BLT From Scratch Summer Time Challenge
Author and TV personality Michael Ruhlman issued a fun challenge on his blog yesterday to make the best BLT sandwich from scratch. From
scratch means that the lettuce and tomatoes are home grown and the bacon, bread and mayo all made at home. I think it is a very interesting
challenge because we don’t think of a BLT as a complicated sandwich to make. After all, the name of the sandwich also serves as the recipe. Yet even
such a simple sandwich when broken down to the beginning becomes a much more intensive process. I am accepting Michael Ruhlman’s challenge
which is due by August 28th. Each participant will be submitting their photos of their finished product. There is no monetary prize but I think we’ll
all have a greater appreciation for the effort that goes into creating the food we enjoy. I’ll post updates throughout the summer. I hope others will also
accept the challenge and share their experiences.
http://blog.ruhlman.com/ruhlmancom/2009/06/blt-from-scratchsummertime-challenge.html
The Plan - June 11th, 2009
Bacon: I have never cured my own bacon but from my research it doesn’t seem to difficult. I plan to go with a hickory smoked bacon or maybe apple
wood if I can get my hands on some from a local orchard. The bacon will also be a bit peppery to balance the tomato, lettuce and mayo. However I
don’t want it to overpower the sandwich. As for a cooking technique I think I’ll try braising the thicker slap of bacon rather than the traditional thin
piece.
Lettuce: I’m going with Boston lettuce, it’s my favorite by far. I don’t have any in my garden yet so I’ll have to add that to the mix.
Tomatoes: I currently have Best Boy, Brandywine, San Marzano and Cherry Tomato plants growing in my garden. The Best Boy and Brandywine
are the best candidates for a BLT. They are larger in size and meatier. The brandywine plants were started from seed so they are behind the Best Boy
but byAugust I should be set.
Mayo: I’m going traditional, just classic mayonnaise. I will try a couple of oils to see what works best but I don’t expect any surprises here.
Bread: Sourdough is the first that comes to mind but I’ve never made it before. I’ll have a few test runs this summer. My fall back is a rustic Tuscan
style bread that I’ve made a lot, crusty exterior and a softer interior. I will then us some of the bacon fat from the braising on the bread and grill it
right before serving. It kind of reminds me of bread I had in England that was served with breakfast. As kids we used to call it lard toast as a joke. It
wasn’t very appealing because it was soggy and sat underneath the eggs and the sausage. I think if you use the bacon fat like butter and just grill up
the toast it would make a nice and crispy sandwich.
Veggie Update 1 – July 25th, 2009
Tomatoes: It’s been just over a month since I accepted the BLT from scratch challenge. At that time my tomato plants were already in the ground. I
have a total of 6 plants which includes 1 Best Boy, 1 Cherry, 2 San Marzano and 2 Brandywine. My original plan was to use a brandywine tomato for
the BLT but the Best Boys seem to be the closest to harvest. I want to make sure the tomatoes and lettuce are both at peak quality so I might not be
able to wait for my first brandywine tomato. A best boy looks like a classic red tomato and should work out well for the BLT.
Lettuce: Lettuce was not part of my original garden plan. Shortly after starting this project I added two green leaf lettuces to the garden.
Thankfully one survived and is doing great. My garden is southern exposure with full sun. Which is great for most plants but lettuce can easily burn
up in the hot summer sun. It actually works out pretty well that I have the tall tomato plants surrounding the lettuce and providing some natural
shade. Since I need the lettuce to be at its peak it’s likely I will use some of the earlier tomatoes as a guide for when to make the BLT for the challenge.
I have not attempted any trial runs of my other ingredients. The bread shouldn’t be an issue. I’ve never made bacon before but that also doesn’t
concern me. The process seems very straight forward. I do have some applewood so I think I will be sticking with that plan. The hardest part will be
finding pink curing salt. It looks like ordering online will be the best approach.
I estimate that I will be able to attempt a BLT in less than a month. So far it’s been a really interesting project.
