The perfect sandwich for cooler weather, this incredible turkey melt is toasty, melty, and mouth-wateringly delicious. With juicy fresh tomatoes, leafy green spinach, crisp bacon, and rich cheddar cheese, these buttery sourdough sandwiches are amazing all on their own or paired with a cup of hot, creamy soup.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- If you like a good grilled cheese then you will LOVE a turkey melt! It’s sort of a gourmet grilled cheese, stuffed full of tasty ingredients, then grilled until hot and toasty.
- Not only is this sandwich super quick and easy to make, it’s also fully customizable. Use any crusty bread you like; try smoked or sweet turkey; throw on your favorite cheese (or cheeses!); work in a little onion or arugula or alfalfa sprouts; add mayo or pesto along with or instead of honey mustard… anything goes!
- I use deli turkey in my turkey melt more often than not, BUT! If you have leftover holiday turkey, this is a great way to use it up! You may just need to toast the sandwiches a little longer on a slightly lower heat to warm them all the way through, depending on how thick the turkey is.
Key Ingredients
Turkey – For a year-round turkey melt, deli turkey is the way to go. Not only is it easy and readily accessible, it’s also thin enough to let the sandwich heat completely through in no time. Feel free to use a smoked turkey, honey-glazed turkey, oven-roasted turkey, or whatever other flavor you like best!
Crusty Bread – I. Love. A good crusty bread. Sourdough is my favorite for hot sandwiches like this. It’s chewy and crisp and toasts up beautifully. Texas toast would also work well!
Cheese – Feel free to mix up the cheese you use on your sandwich. I used white cheddar here, but classic cheddar, Swiss, smoked gouda, or pepper jack would all be amazing.
Chef’s Tips
- Your mouth will water the whole time you’re prepping your turkey melt, so I know you’ll be tempted to rush the actual toasting process. Don’t! If the skillet and butter are too hot, the bread will toast (and potentially burn) before the cheese melts and the turkey warms. If it’s not hot enough, though, the bread will soak up all the butter and end up more soggy than toasted.
- Avoid prepackaged, processed cheese! Seriously, do yourself a favor and pick up a block of fresh cheese that you can slice yourself, or stop by the deli counter and have them slice some fresh cheese for you. The flavors will be so much better, but so will the texture. Fresh cheese just melts so well. Your turkey melt will be good with prepackaged cheese, but it’ll be incredible with fresh cheese.
Ingredients
- 4 slices sourdough or thick, crusty bread of choice
- 2 tablespoons honey mustard divided
- 2 slices white cheddar cheese divided
- 4 slices deli turkey divided
- 1 medium tomato thinly sliced
- ½ cup fresh baby spinach divided
- 4 slices bacon cooked
- 2 tablespoons butter divided
Equipment
- Plate or cutting board
- Knife
- Large skillet
Instructions
- Spread ¼ tablespoon honey mustard on both sides of each piece of bread (8 sides total).
- Divide each slice of cheese in half, creating 4 slices of cheese total. Place one "slice" of cheese on each piece of bread.
- Layer 2 slices deli turkey, tomato slices (as many as you like), and ¼ cup baby spinach on 2 pieces of bread.
- Place 2 slices of bacon on remaining 2 pieces of bread.
- Close sandwiches. Each sandwich should have one piece of bread with turkey, tomatoes, and spinach and one piece of bread with bacon.
- Spread ½ tablespoon butter on outside of each piece of bread (4 sides total).
- Heat large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, place sandwiches in skillet. Toast bread for 3 to 4 minutes on one side, then flip and toast bread another 3 to 4 minutes on other side, or until cheese is melted and sandwich is warmed through. Serve hot.
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