Roast Beef, Ham and Bacon Club Sandwich

If you like this recipe, please share!

This roast beef, ham, and bacon club sandwich brings classic diner food home. With a few simple ingredients found in your grocer’s deli, you can have this delicious sandwich for lunch any day of the week.

I am a firm believer that bacon makes everything better, especially a club sandwich. My son and I LOVE club sandwiches. We often have one at one of our favorite restaurants.

I’m sad to say it wasn’t until recently that I made one at home. I happened to have all the ingredients on hand and thought I’d surprise my son.

 The tip-off was me cooking the bacon. Of course, the smell of bacon brings the family running.

What I love about club sandwiches is the versatility. You can use any deli meats you like, turkey, ham, roast beef, salami, and any cheese you fancy. Or use up leftover slices from ham, turkey, or roast that are hanging out in your fridge. Our cheese choices are usually provolone or swiss.

The club sandwich has evolved over the years. When it was first “invented” back in 1894 at a gambling place in Saratoga Springs, NY, the word CLUB told you what was in the sandwich, like BLT. CLUB stood for chicken lettuce under bacon.

You may wonder why there are 3 pieces of bread on a club sandwich. The presumption, because no one really knows for sure, is that the sandwich was so meat heavy that an extra slice of bread evened out the meat to bread ratio.

You can certainly use more than one type of cheese. Mayonnaise or mustard are favorite condiment choices but my son likes horseradish with roast beef.

You may notice something obvious missing from this sandwich. Tomato. There’s no tomato. I don’t like tomatoes. My son’s sandwich had tomato but just a slice.

So see what I mean by the customizing of your sandwich. Even better, you can make a different version for each member of your family. Or they can make their own. While you can use white or wheat bread, I find that an artisan loaf works best.

Typically I use white mountain bread that I purchase at Publix. Sourdough or Italian would be similar but this sandwich is also delicious on whole wheat.

I like a light toast on the bread. If you’re packing this sandwich in a lunch box, I suggest putting the lettuce or cheese next to the bread so the deli meats don’t make the bread soggy.

Usually, I serve chips with this roast beef, ham, and bacon club sandwich but when we have one at our favorite restaurant we order onion rings. These fried onion strings go with it nicely or you could make up some French fries too.

 

Originally published September 2, 2017, updated August 10, 2020.