Recipe: Rueben (or Reuben) Sandwich

Rueben (or Reuben) sandwich with pickle spear.

This Rueben sandwich is for people who spell it that way during searches when corned beef is popular around St. Patrick’s Day. It’s very similar to the Original Reuben Sandwich recipe presented in Saveur magazine by Elizabeth Weil, who claims with a lot of credibility that her grandfather invented it in Omaha in the 1920s. Makes one big Rueben sandwich to serve 1-2 people. Note: proportions are approximate; the key is to have equal amounts of corned beef and cheese, and sauerkraut and dressing.

Ingredients:
2 large slices pumpernickel or dark rye bread
4 oz thin sliced corned beef brisket (flat preferred)
4 oz thin sliced swiss-style cheese (worth using a premium aged cheese, like Trader Joe’s Comte)
2 T sauerkraut (we use Cleveland brand) mixed with 2 T thousand Island dressing
Softened butter
Yellow mustard (OPTIONAL AND NOT IN THE ORIGINAL RECIPE, BUT GOOD)

The creamy dressing mixed with the tangy kraut is key to the Rueben’s appeal.

Method: spread half the sauerkraut/dressing mixture on one slice of bread. Layer with half the cheese, corned beef, the rest of the sauerkraut and the rest of the cheese. Spread softened butter on the second slice of bread (or combine/replace with OPTIONAL mustard if using) and assemble as a sandwich.

Add a pat of butter to a cast iron or non-stick skillet. Heat to a medium temperature; when butter melts lay in the sandwich to crisp up and melt the cheese. Put a second cast iron skillet or other weight on top and press down to compress the sandwich. When cheese is melted and the bread is toasted but not burnt, carefully turn over and give the other side the same treatment. Slice your Rueben sandwich and serve with pickle spear.