A club sandwich or clubhouse sandwich, is a three-layer

sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

consisting of three slices of bread (traditionally toasted), sliced cooked

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

, fried

bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in Green salad, green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiche ...

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

, and

mayonnaise Mayonnaise (), colloquially referred to as "mayo" (), is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich and tangy taste that is commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, Salad#Bound salads, bound salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various o ...

.Mariani, John (July 1995). "The club sandwich." ''Restaurant Hospitality''. 79 (7):54 It is often cut diagonally into quarters or halves and held together by cocktail sticks.

History

The club sandwich may have originated at the Union Club of New York City. The earliest known reference to the sandwich, an article that appeared in '' The Evening World'' on November 18, 1889, is also an early recipe: "Have you tried a Union Club sandwich yet? Two toasted pieces of Graham bread, with a layer of turkey or chicken and ham between them, served warm." Several other early references also credit the chef of the Union Club with creating the sandwich. Another theory is that the club sandwich was invented at the Saratoga Club in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the ...

, after Richard Canfield bought it and made it into the

Canfield Casino Canfield Casino and Congress Park is a site in Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It was formerly the site of the Congress Hotel (also called Congress Hall), a large resort hotel, and the Congress Spring Bot ...

in 1894. The sandwich appeared on U.S. restaurant menus as early as 1899. The earliest reference to the sandwich in published fiction is from ''Conversations of a Chorus Girl'', a 1903 book by Ray Cardell. Historically, club sandwiches featured slices of chicken, but with time, turkey has become increasingly common.Fabricant, Florence, (July 11, 1994). "Building upscale sandwiches." ''Nation's Restaurant News''. 28(27):41 An 1897 recipe has three layers, with the chicken and ham separated not by a slice of bread, but by a lettuce leaf.

Ingredients

As with a BLT, toasted white bread is standard, along with iceberg lettuce, bacon, and tomatoes. The sandwich is usually dressed with mayonnaise. Variations on the traditional club sandwich abound. Some replace the poultry meat with eggs (a "breakfast club") or

roast beef Roast beef is a dish of beef that is roasted, generally served as the main dish of meal. In the Anglosphere, roast beef is one of the meats often served at Sunday lunch or dinner. Yorkshire pudding is a standard side dish. Sliced roast beef ...

. Others use ham instead of, or in addition to, bacon, or add slices of

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

. Various kinds of mustard and sliced pickles may be added. Upscale variations include the oyster club, the salmon club, and Dungeness crab melt.

Regional varieties

New Zealand

In New Zealand, 'club sandwich' refers to a tea (or finger) sandwich, typically filled with egg mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, the Chinese name of club sandwich (公司三文治) literally translates to "office sandwich". The regional version in Hong Kong consists of scrambled eggs,

Spam Spam most often refers to: * Spam (food), a consumer brand product of canned processed pork of the Hormel Foods Corporation * Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages ** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages ...

, ham,

and American cheese.

Canada

In Canada, club sandwiches are sometimes prepared using rotisserie chicken meat, as opposed to sliced chicken or turkey, and served hot.

References

{{sandwhich American sandwiches Skewered foods Turkey dishes Chicken sandwiches