These mouthwatering Blackstone griddle burgers transform the traditional Reuben sandwich into something out of this world! Learn how to make a delicious Reuben burger that cooks up in under 10 minutes!
Have you ever been in the mood for a sandwich but wish it wasn’t so danged boring?
Well, we’ve taken the traditional Reuben sandwich and created something so tasty you’ll want to make it every night of the week…introducing smashed Reuben burgers!
Our Reuben burger recipe takes the best parts of this beloved sandwich and adds a juicy, flavor-packed smash burger seasoned to perfection. If you haven’t guessed yet, we’re on a mission to create the best smash burgers you can make on your Blackstone grill, and we won’t stop until we’ve achieved our goal! And this Reuben-style smash burger is quickly climbing our list of the best griddle burgers to make!
Here’s how to make these fantastic Reuben burgers that will quickly become a weeknight family favorite:
Why This Reuben Burger Recipe Works:
- Simple ingredients. I love creating recipes from items you can easily find at your local grocery store. And the beautiful thing about this Reuben burger is its simplicity – you need less than 10 ingredients to create an out-of-this-world flavor experience!
- Cooks in minutes. Since we’re smashing the ground beef on the Blackstone griddle, these Reuben sandwich burgers cook up amazingly fast and are literally bursting with flavor! And with the large cooking area of the flat top grill, you can cook everything at the same time.
- Bursting with flavor. The flavor combination of perfectly seasoned beef, melted Swiss cheese, slightly peppery pastrami, and sauerkraut is making my mouth water as I type this. Then you add that dressing, and it’s just pure burger perfection.
Ingredients for a Smashed Reuben Burger
Here are the ingredients we use for these mouthwatering smashed Reuben burgers:
- Buns. Any hamburger buns will do, but the Pepperidge Farm onion buns that we used were delicious!
- Ground beef. I used 80/20 ground beef for this Reuben burger recipe, but you could use a leaner mixture if you prefer. Just know that it might be drier if you use something like 93/7 or similar.
- Corned beef and pastrami. The traditional Reuben sandwich has thinly sliced corned beef, but I like the mix of pastrami and corned beef together… I recommend getting the meats sliced thin from your grocery store’s deli.
- Swiss cheese. Basic Swiss cheese will do for this Reuben burger, or you could use baby Swiss as well.
- Sauerkraut – I like the bagged sauerkraut, but you can also use the canned or jarred stuff and be just fine.
- Dressing – Die-hard Reuben sandwich traditionalists will choose Thousand Island dressing, but we bought a Russian dressing and ended up really liking it. Bottom line – use what you love!
- Burger Seasoning – This is optional, but I thought that the seasonings in my Smash That Burger Seasoning complemented the pastrami and corned beef really well. Of course, you can also use a simple salt and pepper blend or your favorite beef seasoning.
How to Make a Reuben Burger on the Blackstone Griddle
Making this Reuben burger recipe on your Blackstone griddle is quick and painless. Just follow these simple steps:
1. Drain the sauerkraut well.
The key to making the best Reuben burger is in the preparation. First, you’ll want to drain your sauerkraut well by putting it in a strainer or colander like this:
There’s going to be a ton of moisture in this smashed Reuben burger from the beef and dressing as it is, and the worst thing is a soggy bun. Nobody wants that life.
2. Prep the other ingredients for Reuben burgers.
Heat your griddle to about 400-425 degrees F and add a bit of oil before cooking.
Now, you’re going to prep your ground beef for the smashed burgers. Roll 3-4 ounces of ground beef into an evenly round ball.
Remember, these don’t need to be paper-thin smash burgers. For this particular burger recipe, I only used one burger patty instead of the traditional double patty stack, and I didn’t want the flavor of the burger to get lost underneath the Reuben ingredients.
Before you start the cooking process, be sure your other ingredients are handy. These include:
- Remove plastic wrap from deli meat trays.
- Have buns nearby and packages opened so that you’re ready to toast the buns on the griddle.
- Remove the cheese from the packaging and separate it so you can quickly place it where you need to.
- Gather all of your necessary griddle cooking tools like spatulas, a fork for the sauerkraut, squirt bottle of water, etc.
If you’re familiar with griddle cooking, then you know that it goes quickly because of the higher temps of a flat top grill, so it’s important to have all of your ingredients prepped and nearby, ready to go.
3. Cook the “smashed” Reuben burger on the griddle.
Cooking smashed Reuben burgers is a pretty straightforward process, but I recommend you follow these specific steps:
- Begin by placing the ground beef on the heated griddle surface so that you have enough room in between each patty to smash and flip.
- Put your parchment paper straight down on the patty and smash, but don’t Hulk out on it because you don’t want it too thin. If your patties are too thin, they’ll fall apart on the griddle.
- Once you’ve smashed the burger down, season it with your burger seasoning. You’re only going to season one side of the Rueben burger, because the meat is so thin that it’s not necessary to season both sides.
- Now you’re going to let your smashed burgers cook for about 1-2 minutes. The goal is to build that deep crust on the patty to seal in the flavor and add texture to the sandwich.
