2024 Leap Year Of The BLT!

[worth1]

Supposedly the one with the skin still on is the traditional meat for Boston baked beans.

[worth1]

Picked up a package today.
I already have the unsliced with the skin on.
There will be a JLT coming soon.

IMG_20240607_132758166_HDR.jpg

[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

Picked up a package today.
I already have the unsliced with the skin on.
There will be a JLT coming soon.

Like HEB, seems it's a Texas Thing.

The Gotch

[worth1]

Picked up a package today.
I already have the unsliced with the skin on.
There will be a JLT coming soon.

Like HEB, seems it's a Texas Thing.

The Gotch

It is they aren't in any other state I know of.
They even responded to a complaint I made a phone call to corporate about and put the product back on the shelf.
Some how it fell off their list at this store.

[worth1]

I bought these two giant tomatoes at the store by looking through them for the jowl lettuce and tomato sandwich.

Even the nice young lady that checks me out sometimes commented on them.
If she's running the register I always try to go to her and a few other select young ladies because they are so efficient.
My god those tomatoes are huge she exclaimed.
One is 1 pound 4 something ounces.
The other 1 pound 2 something ounces.
Total 2 pounds 7 something ounces.

[worth1]

Not the giant tomatoes.
But it's the first BLT/JLT I've had in a very long time.
I had to chop the jowl because it was sliced the wrong way.
Romaine lettuce.
White bread.
Duke's mayonnaise.

IMG_20240608_091241874_HDR.jpg

[worth1]

Jowl fat isn't the same as bacon fat.
It's hard to get really crispy but can be done.
It has a different texture than bacon.
The fat is a little sticky and some call it silky.
It's very rich and is similar to beef cheeks in richness.
This due to the collagen.
It can if done correctly bring the BLT to a whole new level.

[karstopography]

Jowl fat isn't the same as bacon fat.
It's hard to get really crispy but can be done.
It has a different texture than bacon.
The fat is a little sticky and some call it silky.
It's very rich and is similar to beef cheeks in richness.
This due to the collagen.
It can if done correctly bring the BLT to a whole new level.

To my tastes for a BLT, I prefer the bacon, not overly lean, to be fried in a skillet. Oven bacon is good, but the taste and texture is different from the different ways the browning occurs as compared to the direct contact with the metal of a skillet.

I’ve not been able to figure it out, but once in a while skillet bacon has the fat get this amazing texture, I can’t even describe it, but kind of like melting sugar. The fat is always great, but sometimes it’s extra great. Seems to be about absolutely nailing the temperature on the cook.

[worth1]

Jowl fat isn't the same as bacon fat.
It's hard to get really crispy but can be done.
It has a different texture than bacon.
The fat is a little sticky and some call it silky.
It's very rich and is similar to beef cheeks in richness.
This due to the collagen.
It can if done correctly bring the BLT to a whole new level.

To my tastes for a BLT, I prefer the bacon, not overly lean, to be fried in a skillet. Oven bacon is good, but the taste and texture is different from the different ways the browning occurs as compared to the direct contact with the metal of a skillet.

I’ve not been able to figure it out, but once in a while skillet bacon has the fat get this amazing texture, I can’t even describe it, but kind of like melting sugar. The fat is always great, but sometimes it’s extra great. Seems to be about absolutely nailing the temperature on the cook.

It has a lot to do with the dryness of the bacon and if it's pumped with water or not.
I think the water is washing away the collagen.
My jowl didn't have any water pumped in it.
I just complained to one of the butcher ladies at HEB.
I asked her why they were cutting all the fat off the steaks.
She told me it was a hard set rule.
No fat more than 1/4 inch around the steaks.
I asked her if I could get an untrimmed Porterhouse if I wanted it because the kidney fat was the best part of the steak.
She said yes if they haven't trimmed the beef yet.

[Tormato]

My other neighbor on the north side doesn’t like tomatoes. We called him up one time “you want some garden tomatoes?” “Naw, I hate tomatoes”

The lettuce to my tastes, could be the best lettuce in the world, is mostly a just a filler for the BLT sandwich. If I have good lettuce available, I’ll put it on the sandwich. But, not having any lettuce around doesn’t prevent me from cooking up some crisp bacon, slicing a great tomato and making a sandwich of it.

