The Unexpected Meat Ina Garten Adds To Her BLTs For A Luxurious Bite

BLT sandwiches — short for bacon, lettuce, and tomato — are absolutely one of the simplest, most approachable, and iconic sandwiches in America. Even the most novice of home cooks can put one together, and the dish is a masterpiece of texture and flavor contrasts. Ina Garten even gets in on the BLT game, but of course, the effortlessly elegant Barefoot Contessa puts her own luxurious spin on the diner staple. Not only does she top hers with avocado slices, but she goes one step further and piles cooked lobster meat on her version, too.

She called this sandwich a "high-low dish" on her Food Network show, "Barefoot Contessa," comparing it to things like macaroni and cheese with truffle, and baked potatoes with caviar. Indeed, lobster meat can cost a lot, and is a stark ingredient-contrast to the other staples in BLTs. Garten pointed out that there is almost no cooking involved in her recipe since it calls for cooked lobster meat. Now, I'm a big fan of Ina Garten, but must admit that when she said, "You should be able to buy cooked lobster meat almost anywhere," I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Maybe in the Hamptons, Ina, but I've never come across it where I shop — and yes, I've looked. But I digress.

To make this dish, Garten mixes up a quick Thousand Island-inspired dressing and spreads it on toasted white sandwich bread. She then builds the sandwich with tender Bibb lettuce, tomato slices, avocado, bacon (A little skimpy with one slice per sandwich, but feel free to add more), and chunks of lobster meat. It's easy enough for a weekday lunch but special enough for brunch with the in-laws, too.

Fans and followers of Ina Garten aren't necessarily surprised that she adds hoity-toity lobster to her BLTs. In fact, we've seen her use pre-cooked, store-bought lobster meat in several of her recipes. Naturally, it goes into her lobster rolls (She's partial to Connecticut-style warm rolls, as opposed to Maine's cold version), but she also adds it to dishes that don't traditionally call for the shellfish. For example, her lobster mac and cheese recipe sounds divine. This isn't the one that calls for truffle butter, but can you imagine combining the two?

Garten also adds lobster meat to her lobster Cobb salad, in which she fully replaces the traditional chicken and hard boiled eggs; and she dresses up a sensational-looking potato salad with lobster, as well. Additionally, she makes a pasta salad recipe called lobster and shells, with lots of fresh vegetables, a mayo-based dressing, and chunks of the shellfish. 

If you are unable to find pre-cooked lobster meat but would still like to try Garten's lobster BLTs, or any other of these recipes, you might have to PYOS (Prepare Your Own Shellfish). Naturally, Garten has a method for that, too, but it will create much more work for an otherwise simple recipe since you'll have to work the meat out of the shells, not to mention having to endure the harrowing scream-like sound that comes from lobster shells as they boil.