Open Faced BLTs

Have you guys discovered the joys of oven-crisped bacon yet? If you haven’t you’re really missing out. It is so good! Better than griddle bacon, better than pan-fried bacon…this stuff is in a league of its own. For real.

To be fair, bacon is pretty much always delicious; but, something magical happens when you cook it on a cooling rack in the oven. I think it’s because when the meat’s not laying in a pool of grease, it gets crispier. Combine that with the fact that the oven’s heat cooks each strip from all sides, and you get the crispest, most evenly looked bacon you’ve ever eaten. Oh, and as a bonus, as the meat sizzles away inside the oven, its heavenly, porky scent fills your kitchen but doesn’t coat your walls or hang greasily in the air all day. Awesome!  

Now, if you’re like me, eating bacon probably comes with a lot of associated guilt. All that grease, all those calories, all your poor clogged arteries…BUT, when you pull your bacon out of the oven and see how much fat/grease has dripped down into the pan instead of soaking into the meat and going straight to your thighs, you’ll feel much better about things. Plus, if your cooling racks are as small as mine, you’ll have to cut each uncooked bacon strip in half to get them to all fit on the rack without overhang. So that big plateful of bacon you see? Technically only 5 whole pieces! And if you share that plate of half strips with someone else, you’ll probably actually end up eating less bacon than you normally would. Satisfying a bacon craving while secretly allowing you to eat in moderation? See, I told you these were magic.

And if eating straight bacon is too boring, why not throw together a few open faced BLTs? Super delicious, and you’ll sneak some vegetables into your diet for the day.

Open- Faced BLTs

Ingredients:
– 4 pieces uncooked bacon, cut in half
– 2 slices tomato
– 2 pieces lettuce
– 2 baguette slices
– Mayo

Steps:
(1) Preheat the oven to 420.
(2) Place a cooling rack inside a baking pan.
(3) Spray the cooling rack with nonstick spray and lay your bacon strips along the rack, making sure they don’t touch.
(4) Bake for 15 minutes, or until crispy.
(5) Smear one side of each baguette slice with mayo. Stack with lettuce, tomato, and bacon, in that order.
(6) Enjoy!