4 Levels of BLT: Amateur to Food Scientist | Epicurious

hi I'm Desi and I'm level one Chef hi I'm Lorenzo and I'm a level two Chef hi I'm Lish and I've been a professional chef for 26 years today I'm making a classic BLT the way it should be I'm making a BLT with candy Chipotle bacon and avocado Mayo I'm making a BLT with braised slab bacon fried green tomatoes homemade aioli and homemade bread [Music] this Christmas make enough bacon could be served at breakfast lunch dinner after hours hungover hangover and hanging out the starving starved let's make bacon the star so why not braise bacon because it makes it sexy and delicious I am starting with a whole slab of bacon cut it in half cut a diamond pattern in the top all of the goodness from this fat on top is going to go into the breeze I'm gonna place this fat side down because I want a little bit of the fat to render out put this baby in to cook for about 10 minutes take a little nap go online play a little GTA be done come back check on your bacon because I want to Candy my bacon now I want to cook it a little bit first before I do that I'm gonna burn it so I'm gonna throw it in the oven at 400. oh look at that all of the flavor from that fat candy my bacon how easy is this brown sugar Chipotle I do not measure it it's not like Lorenzo is trying to make a bacon for Halloween I'm just gonna cook my vegetables right in that fat is gonna add that licorice a little sweetness a little something that makes you go oh what's that a little bit of onion carrot smashed garlic a little salt some coriander that I toasted and crushed five strips of lemon zest and one last touch black pepper this is just gonna play off of bacon itself all of these flavors are just gonna come together get to know one another little white wine goes a long way some for the pot some for the chef so I'm gonna Nestle in my pork a little chicken sock I'm gonna cover these bad boys slide them in a 325 degree oven low and slow for about an hour then we'll check on them and address them later baking that's been cooking for 30 minutes Yum Yum Yum now I'm simply just going to coat my my bacon and it'll absorb into that beautiful bacon as it gets crispy yes I am ready for my pork facial this is going to go back in for another hour and I'm telling you this is going to be one sexy dish after another hour in our 24 hour baking process it looks gorgeous wanna press this overnight for 24 hours because the braise is always better the next day this looks and smells fantastic oh it's dripping with juices I have my pork belly here that has been pressed overnight it is just sitting in all that juicy fatty goodness cut it across the grain so that it looks like the bacon that it is that's a delicious big bacon slice I'm just gonna Brown it a little bit because with bacon everybody kind of anticipates a little bit of crunch right I just want to add a little bit of sweetness to this so I'm gonna just glaze it with a whisper maple syrup mmm sizzle nice and brown Bobby Brown I call it let it cool down for about four or five minutes so these three are ready for the sandwich I love tomatoes this is a beef steak tomato I'm actually gonna saute this tomato I'm gonna use a green tomato and I am going to fry them so I'm cutting it a little bit thick that way whatever I saute it in the pan it won't fall apart they shouldn't be doing that a little salt pepper and now I'm gonna take some buttermilk and then an egg whisk that up really quick as long as you got the vegetables in there this is considered healthy and now we drudge I find lighter crust I have some cornmeal I season both with a little bit of salt to the hot oil with this guy oh I'm gonna add a little bit of olive oil transfer my tomatoes into my pan so I'm just going to saute this for a couple minutes on each side sauteed tomatoes on a BLT interesting I cut it thick so it's not going to be so mushy this is good enough there's no chai here that's yummy that's taste yeah you see that nice and crunchy give her a flip fried food always needs a little bit more salt at the end Fried Green Tomatoes check I like the crunch that a regular iceberg lettuce might have or a romaine lettuce and I'm not gonna do not fancy my lettuce neither take a few pieces off go dig go skinny buy one two pieces of these you're good to go but guess what I also like the spiciness and pepperoness of an arugula why not because no it's just BLT it's not it's not b b uh BT arugula a BT uh no it's lettuce no arugula has this very peppery taste to it this doesn't quite look like lettuce because it's not it's basil who doesn't like basil and tomato for me there's nothing better than little gem because it really holds its crunch I cut my basil in small ribbons and then I just add it in all those flavors are going to play together and it's gonna be yummy all right we got our store-bought bread got our toaster it's a must it was two dogs it was too hard it's gonna be crunching in the bacon Pullman loaf is great for BLT because it has a nice neutral flavor so that you're not competing with the beauty of the bee the L or the T we're going to start with a little bit of water and sprinkle in our yeast and to that we're going to add some honey and then set that aside I as well baked my bread here I already cut it I just uh didn't want to show it on camera we have some bread flour all-purpose flour dried milk it's pure protein which will help the bread rise we have some kosher salt and then we have some unsalted butter because the fat is flavor yeasty water so this is going to come together into a very rough dough it's almost like a magic trick I am just working this into a cute little ball and then I'm just gonna put it in a bowl with some olive oil rub it around I'm gonna let this poop for an hour I liked Italian loaf my brothers and sisters hate me because I go right for the middle because it's the largest slice in the bunch that's why I do that an hour later knock it down a little bit I let it rise and then I'm pushing it down to get rid of the lard air bubbles I'm gonna put it back in flip her over add another