Pastrami Reuben

According to Chef Brian Duffy, the classic Reuben sandwich is a comfort food like no other. It’s grilled. It’s cheesy. It’s crunchy and gooey, all at the same time. In his SandwichMasters rendition, he really takes it up notch, ditching standard butter for an avocado version, and upgrading the flavor with camembert cheese, a caramelized onion slaw, and fresh pickled vegetable thousand island dressing. The end result is new take on an old favorite, featuring our tasty pumpernickel bread.

Ingredients:

  • Gonnella pumpernickel bread
  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 6 oz pastrami, thin cut
  • 2 oz camembert (or brie) cheese
  • 2 slices sharp provolone
  • 2 tbsp whole grain mustard
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the pickled thousand island dressing:

  • 1 c mayo
  • ½ c ketchup
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp horseradish
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  • 4 oz pickled vegetables or giardiniera

For the caramelized onion slaw:

  • 1 onion
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 head of cabbage
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 tbsp chopped chives
  • 2 tbsp green onion
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • ½ c mayo
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Begin to caramelize onions. Melt 2 tbsp butter in medium-sized skillet. Add sliced onion, salt, and pepper. Allow to simmer on low heat, about 45 minutes.
  2. Chop cabbage into super fine shavings. Repeat with red onions, green onions, and chives. Grate carrots. Mix about 2 cups of the cabbage shavings with the caramelized onions, remaining veggies, vinegar, mayo, honey, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
  3. Prepare the dressing, mixing all listed ingredients together in a dish. Set aside.
  4. Prepare avocado butter, mixing avocado with softened butter. Spread on one side of both slices of bread and toast in a skillet.
  5. Add camembert and sharp provolone cheese to both slices of bread. Let cheese melt, then remove from heat.
  6. Add thick layer of pastrami to one of the grilled cheese breads. Top with slaw and a large spoonful of thousand island dressing. Top with second layer of grilled cheese bread.
  7. Place the sandwich back in the skillet, and let heat bring all the the flavors together. Remove and serve.