Bacon! - August 12th, 2009
This week I received my copy of Michael Ruhlman's book Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing. Is it considered kissing up to be
plugging his book during his own contest? Maybe. Honestly as a beginner bacon maker I need some guidance and I don't know of a better resource. On
another note, is the word Chacuterie one of the hardest words to pronounce? I still don't know if I say it right. Regardless this week I started curing
my own bacon. I used the dry-cure method from the cookbook and some local Hudson Valley pork belly from Adam's Fairacres Farms. In about 7-10
days I should have fresh bacon ready to go. I think I will smoke half of it and leave the other half as is.
This week I also have some not so great news. Blight has been effecting tomato plants all over the Northeast and my garden is no exception. It seems
that all of my tomato plants now have it. I'll still get a good harvest of tomatoes but its rather disappointing considering we are just coming into the
peak of tomato season in the Hudson Valley. Two of my plants are close to 7 feet tall so it would have been a banner year. However I am very close to
harvesting my first Best Boy Tomato and have already had several very tasty cherry tomatoes. The San Marzano and brandywine are a bit behind
but several are on the vine.
Next up is some work on the bread. Getting close to sandwich time.
Bread - August 20th, 2009
My original plan was to make sourdough bread for the first time. The only problem was that I neglected to realize that to make the sour part of the
bread it need some time for the yeast to sit and I couldn't risk missing out on a perfect tomato from the garden. Instead I opted to make a simple
French bread using a recipe from Mark Bittman's book "How to Cook Everything". Since my theme for the BLT was a Hudson Valley version I wanted
a country style, free form loaf of bread. I also wanted a more rustic feel. The process is pretty simple, especially if you use a food processor to mix the
ingredients. I let the dough rise overnight in the fridge and after about 30 minutes in the oven my bread was complete. As a result of this experience
I want to make bread baking a regular part of my cooking routine. The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park even offers a bread baking course
this fall that I'm thinking about taking.
The Hudson Valley BLT - August 21st, 2009
After about 4 months the day has finally arrived to actually make a BLT. I've never considered a BLT a complicated sandwich. I mean it only
includes five ingredients. Yet to get each of those five ingredients to the table takes a lot of work. Even with my appreciation for food I still think I
take many things I eat for granted. I also found that a healthy appreciation of the process of making food does make eating the food more enjoyable.
The last step before I can make the sandwich is making the mayonnaise. I've made mayo before but in being consistant with other steps in the process
I wanted to work from a recipe. Most recipes are similar but I decided to use the one from the classic French chef Joel Robuchon's book "The Complete
Robuchon". Making mayo involves emulsifying oil with an egg yoke. For the egg I drove a few miles down the road to Fishkill Farms for some fresh
chicken eggs. I've been buying farm eggs for the entire summer and you can totally taste the difference from the supermarket variety.
As the final pieces started to come together for the first time all summer I started to have some doubt. What if the sandwich didn't taste good? Months
of waiting would all be wasted. What if I burned the toast? That's right I almost burnt the toast, which seems to be a reoccurring theme with me. I
arranged all of my ingredients on the table and recalled the steps required to produce each one of them. None of the steps we particularly difficult
but did require a lot of patience, especially for the growing of the vegetables. The sandwich was finally assembled and with the first bite the months
of work was worth it. The bacon was salty and crispy, the mayo creamy with a bit of tang, the lettuce fresh and clean, and the tomatoes were so
juicy that it dripped to my hands and down my arms. Several napkins were needed and months of work was devoured in minutes. It wasn't a perfect
BLT but definitely one of the most satisfying. I'm grateful to have participated in this challenge. I will be making a lot more bacon and bread, that's
for sure. Next year I am also expanding my garden to allow for more breathing room and more plants.
I did learn a few things as well. I had to adapt and make a lot of changes from my original plan which is a big part of cooking I think. My tomato
plants we too close to each other and although late blight was common this year my poor planning in the garden didn't help matters. For the bread
the country style wasn't the best choice for the BLT. It became too crunchy after toasting. Next time I will plan ahead and make the sourdough or a
sandwich loaf which will be softer. The crunchy bread took away from the crispy bacon.
