Reuben Fritters
All the best parts of a Reuben sandwich — corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss, and Thousand Island — rolled into crispy golden fritters and served with a honey-mustard horseradish dip. Mind. Blown.
Prep: 30 min · Cook: 20 min · Total: 50 min · Serves: 6 · Difficulty: Medium · Rating: 5/5 (230 reviews)
INSPIRED BY
Kitty Hoyne's Irish Pub — Syracuse, NY
Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives
Inspired by Kitty Hoyne's Irish Pub in Syracuse, NY — a DDD featured bar that asked the question: what if a Reuben sandwich could be finger food? The answer is these fritters, which are the Reuben's charismatic, deep-fried cousin who shows up to the party and immediately becomes everyone's favorite.
Story
I brought these to a game-watch party at my brother-in-law's in October and they were gone before kickoff, which I'm choosing to interpret as a win even though it meant I barely got one. I'd seen Reuben fritters at a place called Kitty Hoyne's in Syracuse on a TV thing and thought, that's just a deep-fried Reuben, I can do that. Turns out you can, but there's one step that makes or breaks them. Squeeze the sauerkraut. Then squeeze it again. The first batch I ever made, I drained it in a colander and called it good, and when those fritters hit the oil they burst open and spat hot grease everywhere because of all the trapped water. Now I wring it out in a clean kitchen towel until I think it's dry, then wring it once more. Wet sauerkraut is the enemy of a fritter that holds together. The filling is chopped deli corned beef, the wrung-out kraut, shredded Swiss, cream cheese, and a little Thousand Island, and it should taste exactly like a Reuben when you sample it raw. If it's too loose to roll into golf balls, stick it in the fridge for twenty minutes and it firms right up. I learned that after a frustrating ten minutes of the mixture refusing to ball up. Flour, egg, then panko packed on firmly. Fry at 350 in about three inches of oil, four or five at a time so the temperature doesn't crash. Drain them on a wire rack, not paper towels, or the bottoms go soft from the trapped steam. The honey-mustard horseradish dip is what people kept coming back for, and I'd make a double batch, because the first time I made a single batch it ran out halfway through. My honest take is that these are a project. The breading station makes a mess, and frying means standing over hot oil while everyone else watches the game. But they're genuinely good, and they travel if you fry them at home and reheat in a hot oven, which crisps them back up better than I expected. Just don't microwave them. I tried. They turned to sad damp lumps and I ate them anyway.
By Casey
Ingredients
- 1 lb deli corned beef, finely chopped
- 1 cup sauerkraut, drained and squeezed very dry
- 1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3 tbsp Thousand Island dressing
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (for coating)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (for dredging)
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 1 tbsp prepared horseradish
Instructions
- The most important step first: squeeze every drop of liquid out of the sauerkraut. Press it in a clean towel, wring it, then press again. Wet sauerkraut is the enemy — it'll make your fritters fall apart and steam-burst when frying.
- Combine chopped corned beef, wrung-out sauerkraut, shredded Swiss, cream cheese, and Thousand Island dressing in a large bowl. Mix until everything holds together. Taste it — it should taste exactly like a great Reuben. Season with black pepper.
- Form the mixture into golf ball-sized rounds (about 1.5 inches), pressing firmly. If the mixture is too soft to hold shape, refrigerate it for 20 minutes before forming.
- Set up a three-stage breading station: flour in the first dish, beaten eggs in the second, panko in the third. Dredge each fritter in flour, then egg, then pack on the panko firmly. Place on a sheet pan.
- Make the dipping sauce: whisk together mayo, honey, whole grain mustard, and horseradish until smooth. This stuff is dangerously good — make extra.
- Heat oil to 350°F in a Dutch oven or deep skillet (about 3 inches deep). Fry fritters in batches of 4-5, turning occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until deeply golden all over.
- Drain on a wire rack (not paper towels — the bottom crust needs airflow). Serve immediately with the honey-mustard horseradish dip. Warning: these go fast.
Chef Tips
- Squeezing the sauerkraut dry is the single most important technique in this recipe — excess moisture causes fritters to explode open during frying or go soggy on the inside. Use a kitchen towel or cheesecloth and really commit. The cream cheese in the filling acts as the binder that holds everything together and keeps the inside creamy and rich when they're hot; don't leave it out. Panko instead of regular breadcrumbs is the correct call for fritters — the larger, drier flakes create an audibly crunchy exterior that regular crumbs just can't match. These can be formed and breaded up to 4 hours ahead and refrigerated on a sheet pan until you're ready to fry.
Cook's Notes
- **Corned beef tip:** Deli-sliced corned beef works well — chop it roughly before mixing. Leftover corned beef brisket has better texture but deli corned beef is widely accessible.
- **Sauerkraut prep:** Drain sauerkraut very thoroughly — squeeze it by hand or press it in a clean towel. Excess moisture makes the filling loose and the batter breaks down during frying.
- **Make-ahead:** The filling can be mixed and refrigerated up to 24 hours ahead. Coat and fry fresh — pre-battered fritters don't hold well.
- **Storage:** Fried fritters: 2 days refrigerated. Reheat in a 375°F oven on a wire rack for 8-10 minutes.
- **Thousand Island dipping sauce:** Mix 1/2 cup mayo, 3 tbsp ketchup, 1 tbsp relish, 1 tsp Worcestershire, and a dash of hot sauce. Refrigerates for a week.
- **Common mistake:** Overfilling the fritters. A heaping tablespoon of filling per fritter is the maximum — too much and the fritter won't hold together in the oil.
- **Doneness cue:** Deep golden-brown exterior, 165°F internal. The Swiss cheese inside should be visibly melted when you cut one open to test.