I’ve never had a BLT before. Since bacon isn’t kosher, I guess I always figured a sandwich filled with lots of crunchy bacon would be off the table for me. But with the growing popularity in kosher dry cured and smoked beef bacon (thanks in large part to Jack’s Gourmet and Grow & Behold), my taste buds have been opened up to a whole new world of flavor. You’ve heard all about Jack’s Gourmet in many of my previous posts about sausage and beef bacon, but today I’m here to talk about Grow & Behold! Naftali Hanau, CEO and Founder of Grow & Behold, is a shochet (ritual slaughterer), m’naker (ritual butcher), farmer and professional horticulturist (plant cultivator). He can do it all! His company is committed to working with all of their producers to ensure the highest standards of care for animals and people. They work closely with the farmers to determine the best practices for raising animals in ways that support the natural environment and respect the natural instincts of the animals. Isn’t it time you ordered from Grow & Behold?
Now check out the bounty I graciously received from Grow & Behold! Lamb chops, shoulder steak, ground beef, chicken, sausage and hot dogs. But what excites me the most about Grow & Behold is the beef bacon! Fatty, salty, sweet and oh so delicious beef bacon.
Most of this meat is now in my freezer, waiting patiently to get defrosted and cooked, but the beef bacon is in the spotlight today!
BLT Ingredients
makes 1 sandwichÂ
2 slices whole wheat bread
homemade mayonnaise (recipe below)
romaine lettuce
1 vine ripe tomato, sliced
1/4 avocado, Â sliced
4 slices beef bacon
Homemade Mayonnaise
makes 1 cupÂ
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 Tbsp dijon mustard
3/4 cup vegetable (or canola) oil
salt and pepper to taste
I’ve never made my own mayonnaise before and it was just. so. simple! Why aren’t we all making our mayo??? Sure, the prepackaged stuff is delicious but after tasting the homemade version, I don’t think I could ever go back! I placed the egg yolk, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in my food processor and turned it on.
While the ingredients were blending, I slowly poured in the vegetable oil and watched as the mixture turned in to a creamy mayonnaisse. And that’s it! Your mayo should last for up to 1 week in the refrigerator. Thanks for the tips, Sarah from Food, Words & Photos: Make sure to wrap the mayo very well or it will absorb the other odors in your fridge. Mayo absorbs odors like a sponge!
Once the mayo was ready, I lightly toasted the whole wheat bread and set it aside to cool. If you toast your bread and spread the mayo right on top, it will melt in to the bread and you don’t want that! You want to really taste that mayo!
Then on to the beef bacon from Grow and Behold! Normally, I cook beef bacon by placing strips on a foiled lined baking sheet and cook in a 400 degree F oven for 15-18 minutes, until crispy. You can use that method or…I recently found an amazing article on BuzzFeed.com called “22 Things You’re Doing Wrong” and #1 on the list was all about cooking your bacon specifically for a BLT! If you just cook your bacon in strips, you won’t get bacon in every bite of your sandwich. But if you weave your bacon (like weaving a basket), you will end up with large square of bacon to place right on top of your other ingredients. So I weaved the bacon and cooked at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, until crispy and curled at the edges. I placed the bacon-weave on paper towels to drain. If you want your bacon flat (like the picture in the BuzzFeed article), you need to place another foil-lined baking sheet on top of the bacon while it cooks.
And now for assembly! 1. Toasted bread 2. Mayo 3. Lettuce 4. Tomatoes (sprinkled with freshly cracked salt and pepper) 5. Avocado 6. Bacon 7. Spread mayo on second slice of bread and place on top of bacon. Done!
And then I ate the sandwich! Crunchy toasted bread, creamy homemade mayo and avocado, a bite from the lettuce, sweetness from the tomato and saltiness from the beef bacon. Now I understand why people love BLT’s so much! I’m thinking about adding  a fried egg on top of the bacon next time around…YES, there will be a next time. Sure, this sandwich is full of fat but it is totally worth every bite!
Kitchen Tested
Save RecipeIngredients
Instructions
