Vegan BLT

Chef Rudy Smith, corporate chef at Unilever Food Solutions, shows us how to make a vegan BLT sandwich. The BLT‘s perfect balance of salty, savory bacon, creamy mayo, sweet and acidic tomato, and crunchy lettuce and bread, makes it a beloved sandwich. Now vegans and vegetarians don’t have to miss out! This vegan BLT is made using vegan mayonnaise, and by replacing bacon with flavorful portobello mushroom bacon.

 
 

Yield: 1 each

Method

For the Portobello Bacon:

  1. Dissolve the maple syrup in the Basic Brine.

  2. Add the soy sauce and mix well. Reserve.

  3. Slice the mushrooms on a bias ¼ inch thick.

  4. Marinate the sliced mushrooms in the maple brine mixture for 2 to 3 hours.

  5. Light smoke the mushrooms at 160°F for 2 hours.

  6. Remove the mushrooms from smoker and allow them to dry to desired crispiness (Can be placed into a 170°F oven, if desired)

For the Sandwich:

  1. Toast the bread.

  2. Spread the mayonnaise evenly on each slice of toast.

  3. Top each slice of toast with 5-6 slices of the Portobello Bacon.

  4. Place a tomato slice on top of the bacon on one slice of toast.

  5. Place some arugula on top of the tomato.

  6. Top with the second slice of toast with the mayonnaise and bacon.

  7. Slice the BLT and serve.

    Source: Chef Rudy Smith from Unilever Food Solutions. Published with permission of the author. All rights reserved.

Ingredients

For the Portobello Bacon

1 cup Basic Brine (Recipe here)
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ maple syrup
4 Portobello mushroom caps

For the Sandwich

2 slices whole wheat bread
2 slices heirloom tomato
1.5 oz. Hellmann's® Vegan Mayonnaise
½-1 oz. arugula
10-12 slices Portobello Bacon      

This recipe and video were produced by The Culinary Institute of America as an industry service,
thanks to the generous support of Unilever Food Solutions.