Fried Green Tomato BLT with Homemade Pimento Cheese
This Fried Green Tomato BLT combines crispy fried tomatoes and bacon with the perfect Southern sandwich addition, homemade pimento cheese. I dare you to try and find a better bacon lettuce tomato sandwich than this ultimate Southern BLT!
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon
- 2 green tomatoes cut in ¼" thick slices
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup panko style breadcrumbs
- ½ cup fish fry mix *I used Louisiana Fish Fry Products New Orleans-Style Fish Fry mix
- 2 eggs
- 2-4 tablespoons hot sauce
- salt and pepper
- sandwich bread
- leaf lettuce
For the Pimento Cheese:
- 6 oz sharp cheddar cheese freshly grated
- 6 oz pepper jack cheese freshly grated
- 4 oz smoked gouda cheese freshly grated
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup diced jarred pimentos
- 2 tablespoons grated yellow onion
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
- 1-2 large jalapeños, seeded and diced (Optional)
Instructions
- Make the pimento cheese by adding all pimento cheese ingredients to a large bowl. Mix together well. Refrigerate for at least one hour. *I like to mix my pimento cheese with a hand mixer on low to make it easier.
- Preheat griddle on low to medium heat until it reaches about 350 degrees F.
- Cook bacon on the griddle until crispy. Then, transfer cooked bacon to paper towels to drain and cool. Leave the leftover bacon grease on the griddle top to fry the tomatoes in.
- While the bacon is cooking, prepare a dredging station with 3 wide-bottomed bowls to batter the green tomato slices. Bowl #1: Add all purpose flour, salt, and pepper. Bowl #2: Mix together 2 beaten eggs and hot sauce. Bowl #3: Add panko and fish fry mix and stir to combine.
- To batter the green tomato slices, add one tomato slice to the flour (Bowl #1) and gently toss so that it's completely coated. Shake off excess flour. Then transfer the flour-coated tomato to the egg wash (Bowl #2) and coat completely. Use a fork to remove the dipped tomato from the egg wash and transfer to the panko/fish fry mix bowl (Bowl #3). Carefully coat tomato in the panko mixture and transfer to a wire rack. Continue that process until all tomato slices are breaded.
- Carefully lay the breaded tomato slices in the leftover bacon grease on the griddle to start shallow frying. *If you do not have enough residual bacon grease, add frying oil to the grease. Allow the tomatoes to cook on the first side for about 2-3 minutes or until they're golden brown on the first side, then rotate to the second side. Fry an additional 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Season fried green tomatoes with a pinch of salt.
- While tomatoes are frying, toast sandwich bread slices on the griddle until lightly golden brown.
- Build the fried green tomato BLT sandwiches. Spread a heaping spoonful or two of pimento cheese on a piece of toasted bread. Top with 2-3 fried green tomato slices. Add bacon strips, leaf lettuce, and the top piece of bread. Enjoy!
Notes
- This pimento cheese recipe makes about 5-6 cups of pimento cheese, so you will have plenty leftover to use for a cracker spread or to make pimento cheese sandwiches. Store leftover pimento cheese covered in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- You may want to take the pimento cheese out of the refrigerator about 15-20 minutes before serving so that it can soften a bit.