NYC Deli Pastrami Reuben Jalapeño Poppers are everything you love in a a traditional New York City Deli Pastrami Reuben piled high in a Jalapeño Popper.
NYC Deli Pastrami Reuben Jalapeño Poppers
If you have never been to Katz’s Delicatessen, you surely remember it from the 1989 classic “When Harry Met Sally.” It’s one of the most famous delis in NYC. But it is far from the only one. Different delis make different Reubens.
“Let me be clear about one thing here — the Reuben is a made-up sandwich. Back when we opened, you couldn’t find a deli that would dream of combining meat and cheese.” – Jake Dell, owner of Katz’s Delicatessen.
Photo by Ernesto Andrade
It’s the cheese and sauerkraut that make it a Reuben. Not the meat (which is traditionally corned beef), not the bread (usually rye) and not the sauce (various delis’ recipes call for different sauces – Mustard, Russian Dressing, Mayonnaise and Thousand Island Dressing being the most common – and you will see passionate arguments on all sides. Katz uses Russian Dressing. I used mustard on these because that is what I wanted. Use whatever sauce you want.)
So — For all intents and purposes this is not just a Pastrami Reuben Jalapeño Popper – this IS a Reuben. 🙂
I have had this idea to adapt a traditional New York Pastrami Sandwich to a Jalapeño Popper for a while now. But if you have been to a NY Deli, like the famous Katz’s Delicatessen, you know that part of the tradition of a pastrami sandwich is piling the meat on a mile high.
But, I have had to put my idea on hold because the jalapeño I have been seeing lately were just too small for the gargantuan task. That changed yesterday. I was in my neighborhood Kroger and they had some of the biggest Jalapeños I have seen in a while. Some of the monsters looked like green bananas.
I immediately grabbed a bag full – Because I knew I had my Pastrami Reuben Jalapeño Poppers.
Look for very large Jalapeños to make these poppers.
About the Recipes
One thing you will notice immediately is that most of our recipes do not have quantities listed for the ingredients. This is by design.
Jalapeños come in many different sizes and shapes (often depending upon the time of year). Their size, the cut you choose (see below) and your own personal tastes will determine how much cream cheese, bacon or other ingredients you put into each pepper. Use your tastes and be sure to experiment a bit.
You will also notice that most directions call for cooking the poppers in an oven. This is because that is the easiest and quickest way for most of us to cook and enjoy jalapeño poppers year round. But if you want to grill, smoke or cook your poppers any other way – Almost every recipe we have will work. We will let you know if it won’t.
How to Cut and Clean Jalapeños for Poppers (With Pictures)
Click the links below to how to make any style Jalapeño Popper cut.
- How and When to Do a Boat Cut Jalapeño Popper
- How and When to Do a Canoe Cut Jalapeño Popper
- How and When to Do a Cone Cut Jalapeño Popper
- How to Spread Cream Cheese in a Jalapeño for a Jalapeño Popper
Remember to wear disposable gloves when cutting and cleaning jalapeño peppers – and don’t touch your face.
NYC Deli Pastrami Reuben Jalapeño Poppers Recipe
NYC Deli Pastrami Reuben Jalapeño Poppers are everything you love in a a traditional New York City Deli Pastrami Reuben piled high in a Jalapeño Popper.
Ingredients (See Box Above, "IMPORTANT - About Our Recipes" for Information about Quantities)
- Very large Jalapeños
- Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste
- Cream Cheese
- Pastrami sliced thinly
- Mustard Russian Dressing, Mayonnaise or Thousand Island Dressing, store bought or homemade (See below for links to some good recipes to make at home - Coming Soon)
- Swiss Cheese sliced
- Sauerkraut uncooked (straight from the can)
- Bacon extra long strips preferably
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cut the jalapeños into a boat cut. (Click the link above to see how to do a Boat Cut. This will probably work best for you, as you will be piling the pastrami on really high.)
- Sprinkle insides of cut jalapeños lightly with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Place the jalapeños on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in preheated oven. Cook for about 10 minutes. (Skip this step if you prefer your finished jalapeños to be more raw and crunchy.)
- Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly so you can handle them.
- Add cream cheese to each jalapeño to cover the bottom, leaving a concave "well" to place other ingredients. (Click the link above to see pictures of this step, if the instructions are unclear to you.) (Leave the cream cheese off for a more authentic Reuben. Click HERE to read more about this - Coming Soon.)
- Place a generous slice (two if they are sliced extra thin) of pastrami into each jalapeño. Press down into the boat.
- Smear a good helping of the mustard, or other sauce, over the pastrami.
- Add a another slice (2 if they are sliced extra thin) of pastrami and another smear of sauce.
- Repeat the layers once more if your jalapeños are large enough. Heck, do it 3 or 4 more times if you like and your jalapeños are large enough. I did three layers.
- Place a forkful of sauerkraut on top of the last layer.
- Place a couple slices of Swiss cheese on top of the sauerkraut.
- Carefully, carefully wrap a long strip of bacon tightly around the whole mess. Secure with a toothpick, if you like.
- Place jalapeños back on cookie sheet and place back in oven.
- Cook, watching closely, until cream cheese is hot and bubbling and bacon is done, about 25 - 30 minutes. Check to make sure jalapeños and bacon are done to your liking. If not, place back in oven for more time.
- Remove from oven when done.
- Serve hot with extra mustard or other sauce to dip.
Jake Dell, owner of Katz’s Delicatessen quote courtesy of Fox News Magazine. Photo of NYC Deli Pastrami Reuben is by Ernesto Andrade and used by permission under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0) License. Recipe is original. Additional Information Courtesy of Wikipedia and is used by permission
