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The triple-decker club sandwich reimagined with California's bounty: silky avocado, sun-ripened tomatoes, and honest roasted turkey stacked high between three slices of properly toasted bread.
The club sandwich has mysterious origins. Some credit the Saratoga Club in New York, others point to gambling clubs where players needed one-handed food. What's certain is that California took this Eastern creation and made it better. They added avocado.
This isn't a minor adjustment. The avocado transforms the architecture of the sandwich entirely. Where bacon provides salt and crunch, avocado delivers richness and silk. Where turkey can tend toward dryness, avocado coats every bite with the kind of fat that makes you close your eyes. The Californians understood something about balance that took the rest of the country decades to appreciate.
A proper club requires proper construction. Three slices of bread, toasted until golden and sturdy. Two layers of filling, each with its own character. The bottom layer gets turkey and bacon. The top layer gets the vegetables and avocado. Mayo on every slice that touches filling. This isn't fussiness—it's engineering. A poorly built club collapses into a soggy mess by the third bite. A well-built club holds together through the last crumb.
Quantity
6 slices
sourdough, white pullman, or brioche
Quantity
8 ounces
sliced thin
Quantity
8 strips
Quantity
1 large
ripe
Quantity
2 medium
sliced 1/4-inch thick
Quantity
4 leaves
Quantity
6 tablespoons
Quantity
to taste
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
Quantity
8
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| quality sandwich breadsourdough, white pullman, or brioche | 6 slices |
| roasted turkey breastsliced thin | 8 ounces |
| thick-cut bacon | 8 strips |
| Hass avocadoripe | 1 large |
| ripe tomatoessliced 1/4-inch thick | 2 medium |
| butter lettuce or green leaf lettuce | 4 leaves |
| quality mayonnaise | 6 tablespoons |
| kosher salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
| toothpicks or sandwich picks | 8 |
Arrange bacon strips in a single layer in a cold skillet. Set over medium heat and cook slowly, turning occasionally, until the fat renders and the strips achieve deep amber crispness, about 12 to 15 minutes. Starting in a cold pan allows the fat to render gradually, producing bacon that shatters when bitten rather than bending limply. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
Toast all six slices until golden and sturdy but not so dark they become brittle. The bread needs enough structure to support the layers without cardboard dryness. A toaster works fine, but a buttered griddle produces superior results: golden, crisp exteriors with tender interiors. Work in batches if needed.
Halve the avocado lengthwise, remove the pit, and slice each half into thin fans while still in the skin. Use a large spoon to scoop the slices out intact. A ripe avocado yields to gentle pressure near the stem and gives slightly when squeezed. Season the slices lightly with salt.
Arrange tomato slices on a plate and season generously with salt. Let them sit for five minutes while you assemble other components. This brief cure draws out moisture that would otherwise sog your bread and concentrates the tomato's natural sweetness.
Spread one tablespoon of mayonnaise on each slice of toast. For the bottom slice of each sandwich, layer half the turkey in overlapping shingles, followed by four strips of bacon, broken to fit if necessary. The turkey goes down first because it creates a protective barrier between the mayo and the bacon grease.
Place the middle toast slice on top of the bacon, mayo side up. This double layer of mayo between the fillings prevents the bread from absorbing moisture and keeps everything sliding smoothly with each bite.
Blot the seasoned tomato slices dry with paper towels. Layer them on the middle slice, followed by the lettuce leaves, and finally fan the avocado slices across the top. The lettuce acts as a moisture barrier between the wet tomatoes and the top bread. This is structural intelligence, not fussiness.
Place the final toast slice on top, mayo side down. Press gently to compress the layers into a unified structure. Insert four toothpicks in a square pattern, pushing through all three layers. These picks will hold the quarters together once cut.
Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the sandwich diagonally twice, creating four triangular quarters. Each quarter will have a toothpick securing it. Arrange the quarters on a plate with the cut sides facing outward to display the layers. A few chips or pickle spears alongside never hurt anybody.
1 serving (about 635g)
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