The Club

This sandwich is held to have originated circa 1894 from the Saratoga Club after being purchased by a Richard Canfield who wanted to turn it into a casino. There are other origins claimed including the “got home late, threw what ingredients I had into a sandwich and this was the result” motif. The oldest recipe published for this sandwich was in the 1903 edition of the Good Housekeeping Everyday Cook Book by Isabel Gordon Curtis.

Whatever its origins, it’s been a hugely successful classic for over a century. It’s so simple, but I’ve had rave reviews everytime I’ve made one of these for groups.

Ingredients

  3 slices white bread, lightly toasted
  thin-sliced turkey (or ham or both)
  thin-cut bacon, well cooked ahead of time
  lettuce torn roughly to dimensions of bread (Romaine is good)
  tomatoes sliced paper-thin
  onion, thin-sliced (optional)
  mayonnaise
  Swiss cheese
  salt and pepper
  toothpicks for securing the sandwich

Preparation

On a large work surface, arrange 3 lightly toasted slices of bread in a row. Spread mayonnaise over each slice of bread. Proceed to build in this order:

It’s easier to repeat this process separately on a second slice, then pile the second construction atop the first, top the whole with the third slice turned mayonnaise-side down (into the sandwich) and secure with very long toothpicks (the kind with cellophane tassles made just for this purpose).

Last, cut the sandwich into four parts diagonally and serve.