Make Hassle-Free Reuben Sandwiches With The Help Of One Appliance

The frying pan may be an ideal tool for whipping up a single grilled cheese, but the classic Reuben is a decidedly more involved sandwich. When it comes to toasting those lush layers of Jewish rye bread, slices of Swiss cheese, corned beef, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island or Russian dressing, flipping a fully-loaded Reuben within the tight confines of a skillet can create a mess. Worse, if you're dining with company, it's a drag to painstakingly prepare multiple Reubens in a skillet, one at a time. Skip the hassle and preheat the oven. Here at Tasting Table, using the oven is one of our top 10 tips you need when making Reuben sandwiches – especially if you're making more than one.

By opting for a baking sheet in the oven, foodies can toast multiple Reuben sandwiches at once, yielding less hands-on prep work and less time between you and your meal. To do it, simply assemble your Reubens as normal, then place the sandwiches buttered-bread-side-down on a parchment-lined baking sheet (easier cleanup later), and pop them in the oven. For diehard aficionados, we also have a detailed guide for the right way to build your Reuben sandwich layer by layer, to aid your assembly. Either way, just be sure to thoroughly drain that sauerkraut (especially if using a canned version) so your bread doesn't become soggy in the oven. To toast, bake those Reubens at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 to 15 minutes.

For extra-crispy bread, warm two baking sheets in the oven while it preheats, and assemble your sandwiches on a separate plate. As you prepare the Reubens, the metal sheets will get hot, so regard those hot trays carefully when it's time to load on the sammies! For maximum ease, foodies can line the outside of the bottom of one baking sheet in foil before placing it directly on top of the Reubens as they bake on the parchment-lined one. The sheet on top will act as a gentle panini press.

Need to keep those ready-to-go sammies warm for a few minutes before mealtime? Turn down the heat to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and leave them on the baking sheet in the oven. If you're feeling ambitious or have extra time, we recommend pre-brining the corned beef with pink curing salt and celery seed for richer flavor — it's the seasoning secret to a restaurant-worthy Reuben.

Serve your oven-roasted Reubens with a side of crunchy potato chips and a pickle spear. Or, elevate these knockout Reubens into dinner-party-worthy territory by serving them with a complementary side dish, like kale-dotted colcannon, old-fashioned scalloped potatoes, or lemon garlic green beans. To complete the meal, bust out the Guinness, or a bottle of Syrah/Shiraz or Sauvignon Blanc — the best wines to pair with corned beef. These toasty deli-style Reubens can even be a thrifty way to use up leftover corned beef after a St. Paddy's Day celebration.