Air Fryer Reuben Sandwich

  

Oh boy, I hope the Purists don't get after me on this one, but today I cooked a Reuben Sandwich in my air fryer.  I have to say I really love making grilled sandwiches in my air fryer.  

The bread ends up lovely and crispy, not a soggy piece of bread in sight. Buttery, crisp and generously filled, this was a delicious sandwich to sink my teeth into!  I highly recommend it! 

 

I thought I would share a little bit of history with you this morning about where the Reuben Sandwich got its beginnings, but wow, what a can of worms, with no less than two or three places claiming to have invented it!  I don't want to touch that with a ten-foot pole.

Suffice it to say, it is a delicious sandwich, consisting of rye bread spread with thousand island dressing, and layered with plenty of corned beef/pastrami, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese.

 

The first Reuben Sandwich I ever tasted was when I was a very young woman and had moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba.  I fell in love at first bite. What's not to love about a hot sandwich piled high with smoked/corned meat, cheese and sauerkraut!

I have also been lucky enough to enjoy this iconic sandwich in Montreal and in Toronto. My ex-sister-in-law was married to a Jewish man and lived in the Jewish part of Toronto, off Avenue Road.  Oh boy, she used to get the best bagels at Gryfe's bakery.

 

She would bring them home in big paper bags.  Two or three dozen of them. All nice and still warm from the oven.  They were the best bagels I have ever eaten and have ruined me from ever enjoying another bagel quite the same.

We enjoyed them with smoked salmon and cream cheese and were in bagel heaven. 

 

There is no place where I live now to get a good Bagel, or even a good Reuben sandwich.  Even the rye bread is suspect, lol 

But I did try to make one as best as I could with what was available, and it really was delicious.

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE AN AIR FRYER REUBEN SANDWICH

You do need a few specialized ingredients. Buy the best that you can of these, and you won't be disappointed.

• 2 slices rye bread
• softened butter to spread on the outside
• 1 TBS Thousand Island Dressing
• 1/4 pound (4 ounces/115g) thinly sliced corned beef or pastrami
• 3 ounces (85g) sauerkraut rinsed and drained well (about 1/3 cup)
• 2 thin slices of Swiss cheese

 

I used Chris Brother's Pastrami to make my sandwich.  He makes pretty good Deli meats here in the Maritime provinces.  I made my own thousand island dressing from scratch.  

It is very easily done.  With a bit of mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, onion, vinegar, salt and pepper. You can find some really good recipes online. I used this one here.

I used PC Swiss Cheese. You could get by with only one slice, but I thought two gave much better coverage.  Also, buy the best sauerkraut that you can buy and make sure it is really drained well.

HOW TO MAKE AN AIR FRYER REUBEN SANDWICH

Nothing really could be easier. I have a Kuraidori Air Fryer that I purchased at my local Home Hardware.

Spread the softened butter on one side of each slice of rye bread. Flip over and spread half of the thousand island dressing on each slice.

Top one slice of bread with the corned beef. Top that with the sauerkraut and then the cheese slices. Place the other slice of bread on top, dressing side down, butter side up.

Place into the basket of your air fryer. Place the basket in the air fryer.

Air fry for 4 minutes at 390*F/198*C. Carefully flip over and continue to air fry at 390*F/198*C for a further 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown and the cheese has melted.

Cut in half on the diagonal to serve.

 

 

This was really delicious. Not quite on par with a true Reuben that you might get in a restaurant, but something which I really enjoyed, nevertheless.  

If I make it again and I probably will, I may add a bit more Thousand Island dressing, but over-all it was really tasty. I loved the crisp and buttery toasted bread and there was just enough filling without going over the top. 

The flavors might also be enhanced by warming up the meat and the sauerkraut first as well.  I adapted this recipe from one that I found on Fork to Spoon for The Best Air Fryer Reuben Sandwich. The original recipe made four servings.

Some other Diner Style sandwich recipes on here that you might also enjoy are:

BAKED WESTERN SANDWICH - With oven hash.  The egg, ham and vegetable filling for these delicious sandwiches bakes on one small, rimmed oven tray, ready to be cut and tucked between slices of hot buttered toast and served alongside of crisp edged oven roasted potatoes and onions. Delicious!

THE ULTRA TURKEY CLUB SANDWICH - Another hefty diner favorite with three slices of toasted bread, plenty of sliced turkey, lettuce, mayo, crisp streaky bacon, ripe juicy tomato and real cheddar cheese. One sandwich serves two people amply. If you know you are only going to be eating half a sandwich you can afford to fill this tasty sandwich generously!

CLASSIC TUNA SALAD - Lunch doesn't get much better than this old classic.  What you have here is a delicious tuna salad filling made with beautiful albacore white tuna, mayonnaise, chopped celery, minced onion, lemon juice and seasoning on soft buttered white bread.  This is the sandwich of my childhood. Delicious and comforting.

Air Fryer Reuben Sandwich

Yield: 1

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 8 MinTotal time: 13 Min

The amounts given are for one delicious sandwich. You can multiply to make as many sandwiches as you want to make. Deliciously simple!

Ingredients

• 2 slices rye bread
• softened butter to spread on the outside
• 1 TBS Thousand Island Dressing
• 1/4 pound (4 ounces/115g) thinly sliced corned beef or pastrami
• 3 ounces (85g) sauerkraut rinsed and drained well (about 1/3 cup)
• 2 thin slices of swiss cheese

Instructions

1. spread the softened butter on one side of each slice of rye bread. Flip over and spread half of the thousand island dressing on each slice.
2. Top one slice of bread with the corned beef. Top that with the sauerkraut and then the cheese slices. Place the other slice of bread on top, dressing side down, butter side up.
3. Place into the basket of your air fryer. Place the basket in the air fryer.
4. Air fry for 4 minutes at 390*F/198*C. Carefully flip over and continue to air fry at 390*F/198*C for a further 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown and the cheese has melted.
5. Cut in half on the diagonal to serve.

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