I guess you had similar situations in your life. There are times when you eat one specific dish very often, sometimes almost every day. I did it for sure! For different reasons. Because something is easy to prepare, or because it’s cheap or simply because I loooved it so much. When I was studying, there were moments (well not just moments… more like several months!) where I made a lot of grilled cheese for breakfast, lunch, and dinner… maybe not for breakfast that often but I think you get the point. It was a lot of grilled cheese.

I love grilled cheese sandwiches in general. As a student, I also made them frequently because it was a quick dish and quite cheap. Back in the day, I lived in Switzerland where everything but the cheese was expensive… Just kidding. Even the cheese was expensive. But still, we always had a lot of it. Choices had to be made.
Back then I used a »sandwich maker« to prepare the sandwiches – one of those devices you can get cheap in many stores. Nowadays I prefer making my grilled cheese in a griddle pan. Much better! Not only with ham and cheese but also other ingredients like bacon, avocado, Chorizo or maybe pulled pork – combined with different cheeses. Mmmmm…

Today’s grilled cheese sandwich is made with Leerdammer®* cheese. The recipe is an American classic: the Reuben Grilled Cheese. So good! You know that one already? If not, it’s about time!
The Reuben can be made with different ingredients. Some like it with corned beef, some prefer roast beef or pastrami, the cheeses vary and also the sauces… well and also if it’s made with sauerkraut or coleslaw. I prefer the sandwich with pastrami, Thousand Island Sauce, and sauerkraut.

The cheese I used today is a special one called Leerdammer® Toast & Burger (herzhaft-intensiv). The slices are thick and full of flavor and they melt perfectly. All you want for a good grilled cheese. I’m drooling already again just because I’m writing about it.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(for 4 sandwiches)
For the Thousand Island Sauce:
2 tbsp. mayonnaise*
2 tbsp. sour cream
1 tbsp. ketchup*
1 tsp. mustard (medium hot)*
1 tsp. Sriracha sauce*
1 tbsp. orange juice
1 small dill pickle, diced finely
1/2 red onion, diced finely
1/2 hard-boiled egg, diced finely
salt, pepper, cayenne pepper*
For the sandwiches:
8 slices bread (e.g. rye bread)
7 oz. sauerkraut, drained
14 oz. pastrami or roast beef, thinly sliced
8 slices of cheese (e.g. Leerdammer Toast & Burger)
2 large pickles, in slices
some butter for frying
(für 4 Sandwiches)
Für die Thousand-Island-Soße:
2 EL Mayonnaise*
2 EL Schmand
1 EL Ketchup*
1 TL Senf (mittelscharf)*
1 TL Sriracha Sauce*
1 EL Orangensaft
1 kleine Essiggurke, fein gewürfelt
1/2 rote Zwiebel, fein gehackt
1/2 gekochtes Ei, fein gewürfelt
Salz, Pfeffer, Cayennepfeffer*
Für die Sandwiches:
8 Brotscheiben (z.B. Roggenbrot)
200g Sauerkraut, abgetropft
400g Pastrami oder Roastbeef, dünn geschnitten
8 Scheiben Käse (z.B. Leerdammer Toast & Burger)
2 große Essiggurken, in Scheiben geschnitten
etwas Butter zum Anbraten

DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. For the Thousand Island Sauce dice the small pickle, onion and hard-boiled egg very finely. Mix with the mayonnaise, sour cream, ketchup, mustard, Sriracha sauce and orange juice until well combined. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.
2. Spread some butter on two slices of the bread and place in a medium-hot griddle pan* with the buttered side facing down. Spread some of the Thousand Island Sauce on the bread, add some sauerkraut on top, pastrami or roast beef and some slices of the pickles. Finish with two slices of cheese per sandwich and close with the second slice of bread that is currently in the pan as well. Fry on both sides until the bread is golden brown, crisp, and the cheese has melted – this takes about 3-4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining bread and toppings.
1. Für die Thousand-Island-Soße die kleine Essiggurke, die halbe Zwiebel und das Ei sehr fein würfeln, dann mit der Mayonnaise, Schmand, Ketchup, Senf, Sriracha Sauce und Orangensaft verrühren, bis sich alles gut verbunden hat. Mit Salz, Pfeffer und Cayennepfeffer würzen.
2. Je zwei Scheiben Brot auf der Außenseite mit Butter bestreichen und dann mit den gebutterten Seiten nach unten in eine nicht zu heiße Grillpfanne* legen. Die Brotscheiben mit etwas Thousand-Island-Soße bestreichen, auf eine der Scheiben dann Sauerkraut verteilen, mit Pastrami oder Roastbeef und einigen Essiggurkenscheiben belegen und mit zwei Scheiben Käse pro Sandwich abschließen. Das Sandwich mit der zweiten Brotscheibe zusammenklappen und dann so lange auf beiden Seiten anrösten, bis der Käse geschmolzen ist und das Brot goldbraun und knusprig ist – das dauert etwa 3-4 Minuten. Mit den übrigen Brotscheiben und Zutaten wiederholen.


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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
Reuben Grilled Cheese
- Prep Time: 00:15
- Cook Time: 00:08
- Total Time: 00:30
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Sandwiches
- Method: -
- Cuisine: United States
Description
A delicious classic grilled cheese sandwich with pastrami, pickles and sauerkraut. Easy to make and extremely delicious. We love to make this for lunch…
Ingredients
For the Thousand Island Sauce:
2 tbsp. mayonnaise*
2 tbsp. sour cream
1 tbsp. ketchup*
1 tsp. mustard (medium hot)*
1 tsp. Sriracha sauce*
1 tbsp. orange juice
1 small dill pickle, diced finely
1/2 red onion, diced finely
1/2 hard-boiled egg, diced finely
salt, pepper, cayenne pepper*
For the sandwiches:
8 slices bread (e.g. rye bread)
7 oz. sauerkraut, drained
14 oz. pastrami or roast beef, thinly sliced
8 slices of cheese (e.g. Leerdammer Toast & Burger)
2 large pickles, in slices
some butter for frying
Instructions
1. For the Thousand Island Sauce dice the small pickle, onion and hard-boiled egg very finely. Mix with the mayonnaise, sour cream, ketchup, mustard, Sriracha sauce and orange juice until well combined. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.
2. Spread some butter on two slices of the bread and place in a medium-hot griddle pan* with the buttered side facing down. Spread some of the Thousand Island Sauce on the bread, add some sauerkraut on top, pastrami or roast beef and some slices of the pickles. Finish with two slices of cheese per sandwich and close with the second slice of bread that is currently in the pan as well. Fry on both sides until the bread is golden brown, crisp, and the cheese has melted – this takes about 3-4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining bread and toppings.
Notes
Enjoy grillin’!
Links marked with an asterisk (*) are affiliate links (advertising/Werbung) to Amazon Germany. If you click on one of those links and buy something via this link, I will get a commission for that sale. The price of whatever you buy is not affected in any way by this.
**I have partnered with Leerdammer® to bring you this delicious Reuben Grilled Cheese. That is why I have to declare this here in Germany as Advertising. All I wrote in this article is still based on my own opinion and has not been affected by anybody.












