Liven Up Your Club Sandwich With Deviled Eggs

Is there a more dependable sandwich than the club? It's a staple at any deli — a lunch hour workhorse that will not only keep you full until dinner; it also ensures the palate stays engaged throughout the whole meal thanks to its abundance of layers. Some restaurants, like the Amalfi Coast's five-star Le Sirenuse, have elevated the sandwich (the hotel swaps out mayonnaise for guacamole, and only fleshy pomodori sourced from Sorrento are used). However, Denny's mostly run-of-the-mill version will still hit the spot. But perhaps the club's abundance — served at fine dining establishments, diners, and even fast food joints — has prompted consumers to largely take it for granted. If you find that's the case, there are ways to revitalize enthusiasm about the next clubhouse that ends up on your plate. One option is adding another layer to the sandwich: variations on the deviled egg.

Just at home on a holiday dinner table next to ham and mashed potatoes as they are at a picnic with fresh salads and fried chicken, deviled eggs are versatile, which means they're practically foolproof when it comes to pairing with other foods and would work well in a club despite its numerous components. The creaminess of the yolk blended with mayonnaise for richness provides a mellow contrast to the sandwich's crunchy bacon and crispy toast foundation. And if you use Dijon mustard in your deviled eggs (as you should), that tangy bite provides further complexity to a dish with plenty of salt.

Making deviled eggs is as easy as well, boiling water — for the most part. But if you're infuriated by the necessary step of peeling the shells post-cook, try this plastic container hack, where the outer layer is shed by shaking instead. The most obvious way to incorporate deviled eggs into a club would be to turn them into a classic deviled egg salad by dicing the soft ovals and then combining those bits with traditional yolk-mixture ingredients (mayo, crème fraîche, Dijon, onion, relish, celery). Ideally, allow the blend to sit in the fridge for a couple of hours so those flavors mingle. But if you need to dig in right away, simply spoon it on immediately. 

As an alternative, a simple, smooth yolk filling could work as a condiment spread directly onto slices of toast. However, you could get as creative as you'd like by adding everything from smoky paprika to pickle juice to Tabasco sauce. Though not technically a deviled egg, slices of a hard-boiled egg directly out of the ice bath could also be placed evenly anywhere in the sandwich — a solid substitute for the home cook who's discovered they're out of the cooked poultry that's heaped onto a typical club. Looking for even more variations? Follow this sweet-and-savory clubhouse recipe.