Here’s how you turn a favorite sandwich into a cocktail—to great acclaim!
August 2009
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Recipe: BLT Cocktail
Page 2: Molecular Mixology Deconstructs The BLT
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Brent Jones serves the BLT Cocktail in a stemmed sherry glass. Other special tools you’ll need for this recipe include an Aerolatte milk frother (or other aerating tool) and two cocktail mixing glasses.
Step 1: Make “Bacon Fat Vodka”
How do you make a BLT cocktail? From bacon fat-washed vodka, lettuce air and homemade tomato juice, of course. But it’s not as hard as it sounds—in fact, it’s fun!
First, make Bacon Fat Washed Vodka. Fat washing is a method of extracting flavor from fat, without the greasy texture. “I first encountered this method while taking the Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR) class in New York City,” says Brent. You can also wow your guests by using Bacon Fat Washed Vodka in a Bloody Mary cocktail, and give bottles as holiday gifts.
Vodka Ingredients
- 1 pound uncooked bacon
- 750ml vodka
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Bacon fat in vodka? There’s a first time for everything! Photo of Edwards Hickory-Smoked Bacon.
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Preparation
- Cook the bacon, collecting the fat. Dump the vodka into a minimum volume 1 liter container. Use a container with a large opening, such as a mixing bowl.
- Heat the bacon fat until it becomes a liquid, and pour it into the bowl containing the vodka. Stir and let the bowl set at room temperature for a minimum of 2 hours.
- Place the bowl in the freezer for 1 hour to congeal the fat; strain and filter the liquid. A strainer or chinois, and a common coffee filter will do the trick.
Step 2: The Best Tomato Juice
Next, prepare the tomato juice. While it seems like a no-brainer to use a can of tomato juice or V8, fresh-made seasonal tomato juice is well worth the effort. (EDITOR’S NOTE: If you need to short-cut this step, at least use Knudsen’s or one of our other top-rated tomato juices.)
Tomato Juice Ingredients
- Ripe tomatoes (one tomato per drink, depending on size of tomato)
Preparation
- Fill large sauce pan 3/4 full with water, and bring to a very light boil. Blanch the tomatoes in the hot water for 15 seconds, remove and allow to cool.
- Peel the tomato using a pairing knife, pulling away the skin. Throw the skinless tomato in a blender or a juice extractor, and strain the juice using a chinois.
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 Photo of tomatoes by Pawel Zawistowski | SXC.
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Step 3: Make “Lettuce Air”
Next, you’ll be making lettuce air, which is aerated/foamed lettuce juice. It uses soy lecithin, a vegetable emulsifier, to make an “air” (very similar to a foam). You can purchase it anywhere vitamins are sold. You’ll need an Aerolatte milk frother for this step, which is great for foaming milk for latte and cappuccino, making foamed toppings for soup, etc. You can use an immersion blender, but in this case, the smaller Aerolatte works well and can have other uses in the kitchen for people who aren’t sophisticated cooks.
Lettuce Air Ingredients/Tools
- 4 ounces lettuce juice
- 2 ounces water
- 1/2 teaspoon soy lecithin
- Aerolatte milk frother or other
aerating device (e.g. immersion
blender)
Preparation
- Extract the juice from a head of lettuce using either a blender or a juice extractor. If using a blender, be sure to strain the juice using a chinois.
- In a container (5 inches wide or larger), combine the lettuce juice, water and soy lecithin; mix with the Aerolatte or aerating device. If more air is desired, just add some more soy lecithin to the same solution, and mix.
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Get ready to make “lettuce air.”
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Step 4: Construct The Cocktail
Now your ready to construct the masterpiece. Make the BLT Cocktail in a stemmed sherry glass. For each cocktail, you’ll need:
BLT Cocktail Ingredients
- Ice
- Salt and pepper (sea salt and
fresh-ground pepper are best)
- 1 ounce bacon fat vodka
- 2 ounces tomato juice
- Lettuce air
Preparation
You’ll need two mixing glasses. |
 Who wouldn’t be wowed by this BLT Cocktail?
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- Fill one mixing glass with ice.
- In the empty glass, combine a few shakes from both the salt and pepper shakers, plus the bacon fat vodka and the tomato juice. Pour the mixture over the ice in the other mixing glass.
- Continue to mix by pouring the iced solution back and forth, 3 or 4 times.
- Using a julep or hawthorne strainer, strain the liquid into the sherry glass.
- Top it off with the lettuce air. Serve immediately.
What’s the perfect snack to serve with a BLT cocktail? Hot toast, of course—lightly buttered with unsalted butter and sprinkled with a pinch of flavored sea salt. And perhaps a few strips of delicious artisan bacon.
Find More Cocktail Recipes
Recipe © copyright Brent Jones. All other materials
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