a BFT without mayo.
08:11 You need mayo.
08:12 It's like cereal with no milk.
08:13 Today, I'm gonna go a little fancy.
08:15 My mayo's gonna be five star mayo.
08:17 Squeeze, squeeze.
08:20 - I grew up eating mayo combined with an avocado
08:23 with a little bit of lime and salt.
08:24 I will show you my mom's technique.
08:26 Hi-ya!
08:27 I am smashing it now,
08:29 and I'll scoop it in.
08:31 Mayo.
08:32 - I am gonna make a smoky aioli
08:35 to really like amp up the smoky flavor of the bacon.
08:38 I'm gonna start with classic aioli ingredient,
08:40 which is garlic.
08:41 One egg.
08:43 The yolk is gonna act as our emulsifier.
08:46 Just a little bit of lemon juice.
08:47 - I got this nice lime.
08:49 - Smoked paprika, salt.
08:51 Good pinch.
08:53 And begin with adding the oil.
08:55 Vegetable oil and olive oil.
08:56 Keep whisking.
08:57 - Stir, stir.
08:58 - Combining.
08:59 So my avocado won't turn brown.
09:02 Perfect.
09:03 - We're almost done with this massacre.
09:04 Almost ready to assemble our sandwich.
09:05 48 hours later.
09:07 - Gotta hold it right so you don't get a good grip
09:10 until you incorporate the swoop.
09:12 - And I like to just simply spread a bunch on both sides.
09:17 - Our smoky aioli.
09:21 - Okay, next is my peppery arugula
09:24 with a little bit of basil.
09:25 Yum, I love it.
09:26 - Baby little gems.
09:29 - I'm gonna go in food order.
09:31 So you're gonna start with the bacon.
09:32 You can fold it, again for the extra crunchy.
09:34 - Desi, you and I share something in common.
09:37 We fold our bacon.
09:38 - Bacon, bacon, bacon, bacon.
09:40 No folding necessary.
09:41 Top my bacon with just a little bit of the vegetables
09:44 from the braising of the bacon.
09:46 So it has all of that flavor in it.
09:47 - Now the lettuce.
09:49 Last but not least, the tomato.
09:51 - One on here and another right here.
09:56 - Our crunchy fried green tomatoes.
10:00 More sauce.
10:01 - Aioli is delicious.
10:03 - This one is dedicated to my man Sal from the deli.
10:06 Add a little salt bae.
10:07 Look at this.
10:08 A little pepper.
10:10 Last two strips.
10:11 - A little chipotle just to add more smokiness.
10:16 - Boom. - Bop.
10:17 - Epic.
10:18 - And that is my BLT.
10:19 - This is my BLT.
10:22 - And sandwich.
10:27 (upbeat music)
10:29 - I mean, I can't wait to slice into this
10:33 and take one big bite.
10:37 - Yeah.
10:39 This is gonna be a good song right here.
10:41 - Oh my God.
10:46 The combination is lovely.
10:49 - Everything is perfect.
10:50 The brown, from the fake diet,
10:53 you can't even taste the vegetables.
10:54 - Tomatoes good.
10:56 Lettuce not even there.
10:57 - The pork is so melty and smoky and delicious.
11:00 Brightness from that tomato and crunch.
11:02 Little spice from the hot sauce
11:04 and of course the smoky richness of that aioli.
11:06 - It is D-licious.
11:08 - BLT.
11:09 Mic drop.
11:10 - Bacon, lettuce and tomato is a classic sandwich
11:14 for a reason.
11:15 It's salty, crunchy, fresh and tasty.
11:18 Let's see how each of our three chefs made theirs.
11:24 - Desi used smoked bacon.
11:25 It's salt cured so it's either dry salted or brined
11:28 for several days to weeks.
11:30 This lowers available water for metabolism of microorganisms
11:33 that may spoil meat.
11:35 When salt is heavily concentrated
11:36 outside of the bacterial cells,
11:38 the water inside is drawn to the salty outside,
11:42 effectively bursting and killing the cells.
11:44 The flavor is complex, unique and delicious.
11:47 Lorenzo used smoked bacon as well,
11:50 but candied his first by adding brown sugar
11:52 and spicy chipotle powder.
11:54 He's combining most of our taste sensations together.
11:56 Spicy, salty and sweet.
11:59 Lish definitely goes through a labor of love
12:01 with her bacon.
12:02 She braises uncured bacon so no nitrites are added.
12:06 Once the bacon is cooked with the fat side down
12:09 so that she renders some of the fat into the braising pot,
12:12 she adds aromatics to season the oil
12:14 before adding it back to the bacon.
12:16 She cooled the bacon overnight under pressure,
12:19 which concentrated the flavors
12:21 and makes the bacon firmer and easier to slice.
12:24 [dramatic music]
12:27 Desi used a beef steak,
12:29 which is a large diameter tomato with small seed cavities.
12:32 They stayed firm.
12:33 Lorenzo also used a beef steak tomato,
12:36 but lightly sauteed it.
12:37 Cellular vacuoles which hold water,
12:40 making them plump and juicy,
12:42 break down very quickly when heated.
12:44 So Lorenzo's tomato was a little bit soft, warm and wet.
12:48 Lish made fried green tomatoes,
12:50 a quintessential Southern dish in the United States.
12:54 Green tomatoes have more hemicellulose,
12:56 a structural component in cell walls that keep them firm.
12:59 [dramatic music]
13:02 Desi used classic iceberg.
13:04 It's crispy, pale green head lettuce that's mild in flavor.
13:08 It's still a very popular lettuce in the United States,
13:11 in part because it's hearty and ships well
13:13 with minimal damage.
13:15 It adds a really crunchy texture to his BLT.
13:18 Lorenzo used a blend of basil and arugula,
13:20 with very tender leaves and a slightly peppery bite
13:24 from the hydrolysis of two compounds found
13:26 in the seeds and leaves, glucosatavin and glucoaricin.
13:30 He combined the arugula with basil,
13:32 an herb with distinct flavor with hints of sweet,
13:35 mint, lemon and pepper.
13:37 Lish used little gem lettuce,
13:39 which is a vibrant green, small-sized lettuce.
13:42 It resembles a small head of romaine lettuce.
13:44 It's harvested young and is extremely tender
13:47 with a slightly sweet taste.
13:49 You can see that with a BLT,
13:50 you have lots of options and levels of detail,
13:53 and no, there's never too much crispy fried bacon.
13:56 Next time you're hungry for a decadent sandwich,
13:58 we hope you'll take some of these tips
14:00 from our three fabulous chefs.
14:02 (whooshing)