Unless you don’t eat pork for religious or dietary reasons – or oddly just don’t like bacon – you’ve likely had at least one BLT sandwich in your life. It’s a classic. And, it’s origin is a tale of shrewd marketing tactics. What’s more American than that?

There’s no record of a BLT sandwich (bacon, lettuce, and tomato) prior to 1958, when Hellmann’s began marketing their mayonnaise as “traditional on bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches”.

Their messaging would imply that the BLT sandwich had been around for some time, but there’s no official account of such a sandwich up to this point in time. So, for all intents and purposes, I’m crediting the folks in Hellmann’s marketing department, circa the mid 1950’s, for the invention of the modern day BLT sandwich.

Their purpose wasn’t to invent sandwiches of course, but rather to sell more mayonnaise. And, what goes great with mayonnaise? A BLT sandwich. It was a brilliant tactic. The BLT sandwich’s popularity took off. It’s currently one of the most popular sandwiches in the United States. Mayonnaise, too, is mainstream, although that’s not really a good thing considering America’s obesity epidemic. (I’m not faulting mayonnaise entirely, but it certainly isn’t a remedy for obesity).

It’s important to understand that there was a time in which mayonnaise was not a household item. Hellmann’s was the first major brand to launch in the United States, in the early 1900’s. More specifically, German immigrant Richard Hellmann began selling his mayonnaise in 1913 out of a New York deli. Twenty years later the company would be acquired by Best Foods laying the foundation for a national footprint. They are still marketed as separate brands in different parts of the country and are now owned by corporate giant Unilever. Duke’s mayonnaise has been around since 1917, but it had, and still does have, a regional footprint primarily in the south. According to Wikipedia, and despite a lack of sources confirming it, Kraft supposedly began producing mayonnaise in 1930, followed by Miracle Whip in 1933. The point here being that it wouldn’t be until after WWII that mayo would see widespread commercial success. Mayonnaise was practically a new invention. It would take a long time before it was in every households refrigerator. And once it was, it would spur the growth of ancillary products and recipes, like the BLT.

Here’s the thing to remember about mayonnaise: it needs to be used with or on something else. Not only did the marketing folks at companies like Hellmann’s, Dukes, and Kraft have to figure how to market mayonnaise, they had to figure out what mayonnaise could be used with or on to successfully do so. Alas, 1958 rolls around and the BLT is identified as being a perfect vessel for mayonnaise. And boy were the folks at Hellmann’s right.

Enough about mayonnaise. Let’s talk fried green tomatoes and pork belly, because those are the stars of my Fried Green Tomato and Pork Belly BLT. In lieu of “normal” red tomatoes I fried green tomatoes, and bacon I replaced with pork belly. Bacon and pork belly are from the same cut of meat, but I prefer the succulence and flavor of the pork belly. It adds a vibrant dimension to this BLT. I added horseradish and pickle relish to mayonnaise, creating a tangy remoulade sauce. You can’t get to innovative with lettuce, so I simply used… lettuce. All of that was topped with smoked gouda cheese and stuck between slices of toasted brioche bread, creating a wonderfully eclectic version of a BLT.

Fried Green Tomato & Pork Belly BLT

5 from 2 votes

Course: MainsCuisine: American, SouthernDifficulty: Medium

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Total time

minutes

An amped up version of a BLT: fried green tomatoes, succulent pork belly slices, fresh lettuce, tangy horseradish remoulade sauce, and gouda cheese in between toasted brioche bread

Ingredients

Fried Green Tomatoes
2 whole 2 green tomatoes, sliced
1 cup 1 flour
1/2 cup 1/2 breadcrumbs
1/2 cup 1/2 cornmeal
1 teaspoon 1 salt
1 teaspoon 1 pepper
1 teaspoon 1 garlic powder
1 teaspoon 1 paprika
2 whole 2 eggs
1/2 cup 1/2 milk
3 cups 3 frying oil (peanut or vegetable)
Tangy Horseradish Remoulade
1/2 cup 1/2 mayonnaise
1 tablespoon 1 whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon 1 sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon 1 hot sauce
1 teaspoon 1 horseradish sauce
1 teaspoon 1 paprika
1 teaspoon 1 pepper
For the Sandwich
4 slices 4 brioche bread, toasted
2 leaves 2 lettuce, green leaf or romaine
8 slices 8 pork belly
4 slices 4 gouda cheese

Directions

To prep the pork belly: Combine the salt, sugar, and pepper. Evenly rub the mixture around the pork belly and place in a roasting pan. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Heat an oven to 450°. Remove the pork belly from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. Discard any liquid from the roasting pan and shake off any excess salt and sugar. Roast, fat side up, at 450° for 1 hour. Turn the temperature down to 250° and continue cooking for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Baste the pork in its own fat a couple of times during this process. Once its cooked for 2 hours and 15 minutes in the oven, remove and let it cool. Once cooled enough, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4-6 hours, until cooled through completely. This important step will help you evenly slice the pork belly later when it’s time to assemble the sandwich.

You should begin this process the day before you plan on making this dish.
Gather three separate bowls. In one, add the flour. Whisk together the eggs and milk in another. In the third, combine the breadcrumbs, cornmeal, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. You’re going to dip the sliced green tomatoes, first in the flour, then in the egg and milk mixture, and finally the breadcrumb and cornmeal mixture. Heat the frying oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the breaded green tomatoes in the hot oil for 4-5 minutes per side, until golden brown and crispy. Remove to a wire rack to cool while preparing the rest of the sandwich.
In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the tangy horseradish remoulade: mayonnaise, whole grain mustard, sweet pickle relish, hot sauce, horseradish sauce, paprika, and pepper. Whisk until full combined. Set aside.
Remove the pork from the refrigerator and its plastic wrap. Slice into 1/2″ thick pieces. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the pork belly slices and heat through for 1-2 minutes. Remember, the pork is fully cooked, so this is simply to reheat it. Don’t over cook it in this step.
Toast your brioche bread. To assemble each sandwich, stack the following ingredients in between the toasted brioche bread: 2 tablespoons tangy remoulade sauce, 1 leaf of lettuce, 4 slices of pork belly, 2 fried green tomatoes, 2 slices of gouda cheese.
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