INGREDIENTS
Bacon (makes about 12 servings):
½ cup kosher salt
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons Insta Cure No. 1
1 pork belly, skin removed
Apple wood chips
Tabasco Aioli (makes about 1 pint):
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1½ cups olive oil
1 teaspoon Tabasco
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Fried Green Tomato:
1/3 cup buttermilk
¼ teaspoon paprika
Pinch cayenne pepper
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornmeal
1 green tomato, sliced 1/3-inch thick
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
To Assemble and Serve:
2 slices rustic bread, sliced ¾ inch thick
1 Romaine lettuce leaf, cleaned
METHOD
For the Bacon:
Wearing plastic gloves, combine the salt, sugar, and Insta Cure in a small bowl. Rub the seasoning evenly all over the belly and refrigerate for 10 days, meat side up.
Gently rinse the bacon to remove the surface salt, but be careful not to soak the meat. In the interim, preheat the smoker to 150°F and load in the apple wood chips. Dry the belly before transferring it into the smoker. Cook until the belly’s internal temperature reaches 138°F, roughly 6 to 8 hours. Refrigerate overnight, slice, and cook until crispy in a pan with olive oil.
For the Tabasco Aioli:
In a food processor, combine the egg, egg yolk, lemon juice, and garlic. Continue blending, slowly incorporating the olive oil and emulsify. Season with the Tabasco, salt, and pepper.
For the Fried Green Tomato:
Combine the buttermilk, paprika and cayenne in one loaf pan, and also combine the flour and cornmeal together in a second loaf pan. Use one hand to lay the green tomato slices in the buttermilk, and then use a dry hand to transfer the tomato slices into the cornmeal mixture, coating evenly. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Cook the tomatoes for 3 minutes or until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels and season with salt.
To Assemble and Serve:
Toast the bread. Spread the Tabasco aioli on the upper and lower slices of toast. On the bottom piece, stack 3 bacon slices, fried green tomatoes, lettuce, and top with other slice of bread.
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