hour third time's a charm I need a pan too I'm just greasing it up a little bit a Pullman loaf has a nice fine tight drum and it gets that from actually swirling in on itself and folding it in and voila it will fit perfectly into my pan so just a loose cover I'm gonna let it rise for another hour and I'll be ready for baking okay I didn't do that I wonder if my bread is proofed yet oh look it is I'm fine we're going to stop and shop the corner store spending us three dollars to get this bread what I'm gonna do is just slide her into a 500 degree oven once we put it in we're going to turn it immediately down to 375 for about 30 to 40 minutes that's it nice and crispy toast it's ready for us a nice little spread to go on it perhaps bread voila it sounds Hollow and that means that we're there so I'm just gonna cool it on its side you don't want to slice it while it's warm resist resist resist you can never BLT without mayo you need Mayo it's like cereal with no milk today I'm gonna go a little fancy my mail gonna be five star mail Mayo combined with an avocado with a little bit of lime and salt I will show you my mom's technique yeah I am smashing it now and I'll scoop it in mayo I'm gonna make a smoky aioli to really like amp up the Smoky flavor of the bacon I'm gonna start with classic aioli ingredient which is garlic one egg the yolk is going to act as our emulsifier just a little bit of lemon juice I got this nice lime smoked paprika salt good pinch and begin with adding the oils vegetable oil and olive oil keep whisking combining so my avocado won't turn brown perfect you're almost done with this mask almost ready to assemble our sandwich 48 hours later gotta hold it right so you don't you know get a good grip incorporate the swoop and I like to just simply spread a bunch on both sides our Smokey aioli okay next is my peppery arugula with a little bit of Basil yum I love it baby Little Gems I'm gonna go in food order so we're gonna start with the bacon you can fold it again for the extra crunchy Desi you and I share something in common we fold our bacon no folding necessary top my bacon with just a little bit of the vegetables from the braising of the bacon so it has all of that flavor in it now the lettuce last but not least the tomato one on here and another right here our crunchy fried green tomatoes more sauce aioli is delicious this one is dedicated to my salad from the deli aloe Salt Bay look at this pepper last two strips a little Chipotle just to add that is my BLT this is my BLT and sandwich [Music] I mean I can't wait to slice into this and take one big bite yeah it's gonna be a good song right here oh my God the combination is lovely everything is perfect bro feeling a fake diet you can't even touch the vegetables Tomatoes good lettuce not even there the pork is so melty and Smoky and delicious brightness from that it is delicious BLT mic drop bacon lettuce and tomato is a classic sandwich for a reason it's salty crunchy fresh and tasty let's see how each of our Three Chefs made theirs Desi used smoked bacon it's salt cured so it's either dry salted or brined for several days two weeks this lowers available water for metabolism of microorganisms that may spoil me when salt is heavily concentrated outside of the bacterial cells the water inside is drawn to the Salty outside effectively bursting and killing the cells the flavor is complex unique and delicious Lorenzo used smoked bacon as well but can't eat his first by adding brown sugar and spicy Chipotle powder he's combining most of our taste sensations together spicy salty and sweet Lish definitely goes through a labor of love with her bacon she braises uncured bacon so no nitrites are added once the bacon is cooked with the fat side down so that she renders some of the fat into the braising pot she adds aromatics to season the oil before adding it back to the bacon she cools the bacon overnight Under Pressure which concentrated the flavors and makes the bacon firmer and easier to slice foreign used a beef steak which is a large diameter tomato with small seed cavities they stay firm Lorenzo also used a beefsteak tomato but lightly sauteed it cellular vacuoles which hold water making them plump and juicy break down very quickly when heated so Lorenzo's tomato was a little bit soft warm and wet Lish made Fried Green Tomatoes a quintessential Southern dish in the United States green tomatoes have more hemicellulose a structural component in cell walls that keep them firm Desi used classic Iceberg it's crispy pale green head lettuce that's mild in flavor it's still a very popular lettuce in the United States in part because it's hearty and ships well with minimal damage it adds a really crunchy texture to his VLT Lorenzo used a blend of basil and arugula with very tender leaves and a slightly peppery bite from the hydrolysis of two compounds found in the seeds and leaves leucosativein and glucoarison he combined the arugula with basil an herb with distinct flavor with hints of sweet mint lemon and pepper Lish used little gem lettuce which is a vibrant green small size lettuce it resembles a small head of romaine lettuce it's harvested young and is extremely tender with a slightly sweet taste you can see that with a BLT you have lots of options and levels of detail and no there's never too much crispy fried bacon next time you're hungry for a decadent sandwich we hope you'll take some of these tips from our three fabulous chef

Channel: Epicurious

Views: 237,693

Keywords: 4 levels, 4 levels blt, 4 levels of blt, bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich, bacon sandwich, best blt, best blt ever, best blt recipe, best blt sandwich, best sandwich, best sandwich recipes, blt, blt recipe, blt sandwich, blt sandwich recipe, blts, epi, epi 4 levels, epicurious, epicurious 4 levels, how to make a blt sandwich, how to make a classic blt sandwich, how to make a sandwich, make a blt, make blt, sandwich, sandwich recipe, sandwich recipes, sandwiches

Id: CJHzsy9Zn98

Length: 14min 5sec (845 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 25 2023