The Tick Tock Triple-Decker Turkey Club
Burgers, Clubs & Sandwiches
Three slices of toasted white bread. A real diner club isn't made in a pop-up toaster; it is built directly on a roaring flat-top, its tiers compressed by a heavy press and locked into place with four frilly toothpicks before arriving at a vinyl booth at 2 a.m. on Route 3 in New Jersey. To replicate the even pressure of that commercial griddle using a weighted cast-iron skillet, clear your board, grab a serrated knife, spread the Hellmann's mayonnaise from corner to corner, and start building.
Before you start
Assemble the necessary hardware before cooking.
You will need a large cast-iron skillet, a stiff flat metal spatula, four long wooden frill picks, and a sharp serrated bread knife.
Ingredients
- square white sandwich bread3 slices
- heavy-duty mayonnaise3 tbsp
- applewood smoked bacon4 thick strips
- oven-roasted deli turkey breast6 oz
- iceberg or romaine lettuce2 large leaves
- beefsteak tomato2 thick slices
- kosher salt1/4 tsp
- coarse black pepper1/4 tsp
Method
- 01
Render the bacon in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat until beautifully crisp.
Lay the strips flat, cooking 4 to 5 minutes per side. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, leaving the rendered fat in the pan.
- 02
Scrape the skillet and griddle-toast the bread directly in the hot bacon fat.
Use a metal spatula to aggressively push burnt bits away. Drop the bread into the clean fat, toasting 1 to 2 minutes per side until golden and rigid. Let it cool on a board for 30 seconds to release steam.
- 03
Flash the cold deli turkey in the warm skillet to take off the refrigerator chill.
Turn the heat to low. Drop the turkey in for exactly 15 seconds, toss once with tongs, and remove. You are waking it up, not cooking it.
- 04
Build the base layer and establish the hydrophobic moisture barrier.
Spread mayonnaise crust-to-crust on the first slice. Lay down the lettuce tarp, followed by the tomatoes (seasoned heavily with salt and pepper), two bacon strips broken in half, and half the warmed turkey.
- 05
Add the scaffolding middle slice and build the second floor.
Spread mayonnaise on both sides of the second slice and press it onto the turkey. Repeat the sequence: lettuce, seasoned tomatoes, bacon, and the remaining turkey.
- 06
Cap the structure and anchor the four quadrants with wooden frill picks.
Spread the remaining mayonnaise on the bottom of the final slice. Press it firmly down to compress the tower, then drive a pick through the center of each quadrant.
- 07
Slice diagonally into four triangles using a sharp serrated bread knife.
Let the teeth of the blade do the work. Saw gently so you don't crush the toasted bread or squeeze the tomatoes out the sides.
Notes
The Moisture Barrier.
Tomatoes are the enemy of toasted bread. The edge-to-edge mayonnaise and tight lettuce layer act as a waterproof tarp to prevent structural collapse.
Temperature Harmony.
Serving ice-cold deli turkey against hot bacon is a rookie mistake. Flashing the turkey perfectly mimics a master flat-top cook's intuition.
From Cook Diner Food at Home.