Reuben Melt….with a twist!

Take what you know about Reubens……

Add what you know about Patty Melts…..

Now squish em’ all together and hike up yer’ britches, this one’s gonna be fun with a side order of crazy!

When my husband and I get in the kitchen together, crazy things happen! We laugh, we sidestep and twirl around each other in moments of chaos, and in the end ALWAYS create something magical. This was one of those nights!

*Warning: One of the techniques in this recipe WILL blow your mind….it sure did mine!

Ingredients:

Kraut Straws

1 bag of sauerkraut

salt, pepper, caraway seeds

flour

oil for frying

Burgers

Sliced Rye Bread (I used marbled rye, however pumpernickel or regular rye would work as well)

2 lbs. ground beef

salt, pepper, garlic powder

Mushrooms, sliced thin (I used 1 lb. but it depends on how many mushrooms ya want on your burger)

1 large onion, sliced thin

1/2 stick butter

Soft Cheese ( I used goat cheese because I love the tangy bite, but any melty cheese works just fine)

Directions:

We’re going to start with the kraut straws…..This was a middle of the night brainchild of mine from a week or so ago. I didn’t know how successful it was going to be so I sat on the idea for a bit. If you make ONE thing from this recipe, MAKE THE KRAUT STRAWS! Put them on burgers, hot dogs, brats, whatever…just put them on SOMETHING!

I used my deep fryer, however they can be made just as easily in a pot on the stove. Heat your oil to 375 while you prepare the kraut.

Rinse the sauerkraut under cold water in a strainer. Press on the top of the kraut to squish out as much water as possible. Lay the kraut out on a large surface and press the top with paper towels to remove any excess water. You’re never going to get all the moisture out because sauerkraut is packed with water, however get it as dry as you can.

Sprinkle the top of the kraut with salt, pepper, and a light amount of caraway seed.

When your oil is at temperature, work with small sections of the kraut at one time. You’re going to sprinkle a section about as big as your hand with flour and, using your fingers, toss to combine. You might need to add just a little more flour if the strands don’t seem covered in flour.

Drop a handful into the hot oil and prepare yourself to be amazed! DO NOT drop more than a handful in….the water that remains in the kraut will cause your fryer to overflow and we DEFINITELY don’t want that happening. Not on my recipe baby

Fry the straws for 30 seconds or until golden brown. They are quite easy to burn so watch em’ carefully and stir them around while they fry. Remove from the oil and place them on paper towels to drain. You will have a plate of loveliness that looks like this!

Nibble and munch as desired while you prepare the rest of the burger. I’m fairly certain I will be serving a little basket of these with EVERY burger I make from here on out.

Now on to the burgers…..Shape your ground beef into 3 oblong patties that look like this.

Sprinkle the tops with a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Place the patties in the fridge for about an hour to chill.

To cook the burgers, we used an electric grill but you can make them in a pan or on an outside grill as well.

Heat your grill on high heat. Lightly butter one side of each slice of bread and sprinkle lightly with garlic powder.

Grill the bread, butter side down until lightly browned and remove from grill. You will serve the burgers with the soft side up, but underneath will be slightly crispy and taste like garlic bread.

Place the burgers on the grill for about 7 minutes total. We have a top grill plate so we didn’t need to flip the patties, but flip halfway through if needed.

While the patties are cooking, heat the butter in a pan and sautee the mushrooms and onions until soft.

Slice your cheese into slices or circles. If you have a super soft cheese that sticks to your knife, run the knife under hot water for just a second before you slice each piece of cheese.

Watch your burgers carefully, we don’t want dry or overcooked patties. Nice and juicy please

After the burgers are done it’s time for assembly {and the angels begin singing}

Lay one piece of the bread on a plate, grilled side up. Place a patty on the bread, top with lots of mushrooms and onions, place some cheese over top and then….PILE ON THE KRAUT STRAWS!!!

If that doesn’t say amazing…I don’t know WHAT does!! Add condiments if ya like and then top with the other piece of bread, soft side up!

Give it a good squish, and go to town! Don’t forget to serve this with extra kraut straws, you’ll want them believe me.

So there ya have it, a small slice of our crazy kitchen fun. Hope you enjoy! 

Signing Off,

Modern Mrs. Cleaver