Reuben Toastie
A Reuben is salt beef (or pastrami), sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on rye bread. In a toastie maker, sauerkraut is the problem: it's wet, acidic and leaks brine. Squeeze it in your fists until no more liquid comes out, keep the dressing thick and put the cheese next to the bread so the bread stays dry. Dense rye also needs trimming to fit the plates and an extra minute of cooking.
On this page
Recipe: Reuben toastie
Ingredients
- 2 slices light rye bread (or rye and wheat sandwich bread), about 1cm thick
- 50g thinly sliced salt beef or pastrami
- 40g sauerkraut (jarred), drained
- 40g emmental or Swiss-style cheese, grated
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tsp finely chopped gherkin or cornichon
- 1 small pinch hot horseradish or a drop of hot sauce (optional)
- 10g salted butter, softened
Method
- Close the toastie maker and preheat it until the ready light comes on, then give it an extra minute. Dense rye needs fully hot plates.
- Put the sauerkraut in a clean tea towel or a double layer of kitchen paper and squeeze it hard over the sink until no more liquid drips out. Chop it roughly so it doesn't pull out in long strands.
- Mix the mayonnaise, ketchup, gherkin and horseradish to make a thick Russian-style dressing.
- Check the bread against the plates. If the slices overhang the sealing edge, trim them to fit.
- Butter one side of each slice. Put one slice buttered side down on the bottom plate and spread half the dressing in the centre.
- Scatter half the cheese over it, then add the folded salt beef, then the sauerkraut, keeping everything 1.5cm from the edges.
- Add the rest of the cheese, then spread the remaining dressing on the inside of the top slice and put it on, buttered side up.
- Close the lid and cook for 5 minutes in a standard machine (6 in a deep fill). Rest for 1 minute before cutting.
Technique: taming wet, dense ingredients
A Reuben combines the wettest filling and the densest bread of any toastie in this collection, so there are two things to get right.
Squeeze the sauerkraut properly
Draining sauerkraut in a sieve leaves most of the brine behind. Wrapping it in a cloth and wringing it out gets rid of far more, so you keep the sour crunch without the liquid. Brine that reaches the bread makes it soggy, and brine in the seal stops it crimping. The full approach to wet fillings is in our how to stop toasties leaking guide.
Cheese is the waterproof layer
As in our tuna melt toastie, melted cheese between the wet filling and the bread keeps the bread dry. Emmental is a good UK stand-in for American Swiss cheese: it melts smoothly and stretches. Jarlsberg is slightly sweeter and works too.
Rye bread in a toastie maker
Traditional dense rye is firm and doesn't compress well, so it seals poorly. Light rye, or a mixed rye and wheat sandwich loaf, compresses enough to crimp. Whatever you use, trim the slices to fit inside the plates, and allow an extra minute because heat takes longer to get through denser bread. Our best bread for toasties guide covers fit and thickness. If your rye simply won't seal, a panini press is the better tool, because it presses flat without needing to seal.
Salt beef or pastrami?
Both are cured brisket. UK salt beef is boiled and milder, while pastrami is spiced and smoked. Supermarket pastrami slices are an easy option. Fold the meat loosely rather than stacking it flat: loose folds heat through faster and are easier to bite.
Other appliances
A panini press is the classic way to make a Reuben outside a deli: 5–6 minutes on medium with the lid resting gently. In a frying pan, cook on medium-low with a lid for 4 minutes per side, pressing down with a spatula (see frying pan toastie). In an air fryer, cook at 180°C for 9–10 minutes, turning halfway and pinning the top slice down.
Variations
- Rachel: use turkey instead of beef and coleslaw (squeezed dry) instead of sauerkraut.
- Veggie Reuben: use thinly sliced roasted beetroot or smoked tofu instead of the beef.
- Kimchi Reuben: swap the sauerkraut for squeezed kimchi. Also see our kimchi cheese toastie.
- Cuban cousin: pork, ham, pickles and mustard. Head to the Cuban toastie.
Mistakes to avoid
- Unsqueezed sauerkraut: it's the main cause of soggy Reubens.
- Thin, runny dressing: it leaks. Keep the ketchup to 1 tsp so the dressing stays thick.
- Oversized rye slices: bread that overhangs the edges can't seal. Trim it first.
- Overloading the meat: 50g is right for a standard machine and 80g for a deep fill.
To compare machine types for heavier fillings, see the best toastie maker guide, or browse more toastie recipes.
FAQs
What can I use instead of Russian dressing?
Thousand Island dressing from a bottle works, but it's runnier, so use only 1 tbsp in total. Mayo mixed with a little sriracha and chopped gherkin also does the job.
Where can I buy salt beef in the UK?
Most large supermarkets sell sliced salt beef or pastrami in the cooked meats aisle, and many deli counters will slice it to order. Ask for it thin.
Can I use corned beef from a tin?
Tinned corned beef is a different product: pressed and crumbly rather than sliced brisket. It still makes a good, if different, toastie. Use 50g in thin slices and expect it to break up a little as it heats.