Candied Bacon Adds A Sweet Element To Savory Club Sandwiches

Club sandwiches are full of all the ingredients you could want in a tasty lunch: fluffy white bread, cooked turkey, crispy bacon, salty cheese, and fresh tomato and lettuce. The quality that these ingredients have in common? For the most part, they're full of savory flavor. So if you want to achieve a salty-sweet juxtaposition and incorporate just a touch of sugar into your sandwich, give your bacon strips a candy upgrade.

Candied bacon has long been a favorite steakhouse appetizer, and the meat is no stranger to sweet additions (think maple bacon donuts, bacon jam, and chocolate-covered bacon strips at your local summer fair). So adding the upgraded pork into your sandwich may not be as wild as you think. You'll find that the sweetness is just enough to taste, but not so overwhelming that it drowns out the other ingredients. Plus, you can add other delicious seasonings to your candied bacon, which allows for wiggle room to incorporate some spice as well. And texture-wise, this sweet version will often have a sticky coating that will add moisture to otherwise dry strips of crispy bacon.

Before assembling your club sandwich, you'll need to make your candied bacon. It's easier than it sounds to make these strips, as you're essentially just smothering them in a sweet coating. There are a few different ingredient combinations you can go with here, but some delicious ones include honey and brown sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon, or a dry rub with these two seasonings. As we mentioned, this is the perfect time to add in some spice if you'd like, ideally in the form of cayenne pepper, ginger, chili powder, or black pepper. Typically, you'll only need to bake your bacon for up to 20 minutes in a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven until it's good to go. But make sure to let it cool completely afterward, so the sticky coating can harden and doesn't seep into the rest of your sandwich.

If the hint of sugar here leaves you wanting more in your sandwich, feel free to tack on a few additional options to amp up the sweet and savory combo. A tasty way to do this is to swap out the fresh tomatoes with a tomato or strawberry jam, where you can add in as much or as little sugar as you want. Or, go rouge and add in some Granny Smith apple slices. Once you start incorporating candied bacon into your club sandwiches, you may never want to go back to strictly savory versions again.