The Reuben Sandwich

Lynn LeFey · **on:** March 17, 2013, 05:28:06 PM

It's St. Patrick's Day. Here, in St. Louis, there's a lot of Irish folks, so the city has a sizeable Parade, and it's tradition to make Corned Beef, Cabbage, and Red Potatoes... and to get excessively hammered. Anyone who knows me knows I am not into tradition.

But I really like Corned Beef, Cabbage, and Red Potatoes.

And when the cabbage and potatoes are done, and there's left-over corned beef, then we get to my absolute favorite sandwich, the Reuben.

Every year, I tinker with the best way to make this awesome sandwich, and have come to a point where I think I have my technique down, so I thought I'd share.

First, the Reuben is corned beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and either Russian or Thousand Island Dressing on rye bread. I prefer Thousand Island dressing, and a fairly light dose of it. For sauerkraut, I prefer the cheap, harsh stuff. Locally, That's 'Frank's'. For Swiss Cheese, I prefer a fairly strong flavored one. We have a local cheese company called 'Hautly' that have a very good swiss that I use. For bread, I like New York style Rye Bread, but I'm not too picky. I used to use 'Beefsteak Rye' but the Beefsteak brand of bread was made by the now-defunct Hostess corporation. I have never found that the choice of brand of salad dressing matters, so I just go with whatever generic brand my grocery store has.

So, here's how to make the sandwich...
Slice the corned beef as thin as possible, and get a 4-6oz portion of the meat.
Slice cheese thin, enough to cover the sandwich, usually about an ounce.
Take about 4 tablespoons of sauerkraut, and place on a double layer of paper towels, then fold over the paper towels to cover and press as much liquid out of the kraut as possible. This is probably the most important trick to making a good sandwich.
Spread a very thin layer of dressing on each slice of bread. put the beef, kraut, and cheese on the bottom slice, and top with the other slice.
Microwave the sandwich until the cheese is just beginning to melt, about 25-30 seconds. While that's going, heat up a skillet.
Place a pat of butter on the skillet and let it melt.
Put the sandwich on the skillet, and cook until golden brown on that side.
Pick the sandwich up out of the skillet, and place another pat of butter in the skillet to melt.
Flip the sandwich, and grill it on the other side until golden brown.

That's it. You're done. The two things I found difficult in making a good reuben is getting the inside sufficiently heated without overcooking the bread, and how to keep it from getting soggy. Pressing the kraut before using it eliminated the soggy problem, and microwaving the sandwich before grilling eliminated the cold center/overcooked bread problem.

If any of you care to give your tips on how you do it, I'd love to hear them. And let me know if you give my method a try how it works for you.

jerseydevil · **Reply #1 on:** March 17, 2013, 05:30:55 PM

The quality of a diner or deli's Reuben is how I judge a new place.....

nuphoria · **Reply #2 on:** March 17, 2013, 05:32:31 PM

Oh my giddy aunt, now I'm starving

Haven't had one of those since I lived in NYC

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #3 on:** March 17, 2013, 05:42:30 PM

Quote from: jerseydevil on March 17, 2013, 05:30:55 PM

The quality of a diner or deli's Reuben is how I judge a new place.....

I am exactly the same. I use the Reuben to judge the upper end of ability, and the Cheeseburger to judge the lower end. If you can't get a cheeseburger right, you don't deserve to be open. But if you have a great reuben, you're an awesome sandwich joint.

By the way... I can SMELL the corned beef cooking now. It's killing me.

nuphoria · **Reply #4 on:** March 17, 2013, 05:48:16 PM

Stop it

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #5 on:** March 17, 2013, 05:51:18 PM

I'm sure that even in the far-flung exotic lands of England, you could get the ingredients for one of these.

Whoey · **Reply #6 on:** March 17, 2013, 06:03:32 PM

man v food has been driving me crazy for sandwiches like this...

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #7 on:** March 17, 2013, 06:16:27 PM

I love 'Man vs. Food'. The host seems like a really nice guy who just genuinely loves food. Some of his eating challenges are a bit much for me, though. I'd prefer he just show another cool place to eat in whatever location he's in.

