This Reuben Sandwich and Patty Melt mashup will knock your socks off. Instead of corned beef, the grilled sandwich features a juicy burger with all the Reuben-style fixings.
Grilled cheese sandwiches are probably some of my favorite types of sandwiches. I love the crisp, buttery outside. But, I like burgers, too. I treat myself to a Double-Double once a week. There’s nothing like a good, juicy cheeseburger.
You can imagine my joy when I first tried a patty melt; I was smitten. For the uninitiated, a patty melt is a grilled cheese sandwich with a burger patty tucked inside. They are super duper delicious.
Know what takes them over the top? When you dress up the patty melt with all the fixings of a Reuben sandwich.
I’m not a fan of corned beef, but I love all the other goodies in a Reuben, so I did a little mashup that will set your tastebuds ablaze. This Reuben-Style Patty Melt is a recipe from my latest cookbook, Good Cheap Eats Dinner in 30 Minutes or Less.
Not only can you whip up a handcrafted hot sandwich but a homemade sauce in half an hour. It’s perfect comfort food for a cold night! In the cookbook (page 83) I pair it with a fresh tomato salad, but until tomatoes come in season, I’d go for the Quick Tomato Bisque on page 67. Talk about your comfort food!
(Don’t forget I’m scoping through the book this month. Follow me on Periscope to get the dish on quick ways to eat well on a budget!)
Tools I Use to Make this Recipe EASY:
Reuben-Style Patty Melt
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- salt
- black pepper
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 tbsp finely chopped dill pickles
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 4 tbsp butter softened
- 8 slices rye bread
- 8 Swiss cheese slices
- 1 cup sauerkraut drained
Instructions
- Divide the ground beef into four equal portions and form each into a thin, oblong patty, similar in shape to the rye bread slices. Season each patty with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and cook the burgers until no longer pink, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- While the burgers are cooking, mix together the sauce in a small bowl. Combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, lemon zest, pickles, and paprika. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Once the burgers are cooked, it’s time to cook the sandwiches. Heat a griddle. Butter one side of each piece of bread. Build each sandwich by layering the following: bread (butter side out), a slathering of sauce, a cooked burger patty, one slice of cheese, and 1/4 cup sauerkraut. Top with the remaining bread slice, butter side out. Cook on the hot griddle until the bread is crisp and toasty and the cheese is melted. Serve with extra sauce for dipping.
Notes
Nutrition
Mary
I made this for the first time last night from your cookbook and it was a hit! My husband just ate the extra sandwich an hour ago and it surprised me to see your post. ? We will be eating these again!
Jessica Fisher
Yay! So glad you liked it! I agreed to only share a small percentage of the cookbook recipes online, and this is one of them, because I love it so much. 😉
Elizabeth
This is so brilliant! It’s so hard to find good corned beef, but easy enough to find good ground beef.
Jessica Fisher
Yep. Burgers always trump corned beef in my book. hehe.