Recipe: Pimento Club Sandwich with Gochujang-Glazed Bacon
Iām not sure if this is really humble or really basic, but turkey sandwiches are one of my favorite ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers. It might be because growing up, my parents (not knowing any better since they did not grow up with American school lunches) only ever bought the crappiest, grossest of sandwich meat for my school lunchbox lunches. Like, not the fancy deli-sliced stuff but more like the pre-sliced overly-sweet and overly-salty stuff in plastic hard-to-peel-open containers in the refrigerator case next to the Lunchables. I also remember getting a lot of sandwiches that consisted of sliced white bread (not toasted), margarine, and Kraft Singles.
Literally the only reprieve from this in terms of sandwiches was after Thanksgiving. I can still remember how incredible the combination of toasted bread, mayo, and REAL turkey meat tasted to me as a kid.
This club sandwich recipe was developed in partnership with Bibigo USA. They asked me to come up with an idea for Thanksgiving leftovers that also incorporated something left over from my Korean-inspired nibble board recipe, which you can find here. I thought a club sandwich, using the Gochujang Pimento Spread from the previous recipe, leftover turkey, and a spicy glazed bacon could not be more perfect for Thanksgiving leftovers with a Korean-inspired twist. Never in my wildest dreams as a kid could I have imagined a sandwich this legit.
Ingredients
3 slices of bacon
3 slices of white bread
3 tbsp Bibigo Hot & Sweet Go-Chu-Jang Sauce
3ā4 tbsp leftover Gochujang Pimento Spread, softened
2 slices of leftover turkey breast meat
2 slices of tomato
2 leaves of lettuce
Salt to taste
Procedure
To make the glazed bacon, preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with foil or parchment paper. Brush a thin layer of Bibigo Hot & Sweet Go-Chu-Jang Sauce on both sides. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip bacon and brush top with more sauce. Bake until color starts to darken, about 5 minutes. Brush with one more coat of sauce and bake to desired crispness, about 3ā5 minutes. Remove and transfer to a plate. (Note: Bacon will get more crisp as it cools.)
Toast slices of bread as desired.
Apply an even layer of Gochujang Pimento Spread onto one of the bread slices. Top with lettuce and tomato. Break apart bacon as necessary and layer on top of sandwich. Apply Gochujang Pimento Spread onto another slice of bread and place face-down over bacon. Add more Gochujang Pimento Spread evenly on top. Top with turkey. On the remaining slice of bread, apply an even layer of Gochujang Pimento Spread and place on top of turkey. (Alternatively, you could layer these ingredients however you like! This is just what I did to get what you see in the photos.)
Cut into triangles and hold together with long sandwich picks.
Thank you so much to Bibigo USA for sponsoring this recipe! For more recipe ideas and to learn more about their products, visit their website!