Time: 20 minutes
Feeds: 2 people
Ingredients:
- 4 slices rye bread
- 4 tbsp softened butter or mayo
- 4-8 slices white American cheese
- 1 lb sliced pastrami from the deli
- Thousand Island dressing, for dipping (optional)
Directions: Preheat griddle or pan to 300 degrees. Slather the outside of 4 slices of bread with either softened butter or mayo to ensure a great toast – think of this like a grilled cheese sandwich. Place these pieces of bread on the griddle, buttered/mayoed side down followed by the slices of cheese. We usually get the Boar’s Head packs of sliced white American and these can be a little thin so sometimes I double up on the cheese. It all depends on how it fits on the slices of bread and how cheesy you want the sandwiches. Next add however much pastrami you want per sandwich. I like to leave my sandwiches open face at least at the beginning and then once they’re starting to get golden, I fully assemble them. Continue flipping on the griddle until they’re toasted to your liking. Slice in half and dip in thousand island dressing if desired.
Notes: These are what we make when I’m craving a Reuben sandwich. Of course, you could add sauerkraut or caramelized onions to this sandwich and the Thousand Island dressing could go on the sandwich if you like as well. This is a really versatile recipe because you can substitute any kind of bread, meat, cheese, or other toppings that you might like and have a delicious melt.
For the sandwiches in the picture above, I used a homemade dark rye but any store-bought rye bread is perfect for this!