Author and TV personality Michael Ruhlman issued a fun challenge on his blog yesterday to make the best BLT sandwich from scratch. From
scratch means that the lettuce and tomatoes are home grown and the bacon, bread and mayo all made at home. I think it is a very interesting
challenge because we don’t think of a BLT as a complicated sandwich to make. After all, the name of the sandwich also serves as the recipe. Yet even
such a simple sandwich when broken down to the beginning becomes a much more intensive process. I am accepting Michael Ruhlman’s challenge
which is due by August 28th. Each participant will be submitting their photos of their finished product. There is no monetary prize but I think we’ll
all have a greater appreciation for the effort that goes into creating the food we enjoy. I’ll post updates throughout the summer. I hope others will also
accept the challenge and share their experiences.
http://blog.ruhlman.com/ruhlmancom/2009/06/blt-from-scratchsummertime-challenge.html
The Plan - June 11th, 2009
Bacon: I have never cured my own bacon but from my research it doesn’t seem to difficult. I plan to go with a hickory smoked bacon or maybe apple
wood if I can get my hands on some from a local orchard. The bacon will also be a bit peppery to balance the tomato, lettuce and mayo. However I
don’t want it to overpower the sandwich. As for a cooking technique I think I’ll try braising the thicker slap of bacon rather than the traditional thin
piece.
Lettuce: I’m going with Boston lettuce, it’s my favorite by far. I don’t have any in my garden yet so I’ll have to add that to the mix.
Tomatoes: I currently have Best Boy, Brandywine, San Marzano and Cherry Tomato plants growing in my garden. The Best Boy and Brandywine
are the best candidates for a BLT. They are larger in size and meatier. The brandywine plants were started from seed so they are behind the Best Boy
but byAugust I should be set.
Mayo: I’m going traditional, just classic mayonnaise. I will try a couple of oils to see what works best but I don’t expect any surprises here.
Bread: Sourdough is the first that comes to mind but I’ve never made it before. I’ll have a few test runs this summer. My fall back is a rustic Tuscan
style bread that I’ve made a lot, crusty exterior and a softer interior. I will then us some of the bacon fat from the braising on the bread and grill it
right before serving. It kind of reminds me of bread I had in England that was served with breakfast. As kids we used to call it lard toast as a joke. It
wasn’t very appealing because it was soggy and sat underneath the eggs and the sausage. I think if you use the bacon fat like butter and just grill up
the toast it would make a nice and crispy sandwich.
Veggie Update 1 – July 25th, 2009
Tomatoes: It’s been just over a month since I accepted the BLT from scratch challenge. At that time my tomato plants were already in the ground. I
have a total of 6 plants which includes 1 Best Boy, 1 Cherry, 2 San Marzano and 2 Brandywine. My original plan was to use a brandywine tomato for
the BLT but the Best Boys seem to be the closest to harvest. I want to make sure the tomatoes and lettuce are both at peak quality so I might not be
able to wait for my first brandywine tomato. A best boy looks like a classic red tomato and should work out well for the BLT.
Lettuce: Lettuce was not part of my original garden plan. Shortly after starting this project I added two green leaf lettuces to the garden.
Thankfully one survived and is doing great. My garden is southern exposure with full sun. Which is great for most plants but lettuce can easily burn
up in the hot summer sun. It actually works out pretty well that I have the tall tomato plants surrounding the lettuce and providing some natural
shade. Since I need the lettuce to be at its peak it’s likely I will use some of the earlier tomatoes as a guide for when to make the BLT for the challenge.
I have not attempted any trial runs of my other ingredients. The bread shouldn’t be an issue. I’ve never made bacon before but that also doesn’t
concern me. The process seems very straight forward. I do have some applewood so I think I will be sticking with that plan. The hardest part will be
finding pink curing salt. It looks like ordering online will be the best approach.
I estimate that I will be able to attempt a BLT in less than a month. So far it’s been a really interesting project.
