By Memorial Day weekend. Same as last year: I grill, the neighbors come, the food is substantial and the conversation is easy. This year felt different from last Memorial Day, which was the holiday where Ruben was still alive and I called him and he answered and laughed about me grilling without him. This year his absence was expected, which is different from last year's shock. You learn to hold the absence differently over time. Not better. Differently. The shape of it changes.
I made pulled pork this year — pork shoulder rubbed with green chile powder and smoked for twelve hours, pulled and mixed with a green chile barbecue sauce that I've been developing since spring, which is a standard vinegar-based sauce with roasted green chile blended in at the end. Served on plain white bread the way it's done right, with coleslaw and pickled jalapeños. Twenty-odd people ate it over the afternoon. The sauce was good. I'll adjust it once more and then call it done. Most recipes are done when you've adjusted them enough that you've stopped thinking about adjusting them. That's the right ending.
I went to the Veterans Day memorial in the park on Monday morning, the way I have every year since Ruben died. I stood in the crowd and said his name to myself when they read the roll. Then I came home and grilled the pulled pork and fed twenty people and thought about what it means to do the work of feeding the people who are here when you can't do anything else for the ones who aren't. That's it. That's the whole philosophy. You feed your people. You do it in the name of the ones who can't be at the table.
The pulled pork is the centerpiece, but every Memorial Day spread needs something you can throw on the grill fast for the people who arrive early or hungry in a different way — and this Kielbasa Reuben has become that dish for me. There’s something fitting about it: smoked meat, sharp and briny layers, built to be eaten standing up with people you love. I make a pan of these alongside the pork shoulder, and every year they disappear first. I don’t think the name is a coincidence. I think Ruben would have eaten three of them and said nothing, just nodded, which was his version of a compliment.
Kielbasa Reuben
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb kielbasa (smoked Polish sausage), sliced lengthwise or cut into 4 equal links
- 8 slices rye bread (seeded or plain)
- 1 cup sauerkraut, drained and lightly squeezed dry
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- 1/3 cup Thousand Island dressing (or Russian dressing)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional, for extra rye flavor)
- Pickles, for serving
Instructions
- Grill the kielbasa. Heat a grill or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Place the kielbasa cut-side down and cook 3–4 minutes per side until deep grill marks form and the skin is lightly crisped. Remove and set aside.
- Warm the sauerkraut. In a small saucepan or on the edge of the grill, warm the drained sauerkraut over medium-low heat for 3–4 minutes. Season lightly with black pepper. If using caraway seeds, stir them in now.
- Build the sandwiches. Spread Thousand Island dressing on one side of each bread slice. Layer one piece of Swiss cheese on four of the slices, then top with a portion of warm sauerkraut and a grilled kielbasa piece. Close each sandwich with the remaining bread, dressing-side in.
- Butter and griddle. Spread softened butter on the outside faces of each assembled sandwich. Cook on a griddle, skillet, or flat grill surface over medium heat, pressing gently with a spatula, 3–4 minutes per side until the bread is deep golden and the cheese is fully melted.
- Slice and serve. Cut each sandwich diagonally. Serve immediately with pickles on the side.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 560 | Protein: 23g | Fat: 34g | Carbs: 39g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 1250mg