Casserole Wednesday’s here again!
This week’s casserole is a bit unusual. I was excited to try the recipe though, or at least my variation on it. It is a spin off of a reuben sandwich. I’ll admit that I was skeptical, even though I love reubens and smoked meat sandwiches, but I was not disappointed AT ALL. This tasted just like a smoked meat sandwich! Really!
Just as there are several variations on a reuben sandwich, I have made several variations to this casserole recipe, which is loosely based on a Company’s Coming recipe. Technically, this recipe isn’t “reuben” at all, since I’ve used Dunn’s Famous Smoked Meat in place of corned beef.
Regardless of how you decide to put this together, this week’s recipe is a hearty casserole baked with all of the goodness of a juicy meaty sandwich.
Prepare it in advance, and bake it when you’re ready to eat it.
The next time I make this, I’ll be using cubed par-boiled potatoes tossed in dijon in place of the rye bread, just to try something different. I’ll also use corned beef, since I love the stuff, and I’d like to compare the two versions.
[Recipe] Reuben (Smoked Meat) Casserole
Serves 8
8 – 10 slices rye bread (par-boiled potatoes would be delicious too)
2 Tbsp dijon mustard (or as much as needed)
16 oz smoked meat (we used Dunn’s Famous Smoked Meat), thinly sliced – corned beef can also be used here
1/2 cup onion, thinly sliced
2 cups saurkraut
2 cups swiss cheese, shredded
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 Tbsp grainy mustard
1 tsp hot sauce (optional)
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp pepper
No need to preheat the oven yet! This casserole takes some time to sit, at least 6 hours, before baking.
Spread dijon mustard on each slice of rye bread.
Cube the bread and scatter in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 baking pan.
Scatter the sliced meat on top of the bread.
Spread the onions, then the saurkraut on top of the meat.
Sprinkle shredded swiss on top.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, grainy mustard, hot sauce, worcestershire, and pepper.
Pour the egg mixture over the top of the casserole.
Cover the casserole with foil. Allow the casserole to sit at least 6 hours in the refrigerator before baking.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F.
Bake the casserole, still covered with foil, for 40 minutes.
Uncover the casserole, and bake another 40 minutes.
Serve. I whipped up some thousand island dressing to serve with it, since I love thousand island on my smoked meat sandwiches. It was just like the sandwich. So tasty.
