First off, let’s be clear here.  I am not by any way saying that this is a replacement for a real reuben.  The reuben is one of my all-time favorite sandwiches and I would never bastardize its good name by removing the corned beef.  And I am not claiming this is traditional Irish fare.  I will be the first to admit that I do not have a drop of Irish blood.  I am as Scandinavian as rosemaling.  Don’t know what rosemaling is?  That’s because its so Scandinavian. 

Anyways, I am posting this on St. Patrick’s Day because we happened to make these burgers yesterday and they were inspired by one of my favorite Irish dishes.  And they were suprisingly good!  Even Farm Boy enjoyed the combination of sauerkraut and cheese with the burger.  (On a side note, I am trying my hand at corned beef and cabbage later this week…if it turns out, I’ll let you know how it goes!) 

 

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 3/4 cup soft bread crumbs
• 2/3 cup Thousand Island dressing, divided (I used fat-free because that’s what I had)
• salt and pepper
• 12 slices rye bread
• 1 can sauerkraut, drained
• 6 slices 2% cheese

Mix the bread crumbs and 1/3 cup of dressing together.  Crumble ground beef over the mixture, add salt and pepper and mix well to combine.  Form into 6 patties and grill until desired doneness.  Place each patty on a slice of rye bread, top with sauerkraut, cheese, remaining dressing and another slice of bread.  I then placed the sandwiches in our big toaster oven for about 8 minutes.  I’m sure you could get the same effect from broiling them or even cooking them in a buttered skillet. 

As a side note, when made the way described above, the patties were very fragile.  I had to be very careful flipping them because they wanted to fall apart.  In fact, one actually did crumble.  So, I wonder if adjusting the bread crumbs would help?  If there are any burger gurus out there, I would love to hear your opinions!