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Reuben Sandwich Recipe
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June 12, 2005
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If I were marooned on a desert island and the menu from the only restaurant within swimming distance consisted of three types of sandwiches, I would want those sandwiches to be:
- Soppressata with aged pecorino, ripe roma tomatoes, mayonnaise and dijon mustard on ciabatta,
- Prosciutto, Stilton, and fig preserves baked into a sourdough round, and
- A Pastrami Reuben between thick slices of toasted pumpernickel.
These closely edge out Banh Mi Dac Biet, Muffaletta, and Croque Madame, which would probably be next on the list in that order. (Of course, if you ask me next week, that might all change.) This weekend, for my last meal cooking for friends in the Orange County area, I decided to whip up some Reubens.
The traditional Reuben sandwich consists of corned beef, Russian dressing, sauerkraut, and swiss cheese on rye bread. Contemporary versions sometimes use Thousand Island instead of the closely related Russian dressing and pastrami instead of the closely related corned beef.
An incredible amount of lore surrounds the sandwich and its primary condiment. No less than three different creation stories exist for the sandwich itself. If you're interested in contemporary food folklore at all, take the time to check out this incredibly fascinating article by Jim Rader of Merriam-Webster that evaluates the credibility of these claims. The section on the Reuben begins about halfway down the page.
As far as why the dressing is called "Russian", it is asserted that it's because
- Early recipes included caviar [link].
- Early recipes included yogurt, which at the time was thought of as being a food that Russians consumed [link].
- it was pink, and in America at the time of the dressing's invention, Russian salads were thought of as having pink dressings [link].
The Bread:
The Reuben is most at home on dark Russian rye. Pumpernickel will do, though, and quite frankly I don't exactly know what the difference is. For this occasion, however, I decided to go in a non-traditional direction. I bought the meats and other ingredients at a grocery store that caters to a Middle Eastern clientele, and they bake gorgeous flatbreads and sell them to you straight out of the oven. As you can see in the picture above, I used these to wrap the Reuben filling, pinning it together with a toothpick. This worked out very well. The flatbread's flavor and texture worked spectacularly with the Reuben filling. Sacrilege? Maybe, but it's very tasty sacrilege.
The Contents:
- Pastrami (about 1/3 - 1/2 lb per sandwich)
- Gruyere or other Swiss cheese
- Sauerkraut
The Dressing:
There's no reason to use bottled Thousand Island dressing when you can make a much better Russian dressing at home in short order.
Russian Dressing:
- 1 c mayonnaise
- 1/4 c sour cream
- 1/4 c ketchup
- 1 tbsp horseradish
- 2 tbsp good wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp celery seed or fennel seed
- 2 tbsp finely chopped dill pickle
- 2 tbsp finely chopped shallots (optional)
- 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Makes about 1 1/2 cups of dressing, or enough for 6 sandwiches.
The Assembly:
Normally, the sandwich is assembled, a little butter is put down on a hot pan, and the whole sandwich is grilled until the cheese melts and the bread is toasted. My procedure is quite different, partially due to my preferences, and partially due to the constraints provided by the wrap. I enjoyed the result immensely, though, so I may use this as the model for all of my future Reubens.
- Shred the Gruyere.
- Shred the Pastrami coarsely with your hands.
- Mix the Pastrami, the Gruyere, and half of the sauce together in a bowl.
- Microwave the mixture for 45 seconds per serving, or until the edges of the pastrami crisp.
- Squeeze all of the liquid out of the sauerkraut.
- Put down a thin layer of sauce on the bread. Add the pastrami mixture and top with sauerkraut.
- If you're using regular bread slices, grill the sandwich in a pan with a bit of butter.
The Dessert:
Balsamic Strawberry Shortbread: an old standby, but it's quick and easy and sooo good. Which, one presumes, is why it's an old standby. Rebecca whipped up some shortbread, and between that and a little ice cream, you have a perfect dessert for company. (The ice cream is in the center below the strawberries in the picture.)
The procedure is simple enough:
- Slice 16 oz of fresh strawberries.
- Pour 1/4 cup of good balsamic vinegar over the slices.
- Add 2-3 tbsp of brown sugar and mix through.
- Let mixture sit for 45 minutes in the refrigerator, tossing the mixture every 15 minutes.
- Serve over ice cream, shortbread, puff pastry, cheesecake, or whatever you have lying around.
- Top with a dollop of whipped cream, sour cream, creme fraiche, or whatever you have lying around.
I'm not normally the "fresh fruit and dairy" type of dessert person; I prefer my sins to be heavier and more decadent. This is one simple dessert that is much greater than the sum of its parts, however.
Other resources:
- The Reuben Realm is a site devoted to reviews of the Reuben offerings from various restaurants. Most of the reviews so far are centered around Indiana, so if you're nearby (and like Reubens) it might prove to be a valuable resource.
- Snopes has an entertaining discussion on the etymology of the word "pumpernickel".
June 12, 2005 in lunch, recipes, sauces, soups_stews | Permalink
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Comments
Orion,
I wanted to let you know that I tagged you for the cookbook meme. The link to my answers is here. http://www.trufflemutt.com/trufflemutt/
BTW, your sandwich looks awesome!
Posted by: Liz at Jun 19, 2005 9:30:32 PM
That's an excellent take on the Reuben. I'll definitely try making it with the flatbread. (:
Posted by: petrol at Jul 8, 2005 1:36:51 AM
Don't know much about the russian rye except it is dark and should be very sour. About the pumpernickel, it's from west-rhineland/ westphalia and is traditionally steamed and not baked, which is probably the only difference.
Posted by: Desyl at Jul 23, 2005 3:36:37 PM
From what I know of Rueben's the traditional way Irish make itis with corned beef and cabage(steamed and braised a bit) Good with Potato/Leek soup.
Posted by: Trish at Mar 5, 2007 1:27:23 PM
