the ‘bc’ sandwich
Y’all, I grew up in the South and I love collard greens. I loved them when my grandmomma fried them up in her cast iron skillet. I love them in soups. But I never thought I’d love a collard sandwich. That is, until I made one with bacon. Two words: Game. Changer.
This sandwich can be made as a plain BC (bacon + collards) or a BTC (bacon, tomato & collards). Both are amazing…and easy.
I used small, tender leaves for these. If you use larger, thicker more bitter leaves, you might have to cook them longer. Gauge doneness by tenderness and reduction in volume. My tender leaves reduced in volume by 50% and were amazing.
The collards imparted a more hearty flavor on the BTC than lettuce ever could. Use hearty bread for this sandwich so the juice doesn’t make it soggy. I used sourdough from a local bakery, but a nice brown bread or even rye load would work fine. I just wouldn’t use classic white bread; it’s too soft.
A note about condiments: I don’t love mayo, so I skipped it. But if mayo is your jam, go for it! I think pesto would be good on this sandwich, or a traditional garlic hummus, but I didn’t have either of these, so I skipped spreads altogether.
Ingredients:
12-24 large or 20-30 small collard leaves, stripped off stems, washed and roughly chopped. Note: this makes 2 thick sandwiches or 3 thinner ones.
1 Tbs lemon-flavored olive oil or 1 Tbs plain olive oil + 1 tsp lemon juice
1 large tomato, sliced - for the BTC, skip if you’re just going with the BC
3 strips bacon per sandwich
Mayo, if using
Sourdough or other hearty bread
Instructions:
Heat oil in a skillet, preferably cast iron. Add collards and cook 3-5 min, turning constantly to cook evenly. If using, add lemon juice.
Toast bread, if desired.
Spread mayo or other spread on toasted bread.
Pile half of the collard greens on 1 side of the bread. Top with tomato slices and bacon. Top with 2nd slice of bread.
Other prep notes: I normally generously salt cooking collards, but bacon is typically salty, so I did not salt these collards and I honestly didn’t miss the extra salt. However, feel free to add ground black pepper or red pepper flakes for a little kick.