These Reuben Poppers are the perfect St. Patrick’s Day party appetizer! Your favorite Reuben sandwich, popper style!
Good Monday morning friends, and Happy 10 days to St. Patty’s Day! Are you gettin’ ready? Gearin’ up for all things green? Do you celebrate the day? With a last name like Dwyer, you guessed it, we celebrate the day!
I’ll be honest though, Dwyer is my married name, so guess what? There’s not one Irish bone in my body. Wah wah! But since I’m married to an Irishman, have two boys with the names Sean and Casey and also happen to have two nephews with red hair, that’s close enough! Am I right?! Yay!
Growing up, my mom went all out for St. Patrick’s Day. We always dined on a traditional Irish meal of corned beef, cabbage and Irish soda bread. Her Irish soda bread was always perfect and her corned beef had a glaze that was to die for. So St. Patrick’s Day would not be complete at our house without corned beef on the menu.
Since one of our favorite sandwiches has always been a grilled Reuben, this year I decided to incorporate all the ingredients found in the sandwich and whip it up popper style. If you’ve never tried a grilled Reuben sandwich these Reuben Poppers are going to be a real treat. These beauties are the perfect St. Patrick’s Day party appetizer.
They’re a mixture of salty corned beef, creamy Swiss cheese, tangy sauerkraut, cream cheese to bind everything together and caraway seed. I form the mixture into balls, dip in some flour, buttermilk and panko bread crumbs and then fry in some canola oil to create a nice crispy outside. Served with a side of Russian Dressing for dipping and you’ve got a grilled Reuben popper style my friends! Hope you enjoy! Have a wonderful week!
- 1 lb. deli corned beef sliced very thin
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
- 1 1/2 cups sauerkraut rinsed
- 8 oz. cream cheese softened
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp. caraway seeds optional
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups plain panko bread crumbs
-
Fill a large pot 1/3 full with canola oil and place over medium heat until 350 degrees F.
-
Place the corned beef in a food processor and puree until finely chopped.
-
Place corned beef in a large bowl and add the Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, cream cheese, Dijon mustard, and caraway seeds if desired. Mix well. Shape into 2 inch balls.
-
In a small bowl whisk together flour, salt and pepper. Place buttermilk in another small bowl and the panko in another bowl.
-
Dip each ball into the flour, then the buttermilk and then the panko. Repeat with all poppers.
-
Fry the poppers, about four at a time, making sure they are totally submerged in the oil for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.
-
Remove from pot to a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with all poppers.
-
Serve with Russian dressing for dipping.
Mary Ann, what a great and fun idea! I love reuben sandwiches! but this sounds like something I would love to eat! great pictures as always!
Thanks so much Gaila! Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
This looks wonderful! What kind of corn beef did you use? Is it from the Deli section or the can? Growing up, I have never had corn beef. I find the corn beef I cooked always tasted different from the ones they serve in the restaurant.
Thanks so much for commenting Lucienne! I just use corned beef from the deli counter, sliced thin. Then I puree/chop it fine in the food processor (see photo). I hope you enjoy them! Have a wonderful week!
Both the hubster and I are part Irish, but as we have gotten older we have stopped going all out to celebrate the St. Pattys… we can’t really keep up with the youngsters! ;) Reuben is my all time FAVORITE sandwich, so you already KNOW I love these poppers, Mary Ann! I could eat a dangerous amount of these cheesy babies! Pinned! Cheers, friend!
Ha! I’m sure you could keep up with the youngsters Cheyanne! Now when you get to be my age, it gets a little tougher! Enjoy these and have a great week!
Wow Mary Ann. My husband is going to leave me for you if he sees these poppers. His all-time favorite sandwich is the reuben and these take it to a whole new level. Pinned and going to make these for St. Patty’s day for sure!
Ha! You’re funny Cathy! Food is definitely the way to a man’s heart! I’m sure your hubs will enjoy these as much as mine does! Enjoy your week! Some great weather is heading our way!!
I just made Irish Stew this weekend (coming to the blog Thursday!!) so I’m gearing up for sure! These reuben poppers really take things to a whole new level …. INCREDIBLE!!
Yay! I can’t wait to check out your recipe Lauren! Have a great week!
What a creative St. Pat’s treat! I can only imagine how delicious these little bites are :) And I’m the same btw … I have a very Irish married last name without an Irish bone in my body.
Thanks Jennifer! I’ve been pretending for years!
Whoa! You made a reuben into poppers? That’s genius, Mary Ann! They are the perfect little St. Patrick’s Day appetizer!
They’re really delicious Rachelle! Give them a try!
Mary Ann you are a genius, these are so creative, and they are gorgeous too — I’ll be sharing these on fb today!
Thanks so much for sharing Sue!
Mmm these sound so delicious, I love how they look inside! I would definitely eat at least 7 of these in one go! Living in Boston and then now New York, my experience with St. Patty’s Day hasn’t always been positive! It get a little rowdy and the people are just so obnoxious! From the sound of it I would much rather celebrate St. Patty’s day at the Dwyer house!
They are pretty tasty, I do have to say Linda! A low key evening at home enjoying these Reuben Poppers sounds perfect to me!
When I was in high school, we would all take the train to NYC and watch the St. Patty’s day parade – and drink lots of green beer! Love how inventive this recipe is, Mary Ann – and the photos are gorgeous – especially the crispy shots!
We used to take the train from New Jersey to NYC for the St. Patty’s Day parade too! My mom used to LOVE going in to watch it! Thanks so much Geraldine!
Mary Ann , you made my day. I like be Reuben Sandwiches and your little poppers look out of this world. Maybe I make them when I’m visiting my brother in Germany in a couple of weeks.
Please do Gerlinde! Thanks for the sweet comment. So glad I made your day! I think your brother will LOVE these!
Such an innovative and unique recipe Mary Ann – I do love a Reuben sandwich so to take the flavours and turn it into these little poppers is seriously great. They look pretty moorish too!
Thanks so much Thalia! So fun for a St. Patrick’s Day party!
You sound plenty Irish to me….and if anyone doubts you just give them one bite of these poppers. They won’t argue anymore. These look like perfect St. Paddy’s Day food!
Thanks Kathy! We thought so too!
These look soo good Mary Ann!!! Sadly St Paddy’s day isn’t really big in the UK. Used to love it when we lived in Canada. always a big parade!
Thanks so much Deb!