There is no way I’d make a bacon, lettuce and toast sandwich, though, sounds terrible.

To those who hate tomatoes, it's hard to say if they've never had anything but one of those pale sickly tasteless things that comes from a supermarket, or are but a thin slice on a fast food joint burger.

If the neighbor is friendly and there is a trusting relationship, I'll give them a SunGold to try, warning them to chew it a bit, but be in a place where they may need to immediately spit it out. ALL of my neighbors that I give tomatoes to, like SunGold. The teenagers like them the most, gobbling them like candy.

And, my BLT tomato variety, a PL, is also producing a few RL plants this year. I'll hopefully be growing out 2 of them.

[worth1]

I think you can get too fancy with the bread too.

I've made them all and keep going back to good old American white bread.

[Mark_Thompson]

Worth you inspire me, I just had a moment of romantic brilliance. I think ol’ hog jowl might be a good pet name for my wife. Gonna try it out, I’ll let you know how it goes.

[Tormato]

I think you can get too fancy with the bread too.

I've made them all and keep going back to good old American white bread.

White bread? I Wonder about you, Worth.

[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

Worth you inspire me, I just had a moment of romantic brilliance. I think ol’ hog jowl might be a good pet name for my wife. Gonna try it out, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Let me know yer new address so YOUR postcards-n-seeds are properly delivered.....

The Gotch

[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

And, my BLT tomato variety, a PL, is also producing a few RL plants this year. I'll hopefully be growing out 2 of them.

Your BLT plant, with Pink Gift and Hillbilly, were picked up by the Sub Zero Wolf owner & wife and planted on their landed EState, last week.

The firm has a HUGE garden for vegetables they use in their Test Kitchens and Promo Dinners, with a sizeable Hoop House for Tomatoes. I'll be taking a tour of it all, with the gardeners in charge, sometime in the next coupla months, and I'll recommend some eclectic varieties for their next season.

Your Bacon Lettuce & This miiiiight just get a shot at the BIGTIME!

The Gotch

[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

I think you can get too fancy with the bread too.

I've made them all and keep going back to good old American white bread.

Lately, we've been going with untoasted Greek Flatbread and, this week, the incredibly low calorie/carb/sodium Joseph's Whole Wheat Pita (https://shop.josephsbakery.com/products ... -bread...a mere $2 at Woodman's!); it's easier to keep all the innards in, AND on my gums...

The Gotch

[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

Day 162 of 2024 Leap Year Of The BLT!, only 204 remain. Today's Monday Morning BLT Brunch participants brought to you's by Metro Market:

thumbnail_IMG_2875.jpg

'Round back:

thumbnail_IMG_2876.jpg

Sunshiney Slices:

thumbnail_IMG_2877.jpg

Showtime; the Yeller had an uncommonly mild flavor:

thumbnail_IMG_2878.jpg

The Gotch

[MissS]

Metro Market? How were they? Your Metro must be superior to mine. It is seldom that I can find an heirloom that hasn't been squeezed to mush by all of the feelers that never buy them.

BTW, those look fabulous! I have the fresh picked lettuce and now I just need a good mater and to pull some Nueske's bacon out of the freezer.

[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

Metro Market? How were they? Your Metro must be superior to mine. It is seldom that I can find an heirloom that hasn't been squeezed to mush by all of the feelers that never buy them.

BTW, those look fabulous! I have the fresh picked lettuce and now I just need a good mater and to pull some Nueske's bacon out of the freezer.

Ask the Produce Manager when they put the fresh ones out, they'll let you's know.

Also, try that Woodman's that not too awful far from you's, (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Pewauke ... ?entry=ttu); they've been a little on the pricey side of late, but you can't beat their quantity and selection. They stack their cardboard flats, but I just lift off the first one (or two) and lo-n-behold I'm in the Promised Land!

Glass half full? ~ six (6) weeks from now, we'll have our own!

The Gotch

[worth1]

Prices here in Texas.

Screenshot_20240610-164116.png

Screenshot_20240610-164211.png

Screenshot_20240610-164254.png