*Go here for an in-depth tutorial on how to make smash burgers!
4. Add the rest of your ingredients to the griddle.
While your Reuben burger patties are cooking, add the rest of the ingredients to your Blackstone grill.
Separate your corned beef/pastrami mixture into 1/4 lb piles and place them on the griddle. You can use more or less according to your preference. I bought a quarter of a pound of each meat from the store and didn’t end up using all of it for two burgers.
Next, use a fork to place the desired amount of sauerkraut for each sandwich onto the griddle to warm it up. Your griddle should look something like this:
Finally, add the buns to toast. Don’t add any oil or butter to your buns! You want them to dry a little bit because there’s a lot of moisture in the Reuben burger. Remember – there’s nothing worse than a soggy bun!
Once the pastrami/corned beef mixture has warmed for 30 seconds to 1 minute, flip each pile over. Place a slice of Swiss cheese on top and allow it to cook for an additional minute, or until the Swiss is nice and melty.
Then flip over the sauerkraut and let it cook on the other side for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Once the sauerkraut is finished warming, place it on top of the pastrami/cheese mixture on the griddle like this:
Now you’re going to flip the beef patties. When you flip, you want to scrape with the grill to get that nice dark crust. That’s where the money is. Put a slice of Swiss cheese on each patty after you turn it over and let it melt for about 30 seconds.
And that’s it! You’re done! Turn the griddle off, and let’s get to assembling these Reuben burger sandwiches!
5. Assemble the Reuben burger sandwich.
Now it’s time to build the Reuben burgers!
First, pour the desired amount of Thousand Island dressing onto the bottom half of the bun. Then, add your Reuben burger patties. Next, add the corned beef/pastrami mixture topped with the sauerkraut on top of the burger.
Add a little more dressing if you prefer, finish with the top bun, and you’re ready to dig in! Don’t these look amazing?
FAQs about the Reuben Burger
What type of hamburger bun should I use for a Reuben Burger?
A traditional Reuben sandwich uses rye bread, so if you can find rye buns, that’s awesome. You can also use brioche buns or regular hamburger buns. We used Pepperidge Farm onion buns for our smashed Reuben burgers, and the results were phenomenal!
Which is best for a Reuben burger – pastrami or corned beef?
True Reubens are made with corned beef, which is leaner and drier than pastrami. Pastrami also has a smokier flavor and a higher fat content. I used a mixture of pastrami and corned beef and loved the flavor profile it created. When it comes right down to it, make your Reuben burger with either one – or both!
What’s the best brand of sauerkraut for this smashed Reuben burger recipe?
I’m pretty sure wars have been started over which brand of sauerkraut is best, so I’ll just suggest that whichever you decide to use, make sure it’s as fresh as possible. I like to use the bagged sauerkraut from the deli section of our grocery store. Whatever you select, drain it well before putting it on the grill!
Reuben Burger
Ingredients
- 8 oz 80/20 ground beef
- burger seasoning of your choice *Or substitute salt and pepper.
- ¼ lb corned beef sliced thin
- ¼ lb pastrami sliced thin
- ½ cup sauerkraut
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- Thousand Island dressing
- 2 hamburger buns *Onion buns or brioche buns recommended.
Instructions
- Heat griddle until it reaches 400-425 degrees F. While griddle is heating, place sauerkraut in a strainer to drain out excess moisture.
- Portion ground beef into medium-packed 4 oz balls. When griddle is hot, place the balls of beef down on the hot zone of the griddle, making sure to leave enough space in between each to smash and flip.
- Place a piece of parchment paper over the first ball, and use your burger press or a stiff spatula to press down until the burger patty is about 1/4"-1/2" thick. Repeat for the second beef ball.
- Season the top of each burger patty with burger seasoning.
- Toast the hamburger buns on the griddle cut side down. When buns are toasted, remove them from the griddle and add Thousand Island to the bottom side of each bun. Set to the side while the meats cook.
- When burgers are a bit more than halfway cooked through (and there are still some pink spots on top), use a spatula or scraper to flip the burgers to the second side, making sure to scrape under the burger crust to remove it from the griddle with your burgers. Immediately after flipping the burger patties, top each with one slice of Swiss cheese. When the cheese is melted on the burger patties (probably about 1 minute), remove from the griddle and transfer the burgers to the prepared buns.
- While burgers are cooking, add the sauerkraut to the griddle in two equally sized piles to heat it up. Make two piles of the deli meat on the griddle (about the same size as your hamburger buns). Each meat pile should have about ⅛ lb of corned beef and ⅛ lb of pastrami. Once the sauerkraut and deli meat piles have warmed for about 60-90 seconds, flip to the second side.
- Place a slice of Swiss cheese on top of each deli meat pile and allow it to cook for an additional minute, or until the Swiss is melted.
- Build the Reuben Burgers: Place one deli meat pile on top of each burger patty. Top with the sauerkraut. Drizzle on additional Thousand Island dressing if desired, and top with the top bun piece. Enjoy!
Comments & Reviews
Rob O says
Great!
New channel allows you to smoke a pastrami and bring over to the griddle. Pre-brined brisket flats are at all our local grocery stores.