Tuna Reuben
Local Ocean’s Classic
TUNA REUBEN SANDWICH
TIME: 30 minutes
SERVING SIZE: 1 sandwich per person
IN THE BOX
Albacore Tuna
Rye Bread
Swiss Cheese
Pastrami Spices
Beer-Braised Sauerkraut
Louie Dressing
French Fries
FROM YOUR PANTRY
3-4 tbsp oil for cooking
Salt + pepper for seasoning
STEPS
1. Cook the fries: Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle fries with a little oil and spread out on a thin baking pan in a single layer. Use multiple baking pans if necessary. When oven is ready, bake fries for 15 minutes. Stir well, then bake another 10-15 minutes until crispy and golden.
2. While fries are baking, butterfly each tuna piece lengthwise – using your sharpest knife, cut down the length of the tuna, but not all the way through to the other side (a little more than halfway through). Then “open” the tuna up. It should be a bit flatter than it was. This can take a couple of small cuts. Coat all over with the pastrami spice paste.
3. Butter or oil one side of each bread slice. Arrange in a large pan (an electric skillet works great here – you can cook the entire recipe on it) oil-side down and top with swiss cheese. Heat over medium-low, covered if possible, until cheese is melted and bread is beginning to crisp. Remove the lid and spread 1 tbsp Louie sauce over the melted cheese on each slice of bread.
4. Cook the tuna - Heat a second large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. When hot but not smoking, add 2 tbsp cooking oil and the tuna. At the restaurant, we serve this dish medium-rare. To cook medium-rare, you will need about 60-90 seconds per side. To cook more well done, you can cover with a lid to partially steam the tuna.
5. While the tuna is cooking, heat up the sauerkraut by adding to either pan (whichever has more room).
6. Assemble the sandwiches – for each sandwich, top one slice of bread with a piece of cooked tuna. Add the sauerkraut, then top with another slice of bread. Crisp the sandwiches in the pan further, about 2 minutes per side.
7. Carefully cut each sandwich in half (optional) and serve with fries. Enjoy!
Updated November 16th, 2020