Smoked Salmon BLT

This Smoked Salmon BLT can be enjoyed for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner! Savory smoked salmon, crispy bacon, fresh lettuce and tomato and tangy lemon herb mayonnaise come together for the ultimate sandwich.

Weird story about my childhood: there was a 2 to 3 year period growing up where I just hated bacon. I don’t even know WHY, I just turned on it one day.

So, while my parents enjoyed BLT’s with juicy Midwestern tomatoes and a side of my mom’s potato salad during the summer, I literally ate lettuce and tomato sandwiches.

The good news is, I got over this phase (I even have a popular tutorial on how to cook bacon in the oven). I’m still not bacon crazed, by any means, but it certainly has a time and a place.

I love a bacon wrapped hot dog, and a salmon recipe, and truly, nothing beats a BLT. While it’s hard to improve on such a classic sandwich, I do make tweaks to it now and then.

One day I had some extra smoked salmon in the fridge, and this smoked salmon BLT was born. It’s made with a lemon herb mayonnaise that take this sandwich to the next level.

What you’ll need for a smoked salmon BLT:

• bread – I love a seedy whole wheat bread for it’s fiber content, but BLTs are great on everything from sourdough to baguette to English muffins! Even brioche bread, if you have it on hand from ice cream French toast.
• bacon – you’ll need nice crispy bacon for this salmon BLT sandwich recipe. Crisp up a few extra slices for my egg muffins recipe for the work week, and save the grease for bacon grease gravy on the weekend.
• smoked salmon – stop by your local bagel shop for a portion, or buy a high quality brand at the grocery store. Just like for smoked salmon crostini and smoked salmon pizza, we’re looking for the thinly sliced kind, not the flaky kind. If you don’t prefer smoked salmon, you could use a piece of my salmon in oven recipe for this sandwich (and for pasta with salmon)!
• lettuce – I love crisp butter lettuce for BLTs. If that’s not your thing, try peppery arugula.
• tomato – buy a nice juicy local or heirloom tomato (also great in my summer beet salad) and slice it up for this salmon BLT.
• mayonnaise – Hellman’s is the preferred mayo in my house and NEVER Miracle Whip, please. Although, see how Taste of Home ranked the best mayonnaise brands, and let me know if you agree!
• fresh herbs – you’ll need at least one variety of fresh herb, finely chopped to make lemon herb mayonnaise for this smoked salmon BLT. Here, I’ve used a combination of basil, dill (extra dill can be used in pimento mac and cheese) and parsley because I had them all in my garden. I talk about a few other options in the section below.
• lemon juice and zest – this will add a nice acidic punch to the herb mayo for this smoked salmon sandwich recipe. Lemon lovers will also love my lemon smoothie!
• ground black pepper – to add a little kick to the mayo.

About the lemon herb mayonnaise for this smoked salmon sandwich recipe:

A dish as special as this salmon BLT sandwich recipe needs to be finished with a condiment that’s just as unique.

I knew I wanted to bring in lots of lemon flavor to brighten up the sandwich, and you can never go wrong pairing seafood with fresh herbs (i.e. my salmon pesto pasta).

I ended up stirring together mayonnaise, lemon zest and lemon juice, dill, parsley, basil and ground black pepper for the sauce for this smoked salmon sandwich recipe.

This lemon herb mayonnaise is also delicious when served as part of a smoked salmon platter, and leftover dill can be used to make seafood pasta salad.

You can also use whichever herbs you happen to have on hand – chives or a pinch of tarragon can be substituted for any of the herbs I’ve used in this smoked salmon BLT recipe.

Some variations on this salmon BLT sandwich recipe that I love:

As I mentioned above, it’s fun to experiment with using different types of bread for this smoked salmon BLT. Head to a local bakery and pick the most interesting loaf you can find.

If you’re not a mayonnaise fan, feel free to substitute softened cream cheese for this salmon BLT sandwich recipe – that would be terrific here! Especially if you’re using English muffins. Cream cheese on an English muffin is one of my very favorite things, especially with smoked salmon.

And personally, I love avocado on BLTs (and in fried goat cheese salad). You can actually call this smoked salmon sandwich recipe a BLAT if you add avocado, which is very fun to say. BLAT!

What to serve with this smoked salmon BLT:

A handful of spicy potato chips and a scoop of coleslaw recipe apple cider vinegar will always be a classic pairing for this smoked salmon sandwich recipe.

If you’re looking for something a little heartier to go with your smoked salmon BLT, I suggest my Dr. Pepper baked beans and elote corn salad.

Or, serve this sandwich as part of a brunch buffet with fruit and breakfast pastries!