But, come on guys. Can't you get the ingredients for these in Great Britain? I can't imagine there's anything terribly exotic about any of these ingredients.

Plus... Mmmm..... Reuben....

About an hour of cooking time left on the corned beef now.

Whoey · **Reply #8 on:** March 17, 2013, 06:36:32 PM

maybe, but I'm in Spain

I've been looking for a slow cooker to make pulled pork...

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #9 on:** March 17, 2013, 07:05:46 PM

Yeah. Oops. Sorry.

Also... Spain... Great Britain, whatevs. It's all them dang FERNERS!

Because what the U.S. needs is someone to really reinforce the stereotype of us not knowing anything outside our borders. ;

Whoey · **Reply #10 on:** March 17, 2013, 07:16:08 PM

yeah well... I'm actually Canadian...

it's not always easy to find ingredients that are regularly available over there... and I do my best cooking, but am pretty limited in my recipe range... the wife and I both crave pastrami all the time but it's impossible to find. Only recently did it become easy to find good cheddar cheese!

nuphoria · **Reply #11 on:** March 17, 2013, 09:17:20 PM

Lynn, what people call corned beef over here, is a travesty!

It's in a can and it's high fat, reconstituted "meat". Nothing like the good stuff you get there! You can find pastrami here and there, but it's also just not the same

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #12 on:** March 17, 2013, 09:41:19 PM

Oh, we have that kind of corned beef too. I am almost ashamed to say that I like it in some dishes. But i see your point.

As I would rather light a candle than curse the darkness, I present the following: How to make your own corned beef.
http://ruhlman.com/2010/03/corned-beef-how-to-cure-your-own/

Also, I have now stuffed myself with corned beef, red potatoes, and cabbage. Later, I will make an awesome Reuben, take a picture of it, post the picture here, and eat said sandwich. I will feel just a little bad for those of you who cannot share in it's utter awesomeness, but not so much that I won't torture you all with pics.

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #13 on:** March 17, 2013, 10:49:50 PM

Oh... hey, what's that on my cutting board? The first Reuben of the year, you say?

I am weak, and couldn't resist the siren song of of this majestic gastronomical creation.

Heinz Doofenshmirtz · **Reply #14 on:** March 18, 2013, 02:05:07 AM

When I was in high school, my first restaurant job was working as a dishwasher at a place in the Napa Valley called The Diner. Yep, just "The Diner". The owner was an awesome chef and she had a way of making Reubens that was simply amazing... they were to die for. She would grill everything that went in the sandwich, separately...

She'd mix the dressing with the sauerkraut and grill them together. She'd grill the bread separately, both pieces, and put a slice of cheese on each slice of bread once both sides had been grilled, and she'd let the cheese then melt onto the bread. She also grilled the pastrami separately as well, and then assembled the sandwich once all the individual components had been cooked on the grill.

I got so addicted to them working there, she eventually put me on restriction... I could only have one every month... I remember getting to work in the mornings, on whatever day was my first work day that was closest to the first, and anticipating "Reuben Day" the whole day!

I have to object to the use of salad dressing and corned beef in a Reuben though... I was taught a real Reuben has to have pastrami and if any dressing is used on it, it should be a horseradish mustard. My boss at The Diner made her own mustard/horseradish/mayo mix that had capers in it... it was awesome. She also made authentic Russian potato salad (complete with anchovies) to go with the sandwich.

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #15 on:** March 18, 2013, 02:21:14 AM

Horseradish mustard. Mmmmmm.....

We live in Collinsville Illinois. It's noted for very few things. One is that it is the World's Horseradish capital. Go figure.

As for Pastrami versus Corned Beef, while I don't think it sounds bad, that's no longer a Reuben really, more like a modified 'Rachel' maybe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_sandwich#Rachel_sandwich

I'm not saying that's a bad change, just not standard, but then, neither is Horseradish mustard.

I'm gonna have to try the Horseradish and the grilling everything separately.

