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One of my favorite sandwiches is without a doubt the club sandwich. It’s the perfect combination between crunchy, creamy and deliciousness. Here I’ll share my ultimate club sandwich.
Club sandwich
During what we called “The big club sandwich- test” we literally tried a lot of club sandwiches around the country. And other countries too. It became this fun thing where we had to order a club sandwich every time we went out for lunch. So yes, I’ve eaten my fair share of this American classic. And the results were anything from pretty disgusting to absolutely fabulous.
One thing I did find out is that the ultimate club sandwich is definitely best made at home!
What makes a sandwich great?
So what IS a good club sandwich? I think that probably varies but for me it should have toasted crispy bread, bacon, lettuce, chicken or turkey, tomato, a good mayo and egg. There should be three sandwich slices which are usually cut into half or quarts and served with chips or French fries or I’ve even had them with tortilla chips. The club sandwich is said to have originated in New York as early as 1899.. (which does sound a lot earlier than 1900 don’t you think?)
And funny enough I came to the conclusion that while I must have had literally hundreds of club sandwiches around the world I had never made one myself.
The essentials
Now in order to eat a really good club sandwich I have listed out the things I think it should have. At least. You can always add other things you love so feel free to experiment to your hearts content.
- The bread. While you can see on the photos that I used boring white casino bread (or sandwich bread) I actually prefer to have something a bit more sturdy. Sourdough is my preferred bread of choice but the ones you see in the photos where my first try. You can pick whichever bread you like best. It does need to be toasted though. That makes sure that the ingredients do not soak the bread.
- Lettuce. I like a good crispy lettuce on my club sandwich. In fact the name “Club Sandwich” stands for “chicken and lettuce under bacon” so lettuce is pretty much essential.
- Chicken. You can go for roast chicken (the best), smoked chicken or change it up with ham, turkey or roast beef.
- Bacon. You gotta love bacon, right? So crispy bacon – for me – is an absolute must for a good club sandwich.
- Tomatoes. Another classic ingredient is the humble tomato. I like to choose big tomatoes as they are easier for slicing and placing on a club.
- Egg. Now this is not an absolute must but I love adding either a cooked or a fried egg to the club sandwich.
- Mayonnaise. While you can definitely vary with all the dressings you’d like to add to your sandwich, I love using mayonnaise.
Stacking it all together
Once you have all the ingredients it’s merely a matter of assembling it all. Traditionally the club sandwich consists of three slices of bread so it’s double stacked. And it is usually secured with a tooth pick.
it’s not a light meal either as it can vary from 700 to 1000 calories per club sandwich. But it’s usually enough to share with someone else. The club sandwich is also pretty international as you can literally find it everywhere around the world. I’ve had (a bad) club sandwich in Madagascar and in many places in Asia.
The biggest
Apparently the biggest club sandwich ever was created in Michigan and weighed almost 7000 pounds or 3170 kilo….. Who would have eaten that??
Best served fresh
In order to maintain the crispness of the club sandwich it’s probably best to serve it right away. Leaving it to stand out will reduce the crispy layer of the toasted bread and it will become soggy and unappealing. You can also make a delicious smoked salmon club sandwich.
The ultimate club sandwich
Ingredients
- 6 slices bread or even better with sourdough
- 6 tomatoes sliced
- 4 slices bacon
- 4 slices cheese
- 1 handful salad leaves
- 2 tbsp mustard mayonnaise (mix mustard with mayonaise)
- 50 gr sundried tomatoes chopped
- 4-5 ham slices
- 2 eggs cooked or fried
How to make the club sandwich
- Start by toasting your bread and the heat a pan on high to fry the bacon until crisp. Leave to drain on kitchen paper. Boil your eggs the way you like them. I would suggest not to make them to soft.
- Slice your sundried tomatoes, the regular tomatoes and your boiled eggs. Set aside until you are ready to build your sandwich.
- Wash the lettuce and start by taking one of your toasted sandwiches and putting some salad on top. You can of course build your sandwich any way you like, but I started with lettuce on the first toast, added sun dried tomatoes and regular tomatoes on top.
- Added hamslices there, some drops of the mayonnaise and topped it with another slice of bread.
- On that bread I put the cheese, then a few more slices of tomato, the egg, the bacon and spread some more mayonnaise on the top of the last sandwich. Put that last piece of toast on top of the pile, with mayo side down and you're done! You can enjoy this with crisps or fries but I always think a club sandwich is filling enough on it's own!
Nutrition Information per portion:
Disclaimer:
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
