Reuben Meatballs

    We are fans of Reuben’s in our household. A good corned beef and some tangy sauerkraut, swiss cheese and Thousand Island Dressing – what’s better? All of that in a meatball!

    Reuben Meatballs

    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 22 minutes
    Servings: 25 meatballs
    My grandpa was Jewish and so my dad grew up with a hint of Jewish food in his life. Although they didn’t have Jewish dishes too often my dad did get to sample some of the great things this culture provides. My grandpa passed away when I was really little but my dad always had a love for going to good Jewish Deli's and eating some traditional dishes that he shared with his dad. I get on a kick every once in a while where I make Knish and Kugel and my husband will slow cook a brisket.
    Reuben sandwiches aren't kosher since it combines meat and cheese, but it was a Midwestern creation, a Jewish sandwich that wasn't kosher and made by an assimilated European family that left Russia, Germany, and Poland generations before World War II.
    Reubens are a popular sandwich in a lot of the bars and restaurants in the Midwest as well as in a lot of the Jewish Deli's that I've been to. I thought with a little creativity I could make them into a meatball. It’s a nice little bite-sized Reuben that works as a meatball sub or an appetizer at your next get-together. There’s nothing better than a Reuben Meatball sub topped with some sauerkraut and Thousand Island Dressing.
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    Ingredients

    Meatballs

    • lb ground beef
    • 1 cup breadcrumbs
    • 2 eggs
    • 3 oz corned beef chopped fine
    • 25 cubes swiss cheese
    • 1 1/2 tbs caraway seeds
    • salt & pepper to taste

    Serving Suggestions

    • Thousand Island Dressing
    • Sauerkraut

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit
    • In a bowl combine ground meat, breadcrumbs, eggs, caraway seeds, and corned beef. Season to taste salt and pepper.
    • Take the meat mixture and flatten it in the palm of your hand. Take one of the swiss cheese cubes and wrap the meat mixture around the cheese. Roll the meat mixture and cheese around in your hand to form a ball.
    • Place your meatballs on a greased baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 22 mins.

    We love a good Reuben sandwich and I also love making a good Reuben Soup in the fall. We have a couple of places that have really good Reuben’s in our area including a deli in Golden Valley MN that has other great classic dishes like Knish and Matzo Ball Soup.

    One of the inspirations for this meatball was a soup I had at a local grocery store near us. I figured if you could take a classic sandwich and turn it into a soup it would be just as easy to turn it into a meatball.

    One of the ingredients in the soup and in this recipe that really brings out the classic Reuben Sandwich flavors are caraway seeds. There is something so familiar about the rye bread that is traditionally used in the classic sandwich that you have to add the caraway seeds to get some of that flavor infused in the meatballs. I also think that adding some chopped up corned beef also gives these meatballs a nice tang that you get from that meat in the sandwich.

    I do stuff these meatballs with swiss cheese. I know that’s a traditional topping for this sandwich and I always think that any meatball is a better meatball when it’s stuffed with cheese. For my Rachel Meatballs I stuff those turkey meatballs with swiss cheese and serve them with similar ingredients – just like a Rachel Sandwich. I do top those meatballs with little slices of swiss to make them extra cheesy. Totally do that to these if you’re a fan of cheese because it’s delicious.

    The typical serving suggestions for this particular sandwich is sauerkraut, swiss cheese and Thousand island dressing. I think that these are a must when it comes to making this dish the recognizable sandwich or even meatball. I’m a huge fan of meatball subs and these meatballs are perfect for that application. You can always throw these bad boys in a crockpot with some sauerkraut and eat them without any type of bun. Just make sure you have a bottle of Thousand Island Dressing that your guests or family can top these with when they eat them

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