Reuben roast roll

A classic

The Rueben is a classic sandwich, the combination of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut with Russian dressing on rye bread. This combination isn’t the only one that goes by the name ‘Rueben’; there are a range of variations, corned beef is switched out for smoked meat, pastrami, fish or courgettes, sauerkraut gets switched out for coleslaw, and Russian dressing gets switched for thousand island dressing or mayo. The possible combinations are endless.

Bread-free option

As is often the case, I can’t leave a recipe alone; I must play around with a recipe. I wanted to create a meal that brought together the classic flavours of the Rueben without the carbs of the sandwich. Replacing the bread with another meat is always an excellent way to go in my book. With that in mind, I started looking for a cut of meat that would work with the intense pastrami flavours but not overpower them. The perfect partner for the flavours is pork, more specifically, pork tenderloin.

The Rueben roast roll was born!

The tenderloin is cut to be laid out as a thin layer; the Reuben ingredients are then layered on top of the pork before it is rolled up to keep everything together, making the roll moist and succulent.

Reuben roast roll recipe

Ingredients

500g pork tenderloin, trimmed
3 tbsp. thousand island dressing
60g. pastrami
60g. cheese
1/4 cup sauerkraut, drained well
1/2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. caraway seeds

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C/425 degrees F.

The first step is to butterfly the tenderloin.

Cut a lengthwise slit down the centre of the tenderloin to within 2 cm of the bottom.

Be careful not to cut all the way through.

Open up the cut so that the tenderloin lies flat.

On each half, make another, lengthwise slit down the centre to within 2 cm of the bottom; cover with cling film.

Flatten to 1 cm thickness with a mallet or rolling pin.

Remove the cling film; spread the thousand island along one side of the pork.

Layer the pastrami on top.

Then the cheese and sauerkraut along the centre of the pork.

Roll up the loin from the long side.

Use butcher’s string to secure the pork, keep the filling inside, and rub with olive oil.

In a small bowl, mix together the garlic powder, salt and caraway seeds, rub the mix all over the pork.

Place the pork in a baking pan

Roast the pork for 35 – 45 minutes.

When the pork is cooked, remove it from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before removing the string and slicing up.