When you’re looking for a quick and simple lunch or dinner, a sandwich is almost always a great idea. In Germany, you might just use some cold cuts and cheese, but in the U.S., sandwiches tend to be a bit more elaborate. Take this Quick Reuben Sandwich with pastrami and sauerkraut, for example.
Americans are known for liking things on the more generous side, and that’s certainly evident in some of their sandwiches. The sandwiches served in American restaurants make a typical German open-faced sandwich look quite modest. In fact, this Reuben sandwich isn’t even a particularly extreme example by American diner standards. It’s almost too simple and flat for that!
Just try to google »American sandwich«, and you’ll see what I mean: towering, multi-layered creations of bread or toast, stacked high with countless layers of cold cuts, cheese, lettuce, and other veggies. They’re often so large that, without a skewer to hold everything together, even the slightest breeze could turn your sandwich into a total disaster on your plate…
Alright, I am exaggerating a bit, of course, but I think you get the idea. My own »humble« Reuben sandwich is quite straightforward: two slices of (good) sourdough bread, some pastrami, cheese, sauerkraut, and a zesty sauce. That’s all it needs. Yet it still offers a lot more than your standard German buttered bread.
Okay, my sandwich does have a skewer in the middle, too. But it’s not there to hold the bread and the layers together – it actually holds up just fine on its own! I use the wooden skewer to keep the little gherkin in place so it doesn’t roll off the sandwich. In theory, you could also slice it up and put it inside the sandwich…
Anyway, preparing the sandwich is relatively simple. Make the sauce, squeeze out the sauerkraut a bit so it does not make the sandwich soggy, and then layer everything between two slices of bread. In the classic preparation, you would pan-fry the Reuben sandwich on both sides until the bread has taken on some color and the cheese has slightly melted.
Personally, I think that’s too much of a hassle. Plus, frying a sandwich in a pan always leaves the kitchen smelling like grease. An Air Fryer does the job just as well, usually even faster and without any grease splatters or lingering odors. For us, it’s simply perfect! Of course, if you don’t have one of these little machines, you can always fall back on using a frying pan.
Delicious sandwiches can also be made without any pan-frying or air-frying. Our Japanese Egg Salad Sandwiches aka. Tamago Sando are super quick to make and incredibly tasty. You can easily prepare the egg salad in advance and then assemble a sandwich whenever you’re in the mood or hungry.
If you’re looking for something a bit more substantial, take a look at our Meatball Sandwiches with Tomato Sauce & Pesto. In the U.S., these sandwiches are often simply called »subs« – short for »submarine sandwich«. Likely because of their elongated shape, or perhaps because you’d sink pretty fast if you tried to go for a swim after eating one!
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(2 sandwiches)
For the sauce:
1/2 small red onion, very finely diced
1 small pickled gherkin, very finely diced
4 tbsp. mayonnaise*
2 tsp. Sriracha sauce* (e.g with garlic)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard*
salt, pepper
For the sandwiches:
4 slices sourdough bread
a little butter for spreading
about 5.3 oz. (150g) pastrami
4 slices of Cheddar or Emmental cheese
about 4.2 oz. (120g) sauerkraut*
2 pickled gherkins (optional)
(2 Sandwiches)
Für die Soße:
1/2 kleine rote Zwiebel, sehr fein gewürfelt
1 kleine Essiggurke, sehr fein gewürfelt
4 EL Mayonnaise*
2 TL Sriracha Sauce* (z.B. mit Knoblauch)
1 TL Dijon Senf*
Salz, Pfeffer
Für die Sandwiches:
4 Scheiben Sauerteigbrot
etwas Butter zum Bestreichen
etwa 150g Pastrami
4 Scheiben Cheddar oder Emmentaler
etwa 120g Sauerkraut*
2 Essiggurken (optional)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Peel the onion and dice it very finely. Dice the pickled gherkin very finely as well. Mix both together with the mayonnaise, Sriracha sauce, and mustard in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Spread some butter on one side of each bread slice – olive oil works as an alternative just as well. Flip the bread slices over and spread the sauce onto two of the bread slices. Place the pastrami on top of the sauce, then add the cheese and top with sauerkraut. Place the plain bread slices – buttered side up – on top of the sauerkraut and place the sandwiches in the Air Fryer basket. We use baking parchment here to keep the Air Fryer as clean as possible.
3. Set the Air Fryer to a temperature of 160°C (320°F) and toast the sandwiches for 6–8 minutes. Flip the sandwiches over halfway through the cooking time. Remove them from the Air Fryer. Add a small pickle to each sandwich with a wooden skewer (optional), then serve the sandwiches immediately.
1. Die Zwiebel schälen und sehr fein würfeln. Die Essiggurke ebenfalls sehr rein würfeln. Beides zusammen mit Mayonnaise, Sriracha Sauce und Senf in einer kleinen Schüssel verrühren. Nach Belieben mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen/abschmecken.
2. Die Brotscheiben jeweils auf einer Seite mit ein wenig Butter bestreichen – alternativ geht auch etwas Olivenöl. Die Brotscheiben umdrehen und dann auf zwei der Scheiben die Soße verteilen. Die Pastrami auf die beiden Brotscheiben legen, dann jeweils zwei Scheiben Käse darauflegen und mit Sauerkraut abschließen. Die bisher nicht genutzten Brotscheiben mit der gefetteten Seite nach oben auf das Sauerkraut setzen und dann in den Korb des AirFryers setzen – wir verwenden hier Backpapier, damit das Maschinchen einigermaßen sauber bleibt.
3. Die Temperatur des AirFryers auf 160°C (320°F) einstellen und die Sandwiches dann für 6-8 Minuten anrösten. Zwischendurch sollte man die Sandwiches einmal wenden. Aus dem AirFryer herausholen und nach Belieben noch jeweils ein Essiggürkchen mit einem Holzspieß auf den Sandwiches befestigen (optional) und dann warm servieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Quick Reuben Sandwich (Air Fryer Version)
- Prep Time: 00:15
- Cook Time: 00:08
- Total Time: 00:25
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Sandwiches
- Method: -
- Cuisine: United States
Description
This combination might not be for everyone – we love Reuben Sandwiches with pastrami, cheese and sauerkraut. And in an Air Fryer extra quick ready!
Ingredients
For the sauce:
1/2 small red onion, very finely diced
1 small pickled gherkin, very finely diced
4 tbsp. mayonnaise*
2 tsp. Sriracha sauce* (e.g with garlic)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard*
salt, pepper
For the sandwiches:
4 slices sourdough bread
a little butter for spreading
about 5.3 oz. (150g) pastrami
4 slices of Cheddar or Emmental cheese
about 4.2 oz. (120g) sauerkraut*
2 pickled gherkins (optional)
Instructions
1. Peel the onion and dice it very finely. Dice the pickled gherkin very finely as well. Mix both together with the mayonnaise, Sriracha sauce, and mustard in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Spread some butter on one side of each bread slice – olive oil works as an alternative just as well. Flip the bread slices over and spread the sauce onto two of the bread slices. Place the pastrami on top of the sauce, then add the cheese and top with sauerkraut. Place the plain bread slices – buttered side up – on top of the sauerkraut and place the sandwiches in the Air Fryer basket. We use baking parchment here to keep the Air Fryer as clean as possible.
3. Set the Air Fryer to a temperature of 160°C (320°F) and toast the sandwiches for 6–8 minutes. Flip the sandwiches over halfway through the cooking time. Remove them from the Air Fryer. Add a small pickle to each sandwich with a wooden skewer (optional), then serve the sandwiches immediately.
Notes
Make something amazing in the kitchen!
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