Turkey Reubens -- easy, crunchy, hot
The stacking order of my turkey Reubens is critical. If this recipe had to be named something else, it would be "STACKING ORDER MATTERS". See the diagram, lower right, for the original note that I scrawled in my notebook.
It works best to pretoast the bread lightly before working with it. Heating the other ingredients for a few seconds in the microwave helps the sandwich cook evenly. Brushing the toasted bread with oil, dressing, or mayonnaise "waterproofs" it and keeps the sandwich crunchy-toasty.
This recipe is based on Allrecipes’ “Reuben Sandwich”. All quantities can be adjusted and you may need to break them into batches if using a smaller air fryer or toaster oven.
Turkey Reubens
Prep: 10 min Cook: 20 min
Makes 4
Ingredients:
8 slices rye or whole grain bread, thin sliced
½ cup Thousand Island Dressing (or 1 Tb / slice)
8 slices Swiss cheese
1 lb thin sliced deli-style turkey
1 or 2 c sauerkraut, divided into 4
2 Tb mayonnaise, oil, or softened butter
Directions:
Place sauerkraut into colander and allow to drain, pressing gently with complementary bowl if needed. Preserve 2 Tb juice. Set aside, optionally keeping weight on top, and continue to drain.
Toast bread until no longer soft, only 2-3 minutes per side. Remove and place on parchment paper, flipping to a dry area on the paper in 1 minute. The paper will collect excess moisture and should be discarded once wrinkly and damp.
Distribute turkey evenly on one (microwave safe) plate and drained sauerkraut on the another. Drizzle with additional juice to prevent meat from drying out and also help heat ingredients (microwave appliances affect the water therein). Heat both plates in microwave until warm, 10-30 seconds each.
Lightly spread mayonnaise or oil on one side of each toast. On the opposing sides, spread each with 1 Tb Thousand Island dressing.
Follow the order below to stack the sandwiches so that they become crispy and warm throughout. When stacking sandwiches, fold air into the meat so it doesn't form a rock of meat.
Toasted Bread > Thousand Island Dressing > Slice Swiss Cheese > 1/2 c Sauerkraut > 2-4 slices Turkey > Slice Swiss Cheese > Thousand Island Dressing > Toasted Bread
After stacking, place sandwiches in center of air fryer or toaster oven and toast-bake until golden brown. Sandwiches can also be grilled in a hot pan or on a griddle for 4 – 5 minutes per side.
Serve hot with additional Thousand Island dressing or ketchup. These sandwiches are best cut in half vertically. Cutting a sandwich at an angle is usually good for dipping, but here sauerkraut will fall out of the points.
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