How to Make the Best BLT Ever

For the home cook who wants to smoke a better brisket but has no plans to work at a restaurant, Joe Carroll's new book, Feeding the Fire, is required reading. The New Jersey-born chef didn't grow up with barbecue culture, but his love for the technique led him to open Fette Sau in Brooklyn in 2007, which quickly became New York's go-to barbecue hangout. His beer garden, Spuyten Duyvil, followed, along with the casual American chophouse, St. Anselm, in Brooklyn. Here, Caroll shares one of our favorite recipes from Fire, which shows home cooks how to transform their everyday BLT sandwich into a transcendent sandwich experience.

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Grilled BLT with Pickled Tomatoes and Avocado Spread

I came up with this recipe while spending a weekend at a house in Asbury Park, New Jersey. It was so nice outside that I didn't want to cook brunch indoors, so I gathered the ingredients for a BLT and stationed myself at the grill.

Use extra-thick-cut bacon here: Thinner slices will be harder to grill, as they like to curl up from the heat and will cook unevenly. If you only have thin bacon, press the slices flat against the grill with a baking sheet or skillet as they cook. The pickled tomatoes make this a year-round BLT, but if you find yourself in the middle of tomato season, by all means use fresh tomatoes.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 slices Pullman loaf or 4 hamburger buns
¼ cup Garlic Aioli (recipe follows) or Mayonnaise
¼ cup Avocado Spread (recipe follows)
Eight ½-inch slices slab bacon
2 romaine lettuce hearts, cut lengthwise into quarters (cores left intact)
Vegetable oil, for brushing
4 jarred pickled green tomatoes, cut into ½-inch slices
4 fried eggs (optional)

To make

1. Start charcoal and let burn until coals are glowing red and coated in gray ash, about 15 minutes. Spread an even layer of charcoal, about one or two coals deep, over the bottom of the grill.

2. Butter the bread on both sides and grill, turning once, until toasted on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Spread 1 tablespoon of the aioli or mayonnaise on each of 4 slices of bread and spread 1 tablespoon of the avocado spread on the other slices.

3. Grill the bacon, turning often, until crispy and charred in spots, 4 to 6 minutes.

4. Brush the lettuce with oil and grill, cut side down, until lightly charred, 15 to 20 seconds.

5. Place the lettuce on top of 4 slices of the bread. Top with the tomatoes, bacon, and fried eggs, if using. Top the sandwiches with the remaining bread and serve.

Avocado Spread

Ingredients

Makes about 1½ cups

2 ripe avocados
5 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup crème fraîche
3 tablespoons Garlic Aioli (above)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make

1. Halve and pit the avocados and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Mash well with a fork. Add the cream cheese, crème fraîche, aioli, and lemon juice and whisk until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Use immediately.

Garlic Aioli

Ingredients

Makes about ½ cup

1 garlic clove, halved and germ removed
Kosher salt
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper

To make

1. Using the side of a heavy knife, mash the garlic clove and a pinch of salt into a paste on a cutting board.
Transfer to a bowl, add the egg yolk and mustard, and whisk together.

2. Combine the oils in a measuring cup and begin to add the oil to the egg yolk mixture a few drops at a time, whisking constantly until emulsified. Then continue whisking while slowly adding the remaining oil. (If the aioli begins to separate, stop adding oil and whisk until it comes back together, then proceed.) Whisk in the lemon juice and season the aioli to taste with salt and pepper. If it's too thick, thin with a few drops of water. Refrigerate until ready to serve. The aioli can be refrigerated for up to two days.