Fried Green Tomato and Making A Lattice Bacon Layer (so there’s bacon in every bite)
I love BLTs and now with tomatoes growing in my backyard, it’s easier than every to just munch out at a moments notice. But, I posted one of my caprese salads on Facebook recently, bragging about my tomatoes, and one of my friends said I should try making a BLT with fried green tomatoes. Love the idea. I also love the idea of making a lattice work layer of bacon, so that’s bacon in very bite. So, here’s little “how to” on that and my full recipe is at the bottom.
First, you need half slices of bacon to make the lattice work. So, stack up you bacon and just cut it crosswise.
Next, line three slices side-by-side on a piece of parchment paper cut to fit the size of your baking sheet.
Lift the middle slice and lay it across the other two to form a letter “H”.
Lay a fourth piece where the original middle piece was.
Fold the two outer pieces back over the cross piece.
Place a fifth piece horizontally overtop of the middle piece that is exposed and fold the two outer pieces over the top of it.
Repeat on the bottom half of the pieces to add a sixth slice of bacon.
Repeat this process with as many bacon lattices as you like. Then place a wire rack over the bacon to keep it flat while in the oven. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Then, drain on paper towels.
For the Tomatoes, slice them into thick slices and arrange three bowls on your work surface. Place all purpose flour in one and whisk two eggs in the other. In the third, mix bread crumbs, corn meal, onion powder, salt and pepper.
Dredge the tomatoes first in the flour. Then dip them in the egg wash. And, finally coat them in thee bread crumb mixture and set them on a plate.
Heat vegetable oil over high heat and then fry the tomatoes for only about 45 seconds per side or until golden brown.
Then drain on paper towels before assembling your BLTs with toasted bread, a light mayonnaise and dijon mixture, green leaf lettuce and your bacon lattice. Yum!
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Fried Green Tomato BLT
for 2 sandwiches
Ingredients
4 slices Bread
6 slices Bacon
2 med Green Tomatoes
2 lg Eggs, whisked together
1/2 cu All Purpose Flour
1/2 cu Corn Meal
1/2 cu Panko Bread Crumbs
1 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/4 cu Mayonnaise
1 tbl Dijon Mustard
Green Leaf Lettuce
Vegetable Oil
Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut a piece of parchment paper to line a baking sheet.
To make the bacon lattice work, slice the bacon in half crosswise. Line three half slices side by side on the parchment paper. Lift the center piece and cross it over the other two, forming an “H”. Take a fourth pice and lay it across the middle when the original center piece was. Fold the top half of the two outer strips over the center cross piece. Lay a piece of bacon over the single center piece and then fold the two outer strips back over it. Repeat this process with the lower portion of the two outer strips. You should now have a lattice work patter of six slices of bacon. Repeat this process with the remaining bacon for a second piece of lattice work. Place a wire rack over the bacon and bake them for 25-30 minutes or until your desired level of crispiness. Remove from oven and drain on a paper towel.
To prepare the tomatoes, cut them into thick slices. Arrange three bowls on your work surface. Place flour in one bowl and whisk the eggs into another. In the third bowl, combine the panko, corn meal, onion powder, salt and pepper. Dredge the tomatoes in the flour until fully coated. Place them in the egg mixture and turn to coat. Transfer the slices to the third bowl and press the bread crumb mixture into the egg coating. Shake off any excess crumbs and set on a plate.
Heat about a 1 1/2” deep layer of vegetable oil in a medium sized saucepan over high heat. When oil is hot, carefully place tomato slices into the saucepan. Fry for only about 45 seconds to a minute per side or until the coating is crispy and golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
Toast bread slices. Combine mayonnaise and dijon in a small bowl. Spread mixture onto the bread slices. Top two slices with green leaf lettuce, the bacon lattice and half of the fried tomato slices. Cover with the remaining pieces of toast. Slice and serve.