Make a Club Sandwich
If there was ever a club formed around triple-stacked sandwiches cut into little triangles, who wouldn't want to sign up? The club sandwich probably first appeared at gambling houses in New York in the late 19th century, offering gamblers a "whole meal" during the long hours. It's one of the most iconic and standard sandwiches, available at diners and roadhouses worldwide. If you want to make you own, you can learn the basics and how to suit the sandwich to your own tastes.
Contents
Steps
Basic Club Sandwich
- Toast 2-3 slices of white sandwich bread. Club sandwiches are usually made from plain white sandwich bread, toasted until crisp. Three slices are traditionally used, with one slice being used in the center of the sandwich to create two layers, but the sandwich can also be made without this additional slice.
- If you want to cut the calories of this sandwich down, eliminating the middle slice of bread is a good way to do it. It'll still taste good.
- Fry 2-3 slices of bacon until crisp. Add bacon to a cold flat bottomed skillet and heat slowly on low-medium heat, turning the bacon frequently. Fry the bacon until crisp, or until you see lots of little white foamy bubbles on the bacon as you turn it. Blot the bacon with paper towel to remove the grease, and set aside until you're ready to assemble the sandwich.
- If you'd prefer, you can also use pre-cooked or microwavable bacon for a quick alternative. Turkey or soy bacon are lower fat alternatives.
- Add mayonnaise to one slice of bread. To start assembling the sandwich, start with the base. Use a table knife to spread a thin layer of mayonnaise onto the bottom piece of toast, to taste. The mayo helps to keep the sandwich moist, but if you don't like it, or don't want the extra calories, it's perfectly fine to leave it off.
- Add sliced chicken or turkey, tomato, and lettuce. On top of the bottom layer, start adding a few slices of thinly-sliced poultry. Chicken is the traditional choice, but turkey is also commonly used. Top with a leaf or two of crisp iceberg lettuce, and one or two slices of fresh tomato.
- The meat on a club sandwich is almost always cold. If you want to roast your own chicken or turkey for a club, all the better, but let it cool to at least room temperature before making the sandwich.
- If you don't have iceberg, romaine, bibb, or other crisp lettuce varieties work perfectly fine. Spinach and other greens are also great substitutions, but iceberg lettuce is most traditional on a club.
- Add another slice of bread and mayo. Halfway there. To start the second layer, you can add another slice of toasted bread, with mayo on both sides, if you're feeling indulgent. If you're not, feel free to hold the mayo, or leave the middle slice off entirely.
- Add the bacon. Start the second layer of the sandwich by laying the 2-3 pieces of cooked bacon on the top of the center piece of bread. You can break up the pieces if they're a little too big for the sandwich.
- Add another layer of chicken or turkey, tomato, and lettuce. On top of your bacon, complete the second layer of the sandwich, adding essentially the fixings for an entirely other sandwich. Start with chicken or turkey, then lettuce and tomato on top. Go a bit easier on the second layer, so the sandwich doesn't become top-heavy.
- Top the sandwich with the final piece of toast. When you've got your tower built-up, top it all off with another slice of bread, pressing down slightly to get the sandwich under control. Mayo? Your call.
- Cut the sandwich along both diagonals. Now comes the fun part. The most famous feature of the club sandwich is the way that it's cut. To start, cut it from corner to corner, across one diagonal, and then again across the opposite diagonal, cutting it into four triangle-shaped slices.
- Use a sharp chef's knife for the best results. You've got a lot of sandwich layers to cut through.
- Some people like to cut the crusts off before slicing the sandwich along both diagonals, so the sandwich slices are perfect little triangles.
- Secure each section with a toothpick. Club sandwiches can get a little hard to handle, so it's common to secure all the layers with a toothpick through each section. Some people even add the toothpicks before cutting the sandwich, and use them as a guide for the knife. Your call.
- Serve with chips or fries in the middle of the plate. Arrange the sandwich sections on the plate, spread out slightly with a gap in the middle, which you can fill with your side. French fries and chips are probably most common, but you could also pair a club with potato salad, cole slaw, or a green side salad, and a pickle.
Club Sandwich Variations
- Use a heartier bread. Most club sandwiches are made with plain white bread, but there's nothing stopping you from getting more creative. Try a club made with hearty multi-grain, or made of marbled rye for a little more flavor.
- For a real creative treat, try using three different slices of bread. Wheat on the bottom, rye on the top, and pumpernickel in the middle. Now you're talking.
- Add cheese. Most clubs don't have cheese, but what sandwich isn't a little better with a slice of provolone? Or American? Or pepper jack? Sandwich rules were made to be broken. Make Pimento Cheese Sandwiches is a southern delicacy, made with spreadable cheese and a pepper kick. It'd go great on a club.
- Switch out the meat. A club is usually made with poultry, chicken in most parts of the world, and often turkey in the US. But a roast beef club? A corned beef club? A roast pork club? Why not?
- If you don't eat meat, try adding grilled zucchini slices, eggplant, tempeh, or portobello mushroom instead of the meat.
- Hot rod your mayo. Plain old mayonnaise or Miracle Whip can make even a bad sandwich serviceable. But with a little extra work, that mayo can be great. Consider mixing in any of the following concoctions:
- Pesto mayo (Tablespoon of pesto per half cup of mayo)
- Curry mayo (1/2 tablespoon of curry powder per half cup)
- Fry sauce (ketchup and mayo)
- Thousand island (French dressing, pickle relish, mayo)
- Sriracha hot sauce mayo (Sriracha to taste, plus mayo)
- Brown mustard mayo (2 tablespoons per half cup)
- Mayo and cajun seasoning (Teaspoon per half cup)
- Substitute other condiments. If you like ketchup on your sandwich, go for it. Barbecue sauce? Balsamic vinegar? Banana sauce? Louisiana chili sauce? Sounds great. The club sandwich is a pretty basic recipe that you can alter to any tastes. Try a bite plain, then add what condiments you like.
- Try a different condiment on each slice of bread, to make the layers distinct and unusual. It'll be the most epic club ever.
Tips
- In past times, sandwich loaves in the trade were classed according to their age in days. The older bread was used for toasting and croutons. These loaves were baked in tins that were about 2.5 times the length of today's sliced, square loaf and were ideal for things of this nature.
- Feel free to vary and adjust this recipe according to your taste.
- Instead of the mayonnaise, try substituting salad cream or cocktail sauce with just a touch of curry powder in it.
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