Summer tomatoes, part II

In my book, Caprese Salad is pretty close to the highest and best use of perfectly ripe summer tomatoes, but J. Kenji López-Alt of the "Food Lab" at Serious Eats might disagree. He says he didn't understand the true nature of a Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich until he tasted his first great tomato, which led to this postulate: "A BLT is not a well-dressed bacon sandwich. A BLT is a tomato sandwich, seasoned with bacon." Well, I don't know about that, but I was impressed enough with Kenji's passion to try his Ultimate BLT Sandwich when I picked up some bacon from Free Union Grass Farm to go along with my heirloom tomatoes. It is a very good BLT, but be warned if you try it: Kenji does not tell you to drain some of the fat from the skillet before toasting the bread in it. As you can see from the video, that's not an issue with his griddle, but it was a major problem with my skillet, as there was a lot of fat in the pan and the bread absorbed pretty much all of it and ended up tasting greasy and sorta like a heart attack on a plate.

I still had most of the bacon left after making Kenji's BLT, so I made another recipe I've been wanting to try—the BLT salad by famed grill master Steven Raichlen, which is essentially a deconstructed BLT sandwich with more lettuce. In the end, I have to say that as much as I love a good BLT I actually preferred the BLT salad. And you don't really need a recipe for a BLT anyway, despite what Kenji says.

I didn't toast the croutons enough because I was worried about burning them

BLT Salad

From Man Made Meals (2014) by Steven Raichlen via The Splendid Table

You can substitute Bibb (aka Boston or Butter) lettuce for the iceberg lettuce, or even mesclun/spring mix if you're really in a pinch.

4 slices thick-sliced high-quality bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch slivers (thicker lardons, basically) 
60 grams (~6 slices) good French baguette, cut into ½-inch cubes (~1½ cups)
30 grams (2 tablespoons) buttermilk (or heavy/whipping cream or half-and-half)
28 grams (2 tablespoons) mayonnaise
15 grams (1 tablespoon) distilled white vinegar or rice vinegar
1 small or ½ large head iceberg lettuce (see note)
2 large, ripe summer, preferably heirloom, tomatoes (don't make this with crappy supermarket tomatoes)
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

    1. Place the bacon in a cold, heavy 10-inch skillet (cast iron if you have it), and place the pan over medium heat. Fry, stirring often, until the bacon is browned and crisp, about 10 to 12 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate.
    2. Pour off all but 1½ tablespoons of the rendered bacon fat from the skillet. Stir the bread cubes into the fat. Cook, stirring often, until the bread is well browned, about 5 to 7 minutes, lowering the heat if needed so that the bread is toasted but not burnt. Using the slotted spoon, transfer the croutons to the plate with the bacon.
    3. In a large bowl, whisk the buttermilk, mayo, and vinegar together.
    4. Remove the core from, and coarsely chop, the lettuce. You should have about 4 cups.
    5. Remove the core from, and dice, the tomatoes. Season with salt.
    6. Whisk the dressing again to re-combine. Place the lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, and croutons in the bowl with the dressing. Season with lots of freshly ground black pepper, or to taste. Using the slotted spoon or your hands, gently toss all of the ingredients with the dressing until well combined. Taste for seasoning, remembering that the bacon is already salty. Serve immediately, before the croutons get soggy and lose their crunch. Makes 3 to 4 servings.