Oh, the humble BLT. I always hated them growing up. I had a serious aversion to raw tomatoes, and I thought the mayonnaise was gross. Never mind that my mom loaded the thing with bacon, it was virtually inedible. Not to mention, that paltry little sandwich couldn’t possibly count as a meal—it had only five ingredients!

Fast forward a few years. I took some intentional time to learn to like tomatoes. I still struggle with cherry tomatoes—especially when raw—but I’ve learned how to really appreciate a good tomato when I find one. And that brings me back to the BLT.

A lot of people (such as my wife and mom) could eat a BLT anywhere. To them, there’s something addictive about the salty, fatty crunchiness paired with the freshness of tomato and lettuce. However, I’m not one of those people. If the bread is cheap or the lettuce is old, I don’t like the BLT. This experience with one of America’s iconic sandwiches is what sent a few important lessons home to me:

Lesson One: Quality is King

No matter how creative or technically proficient a recipe may be, if the ingredients used are of poor quality, the dish will ultimately fall short in flavor and overall enjoyment. Even the most skilled chef can't compensate for subpar ingredients. Thus, prioritizing sourcing high-quality, fresh, and flavorful ingredients is paramount for achieving culinary excellence and creating dishes that truly stand out.

For example, high-quality pasta makes a huge difference. Barilla is my go-to, and I learned myself that anything cheaper just isn’t worth it, and I’d rather have rice for dinner. Ketchup and other low-quality sauces, while awesome for their own purposes, have a way of hijacking a dish when used in the wrong place. If not used with extreme caution, ketchup can quickly ruin a whole dish. Have you ever tried making poached eggs? It’s almost impossible to get just the right outcome if your eggs aren’t perfectly fresh.

Lesson Two: There is Beauty in Simplicity

When I decided to really pursue cooking as a hobby, a mentor of mine challenged me to get rid of most herbs and spices for a period and focus on just mastering the basics of cooking with solid technique. I ditched the oregano and paprika and learned the fundamentals:

• How to roll a pasta by hand and determine the modulate the egg-to-flour ratio depending on the type of consistency I wanted.
• How to make an awesome stock.
• How to add layers to a soup so that it’s not homogenous and boring.
• How to cook meat perfectly, every time, so that it’s always juicy and tender.
• How to cook vegetables so their colors pop and they maintain the perfect amount of crunch.
• When to salt, how much to salt, and what kind of salt to use.

The list goes on, but the important thing was to keep things simple until I really understood the building blocks of a meal. Of course I still used herbs and spices, but only the bare minimum. I kept away from goofing off with all the spice bottles until I had my basics. And pnly after that (which took about four years in the kitchen dojo), I began learning to make sauces, rubs, and spice blends.

So what about the BLT?

Well, it’s hard to get more basic than a BLT. It’s five ingredients. Three of those five ingredients are a whole food. And you know what? It absolutely works. It’s a perfect blend of salty, fatty, sweet flavors with fresh aromas and an amazing blend of texture.

There are a lot of ways you could ramp up a BLT, but as for me, I like to keep the BLT as simple as possible. No bells and whistles, just the basics. It keeps me close to the roots of my cooking education. And this is the perfect segue into the third lesson from a BLT.

Lesson Three: You Do You

Honestly, there are a lot of very wrong ways to do things in the kitchen. But you know what? There are also a ton of right ways.

Do you prefer your BLT soft or toasted? Do tomatoes not really bother you, or do you insist on garden fresh? How do you like your mayo: hand-whipped or store bought?

At the end of the day, it’s not a big deal. You know what you like, so go enjoy it.

So what makes the perfect BLT?

Well, anyone will have their own opinion, but here are my thoughts:

• I always make my BLTs with homemade bread. That’s right, my wife and I plan ahead, and she makes soft, fresh white bread while I’m at work for us to cut thick and use for our sandwich. And oddly enough, I don’t think it needs to be toasted. I like how the plush softness contrasts with the crunch from the bacon and lettuce.
• Tomatoes should be aromatic. If your tomato is just a mouthful of water, then to me the sandwich isn’t worth it.
• Only fresh lettuce, only fresh lettuce, only fresh lettuce. I live for that crunch. It’s actually one of the few times I prefer iceberg lettuce over romaine.
• Bacon is bacon. Make it the way you want. But if I get to choose, I’ll buy it thick cut and cold sear it in the oven.
• If you can make the time, high-quality mayo is totally worth it, then spread it on thick to both slices of bread. This adds some gorgeous mouthfeel, and it also protects the bread from that soggy tomato.

If this doesn’t get you interested in BLTs for tomorrow’s dinner, I hope it at least gets you excited to master your kitchen. Go forth and cook!