Reubens
Ingredients
For the sandwich
8 slices rye bread
¾ pound sliced corned beef (use leftovers from your Corned Beef and Cabbage)
8 slices swiss cheese
½ cup sauerkraut, thoroughly drained (homemade recipe here)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Thousand Island dressing
1 tablespoon finely diced onion
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon chili powder
Steps
To prepare the Thousand Island dressing, add all the dressing ingredients to a small bowl and stir to combine. Set the dressing aside for sandwich assembly
This recipe was designed to be made with leftover corned beef from your St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef and Cabbage. With that, you will want to carefully cut the corned beef into thin slices. If you don’t have leftover corned beef, feel free to ask for some at the deli counter of your local grocery store. ¾ of a pound should be enough but feel free to get more if you want to load your reubens with a lot of corned beef!
Lay out 4 pieces of rye bread and place a slice of swiss cheese on top of each piece of bread (you want your cheese to just cover the bread and not overhang)
Evenly spread a spoonful or so of the prepared thousand island dressing on top of the swiss cheese slices
Next place the sliced corned beef on top of the dressing in an even layer covering the entire area - you can choose how many slices you use and thick or thick you want the corned beef to be
Scoop a few spoonfuls of the drained sauerkraut on top of the corned beef, spreading it across the top of the sandwich
Evenly spread another spoonful or so of the prepared thousand island dressing on top of the sauerkraut
Place another slice of swiss cheese on top of the dressing on each sandwich
Lay the second half of rye bread on top of all the sandwiches
Spread a thin layer of some softened butter across the tops of each sandwich
The butter will add extra flavor to the sandwich while it is cooking and also prevent it from sticking to the heating surface
Place the reuben on a heated panini grill, butter side down
Spread another thin layer of butter across the exposed top of the sandwiches
Close the panini press and allow the reuben to heat up and the cheese to melt for about 5 minutes, checking for doneness along the way
Open the panini press when the sandwich is done heating to your liking
Remove the reuben from the press and place on a separate platter to serve
Alternatively, you can place the reuben sandwiches butter side down in a large pan on the stove
Spread another thin layer of butter across the exposed top of the sandwiches
Turn the stove on low to medium-low heat and cover with a lid and cook for 3 minutes
Carefully flip the reuben oven to toast the other side and then serve and enjoy!