Good morning, morning and a late, late Luck of the Irish to you! I’m so excited! During the week of St. Patrick’s Day, I enjoyed a Reuben Pie Iron sandwich with the husband that we cooked over the maple barrel cooker!
I’m not sure if Reuben sandwiches are really Irish, maybe it is just the corned beef, but we usually only eat them on St Patrick’s Day-unlike the husband, I’m not a sauerkraut fan.
Even with the sauerkraut, the Reuben Pie Iron sandwich is delicious! I’m so glad we tried it- it will even be a great campfire meal!
Like many of my pie iron meals, the Reuben Pie iron uses leftovers. It is a more expensive leftover meal, since most of the ingredients are a special purchase just for St. Patrick’s Day.
During the week of St. Patrick’s Day, I needed to boil maple sap. Usually, we boil together on the weekends, but the refrigerator was full of sap.
Since I was boiling alone, I decided to experiment over the maple fire (instead of the campfire!). As I got leftovers out to make lunch, I was surprised to see the husband pull in the driveway! He had taken a ½ day off of work to help me with the mid-week maple sap boil!
How fun!
The husband was surprised, too! We had Reuben Pie irons for lunch-with lots of sauerkraut for him!
How yummy!
Our yummy sandwiches were not pocket pie irons though, like the tortilla or bucket sandwiches. Since the rye bread was skinny and did not stick out all around the pie iron, they were similar to a grilled cheese or a pressed panini sandwich.
I used 2 slices of rye bread for my sandwich, so the bread stuck out on one side. I was able to make a quick, yummy snack with the ends that I will post pictures of soon.
The husband used 1 slice for his sandwich, I am preettty sure it was so he could use more sauerkraut-somehow!
Reuben Pie Iron Sandwiches
Butter
Sliced Swiss Cheese 1-2 slices per sandwich
Sliced or Shaved Corned Beef 2-4 slices per sandwich
Thousand Island Dressing 1/2-1 Tablespoon
Sauerkraut 1 Tablespoon-1/4 cup (depends on who you ask!)
Rye Bread 1-2 slices per sandwich
One reason Pie Iron sandwiches are so great, is because they are so flexible. As long as the crust is buttered or the pans are oiled, and the sandwiches are full enough to have good contact with the pie iron- you can make them like you like them.
After we buttered the outside of the rye bread, the husband put his Swiss cheese on both the top and bottom bread while put mine only on the top. We both used corned beef, though I used more.
The husband used way more sauerkraut, but I was very happy with my scant Tablespoon-a perfect amount of crunch. We both used about 1 Tablespoon of Thousand Island dressing before we shut the sandwiches and closed the pie irons to start cooking.
Cooking over the maple stove was just as fun as cooking over the campfire!
Thankfully, I had started boiling sap early in the morning. We were able to dump the partially cooked sap into one (very full) steamer pan and have an opening to cook our sandwiches.
The pie irons rested on re-bar over the fire in the barrel stove. It is nice to rest the cast iron pie irons on something when cooking with them. They are durable, and I love them, but they are heavier than the teflon pie irons.
Then, we cooked our Reuben pie iron sandwiches on both sides over the fire until golden brown and toasty.
The cooking time depends on heat of the fire and how hungry or patient you are. Sometimes, I set pie irons over campfire coals and other times, I will set them right in the flames.
The maple barrel cooker had lots of flames, so we checked the pie irons often. They were toasty and done quickly, in less than 5 minutes. Usually, it takes around 5-10 minutes.
Once both sides were golden brown, we flipped them out of the pie irons and onto a plate to cool. Waiting to eat is the hardest part- pie iron sandwiches are always smoking hot!
They were both very different, more cheese- less cheese, more sauerkraut-lots less sauerkraut. Very different, very individual, but both very delicious!
I’m so glad we were able to try a new, leftover pie iron sandwich- cooked over the maple barrel stove. I am definitely going to surprise the husband this camping season and buy more sauerkraut! The Reuben Pie Iron sandwiches were delicious cooked over the maple stove, and they will be great cooked over a campfire too!
Happy Camping (or enjoying sauerkraut?)
Frugal Campasaurus