WhichDawg · **Reply #16 on:** March 18, 2013, 03:49:02 AM

I just had/made a Reuben like an hour ago! lol

I grill everything separate too and then put it together and use Pastrami most times (but not always).

I also like "wine kraut" which i find a more mellow/smoother sauerkraut, but it's hard to find around here.

and I got to have it all with a good sour pickle!

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #17 on:** March 17, 2015, 05:08:57 AM

Thought I'd bump this, as 'Reuben Season' starts tomorrow.

Oh, also, I reported earlier that Hostess had gone defunct, and there was no more 'Beefsteak Rye' bread. It's BACK! Happy Days!

ToolJoe · **Reply #18 on:** March 17, 2015, 07:21:27 PM

Mrs. TJ and I made Rachels (a Reuben but with turkey) last night for dinner and put craft beer kraut on them. We wondered why we haven't done this for dinner before.

jerseydevil · **Reply #19 on:** March 17, 2015, 07:25:34 PM

There's a Reuben season now?

I guess I'm just ahead of the times, I had one yesterday for lunch from this little dive-looking place a couple blocks away. Excellent sandwich, certainly going to get another one soon......

Smashie · **Reply #20 on:** March 17, 2015, 07:30:05 PM

What you call Corned beef we call Salt Beef, I buy mine from a Jewish deli in north London.

Yes and the other corned beef is not so great, but it has it's place

Megan · **Reply #21 on:** March 17, 2015, 07:31:40 PM

Lynn!
I just had lunch and now I am starving again. Your method sounds delicious.

Yadda · **Reply #22 on:** March 17, 2015, 07:36:06 PM

Quote from: Whoey on March 17, 2013, 07:16:08 PM

yeah well... I'm actually Canadian...

it's not always easy to find ingredients that are regularly available over there... and I do my best cooking, but am pretty limited in my recipe range... the wife and I both crave pastrami all the time but it's impossible to find. Only recently did it become easy to find good cheddar cheese!

That close to Wisconsin and no cheddar?

Yadda · **Reply #23 on:** March 17, 2015, 07:40:42 PM

Just to further the gastranomical torture I give you Kenny and Ziggy's in Houston. Ziggy was recently a featured deli owner in the feature Documentary 'Deli Man'.

This link below is a picture of his version of the Reuben.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g56003-d485152-i32203691-Kenny_Ziggy_s_New_York_Deli-Houston_Texas.html

Whoey · **Reply #24 on:** March 17, 2015, 09:01:47 PM

Quote from: Yadda on March 17, 2015, 07:36:06 PM

Quote from: Whoey on March 17, 2013, 07:16:08 PM
yeah well... I'm actually Canadian...

it's not always easy to find ingredients that are regularly available over there... and I do my best cooking, but am pretty limited in my recipe range... the wife and I both crave pastrami all the time but it's impossible to find. Only recently did it become easy to find good cheddar cheese!

That close to Wisconsin and no cheddar?

I am Canadian, but I live in Spain... on the other side of that little pond between the continents...

Cheddar has become very easy to find now, in fact every supermarket now seems to carry at least one type/brand. Some still seem to carry the cheap plastic orange version, but a lot are carrying aged white.

Still no pastrami to my wife's dismay.

Steinar · **Reply #25 on:** March 18, 2015, 09:07:57 AM

We humans are weird... Missing pastrami in a country reknowned for some of the best cured ham in the world... (Yes, I know they aren't the same; cured ham is infinitely much better.

)

Whoey · **Reply #26 on:** March 18, 2015, 02:39:43 PM

You miss what you don't have access to. The other day I had a massive craving for Poutine, so I made the best I could under the circumstances...

I crave Nova Scotia Donairs all the time... yet while I'm there I don't always eat only that... although Grant will probably say otherwise... my first suggestions for eating options aways seem to be Donair. Here we have Kebabs, but they are not even close even without the sauce.

Having lived on both sides of Canada (and the "middle" too) as well as over in blighty and now here there's always something you miss.

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