California Crab BLTs

As some of you may know, the Mister and I love us some crab. Whenever there's an excuse to have some celebratory cuisine (holidays, birthdays, days that end in "y", etc.) crab is one of our go-to ingredients (as evidenced here). The occasion that had us feeling crabby this time? Super Bowl Sunday (aka Super Snack Sunday, which is definitely my favorite football event).

After some preliminary hors d'oeuvres (here and here), we sunk our teeth into these amazing Cali Crab BLTs. I mean, check it out!

We wanted an upscale take on the classic sandy, so we substituted a few ingredients from the basic recipe. The first step was removing all the meat from the crab legs and claws (which was a much easier task with the use of some kitchen shears).

We started with a fresh loaf of sourdough bread (left whole, so we could cut Texas Toast-sized slices ourselves). Once the bread was lightly toasted, we spread a lemon aioli (lemon zest, lemon juice, mayo, S&P) on both pieces. Then we layered some arugula, big chunks of crab, avocado (there's the California part), lots of bacon, tomato, and another little sprinkle of S&P.

The flavors were simple enough that you could taste each one individually, but worked so harmoniously well together. The lemon in the aioli gave the crab the perfect zing. The salty bacon, juicy tomatoes, and peppery arugula...all smooshed together between tangy sourdough toast...Sandwich Heaven!

Happy Searching,