Bacon! - August 12th, 2009
This week I received my copy of Michael Ruhlman's book Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing. Is it considered kissing up to be
plugging his book during his own contest? Maybe. Honestly as a beginner bacon maker I need some guidance and I don't know of a better resource. On
another note, is the word Chacuterie one of the hardest words to pronounce? I still don't know if I say it right. Regardless this week I started curing
my own bacon. I used the dry-cure method from the cookbook and some local Hudson Valley pork belly from Adam's Fairacres Farms. In about 7-10
days I should have fresh bacon ready to go. I think I will smoke half of it and leave the other half as is.
This week I also have some not so great news. Blight has been effecting tomato plants all over the Northeast and my garden is no exception. It seems
that all of my tomato plants now have it. I'll still get a good harvest of tomatoes but its rather disappointing considering we are just coming into the
peak of tomato season in the Hudson Valley. Two of my plants are close to 7 feet tall so it would have been a banner year. However I am very close to
harvesting my first Best Boy Tomato and have already had several very tasty cherry tomatoes. The San Marzano and brandywine are a bit behind
but several are on the vine.
Next up is some work on the bread. Getting close to sandwich time.
Bread - August 20th, 2009
My original plan was to make sourdough bread for the first time. The only problem was that I neglected to realize that to make the sour part of the
bread it need some time for the yeast to sit and I couldn't risk missing out on a perfect tomato from the garden. Instead I opted to make a simple
French bread using a recipe from Mark Bittman's book "How to Cook Everything". Since my theme for the BLT was a Hudson Valley version I wanted
a country style, free form loaf of bread. I also wanted a more rustic feel. The process is pretty simple, especially if you use a food processor to mix the
ingredients. I let the dough rise overnight in the fridge and after about 30 minutes in the oven my bread was complete. As a result of this experience
I want to make bread baking a regular part of my cooking routine. The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park even offers a bread baking course
this fall that I'm thinking about taking.
The Hudson Valley BLT - August 21st, 2009
After about 4 months the day has finally arrived to actually make a BLT. I've never considered a BLT a complicated sandwich. I mean it only
includes five ingredients. Yet to get each of those five ingredients to the table takes a lot of work. Even with my appreciation for food I still think I
take many things I eat for granted. I also found that a healthy appreciation of the process of making food does make eating the food more enjoyable.
The last step before I can make the sandwich is making the mayonnaise. I've made mayo before but in being consistant with other steps in the process
I wanted to work from a recipe. Most recipes are similar but I decided to use the one from the classic French chef Joel Robuchon's book "The Complete
Robuchon". Making mayo involves emulsifying oil with an egg yoke. For the egg I drove a few miles down the road to Fishkill Farms for some fresh
chicken eggs. I've been buying farm eggs for the entire summer and you can totally taste the difference from the supermarket variety.
As the final pieces started to come together for the first time all summer I started to have some doubt. What if the sandwich didn't taste good? Months
of waiting would all be wasted. What if I burned the toast? That's right I almost burnt the toast, which seems to be a reoccurring theme with me. I
arranged all of my ingredients on the table and recalled the steps required to produce each one of them. None of the steps we particularly difficult
but did require a lot of patience, especially for the growing of the vegetables. The sandwich was finally assembled and with the first bite the months
of work was worth it. The bacon was salty and crispy, the mayo creamy with a bit of tang, the lettuce fresh and clean, and the tomatoes were so
juicy that it dripped to my hands and down my arms. Several napkins were needed and months of work was devoured in minutes. It wasn't a perfect
BLT but definitely one of the most satisfying. I'm grateful to have participated in this challenge. I will be making a lot more bacon and bread, that's
for sure. Next year I am also expanding my garden to allow for more breathing room and more plants.
I did learn a few things as well. I had to adapt and make a lot of changes from my original plan which is a big part of cooking I think. My tomato
plants we too close to each other and although late blight was common this year my poor planning in the garden didn't help matters. For the bread
the country style wasn't the best choice for the BLT. It became too crunchy after toasting. Next time I will plan ahead and make the sourdough or a
sandwich loaf which will be softer. The crunchy bread took away from the crispy bacon.
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