A standby of the American restaurant menu, the club sandwich is easily and deliciously made kosher with turkey slices and turkey bacon.
A double-decker sandwich made with layers of lunch meat and crispy bacon, slathered with mayo and boasting fresh, green lettuce and juicy tomatoes, the club sandwich, a restaurant mainstay rarely made in home kitchens, is easy to replicate and make kosher. My kids, who normally have zero tolerance for offenses such as putting lettuce on a sandwich, love these so much I have to buy two packages of turkey bacon and two of smoked turkey slices to satiate the ravenous demand.
To make a club sandwich, you'll need a loaf of sandwich bread (get thin-sliced if you can), a jar of mayo, green leaf lettuce and slicing tomatoes (I like Campari tomatoes), plus turkey bacon and smoked or oven-roasted turkey breast from the deli. The classic accompaniments are all-American potato chips and bread-and-butter pickles. (There's some debate over which club this sandwich was invented in, but it's very likely a New York-area clubhouse restaurant, probably in the later 1900s.)
Assembling a club sandwich
It's mostly a matter of knowing which bread slices to spread, and it helps to set yourself up with a sandwich assembly "station" with piles of lunchmeat, bacon, lettuce, and tomato, plus the spreads.
The directions below are for one sandwich, so that you can easily add or subtract sandwich amounts as needed.
Slicing a club sandwich
Traditionally the club sandwich comes skewered with colorful cocktail toothpicks, and for my kids, this is part of the whole club sandwich deal that they relish. You skewer each quadrant of the sandwich, all the way through to the bottom, then use a sharp knife to slice it into quarters.
Looking for more kosher restaurant dishes?
- Kosher chicken "parm" - The red sauce classic, made kosher with the help of vegan mozzarella slices.
- Kosher croque madame - The ultimate French brunch sandwich, made kosher with smoked salmon swapped in for the ham.
Kosher Club Sandwich (meat)
Ingredients
For each sandwich:
- 3 slices white bread
- 1-2 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 romaine lettuce leaves
- 1 slicing tomato - such as Roma or Campari
- 4 slices turkey bacon
- 4 slices roasted turkey lunch meat
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
- Frilled toothpicks
- Potato chips
- Bread and butter pickles
Instructions
Set up for assembling the sandwiches:
- Fry the bacon in a drop of oil until crispy. Set aside to drain.
- Get out the mayonnaise and place a spreading utensil alongside it. Get out salt and pepper.
- Cut the lettuce leaves in half crosswise and thinly slice the tomatoes. Place each on a separate plate.
- Toast the bread in a toaster. Place the stack of toasts on a clean work surface.
- Finally, place the stack of turkey lunch meat on another plate.
Assemble the sandwiches:
- On a clean work surface, arrange 3 bread slices in a row. Spread 1 tablespoon mayonnaise over 1 side of each bread slice.
- Place two pieces of lettuce on top of the first bread slice, top with 2 tomato slices, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place 2 slices bacon over the tomatoes, folded to fit. Top with two folded slices of turkey. Repeat with the second bread slice.
- Carefully place the second layered bread slice on top of the first layered bread, turkey side-up. Cover with the third bread slice, mayonnaise side-down.
- Pin the sandwich's layers together by placing a frill picks in each corner of the sandwich, through the top bread slice through to the bottom bread slice.
- Repeat entire process for each sandwich you wish to make.
Cut and serve:
- Using a serrated or bread knife, cut each sandwich into quarters, either diagonally or into squares, so that each piece is secured by a pick. Serve with potato chips and bread and butter pickles.
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