Pork talk: I made my first BLT

As a few of you might know, I’ve started eating pork this year after a long hiatus, and it’s been really fun! Cheese boards, for example, are more interesting now because there’s ham and salami.

One thing a lot of people have said to me is they could never give up bacon. And while I’ve since had bacon in things like burgers, I’ve not really been able to figure out what the fuss is all about with bacon. I think because the flavour of bacon probably gets hidden in a burger. I also suspect the quality of bacon is important.

A few weekends ago, I decided to make some BLTs. People who like BLTs really rave about how good they are. I’m skeptical about them. Like, how good can bacon, lettuce and tomatoes be? They’re just sides! And where’s the cheese?

My BLT was very simple: fried up some bacon, slice some tomatoes and washed some butter lettuce. I slathered some Kewpie mayo on slices of light rye bread and toasted them in the bacon fat, and added more mayo to glue the rest of the ingredients together. I sandwiched the sliced tomato between layers of bacon, then sealed it with lettuce.

Turns out, I do like a BLT. It’s tasty, and I guess it seems healthy because of the tomato and lettuce. It’s not as mind-blowing as I was expecting, but I would definitely make it again if I have the ingredients. Maybe I’ll even add cheese and avo!

A few friends on Instagram suggested variations like adding hot sauce or adding pickles and capers to the mayo for some tang and sweetness – all suggestions I look forward to exploring very much. I actually sprinkled a bit of salt on the tomatoes, which I think brings out the delicate flavour. I reckon a sprinkling of shichimi togarashi will be nice too!

How do you make your BLTs? Feel free to share in the comments!