So tasty, so quick, so sauerkraut-y
I hate sauerkraut! There I said it and I’ll say it again. I hate sauerkraut! However, a friend of ours recently gifted us some local Sweet Cabbage Kraut from Nomadic Harvests in Mount Lorne, and it was incredibly good. They used cabbage, apple and onion in the fermenting process. It’s called La Bavaroise. Pick some up, so good.
Let’s go back to my disdain for sauerkraut. I mean, it’s sour. It’s cabbage fermented by lactic-acid bacteria (Doesn’t that just sound gross?). It’s basically cabbage, salt and brine. When I eat something, it should taste nice, not sour. That being said, many, many people do love the traditional German food. You can have it! More prime rib steak for me!
Obviously, I never once ordered a reuben in my entire life. Once I started cooking professionally, it was a staple on most lunch menus and very quick and easy to make. Chefs love quick and easy. On the grill, off the grill, onto a plate—load up some fries or salad, ring the bell—next!
There are many stories regarding the origin of the reuben sandwich. The only consistencies in those stories are that the sandwich was invented less than 100 years ago and originated in the U.S. Either in New York or Nebraska. Omaha, Nebraska, declared March 14 to be Reuben Sandwich Day, so perhaps there is a little more to the Nebraska story.
One particularly interesting story comes from Omaha. Rumour has it that Reuben Kulakofsky attended a weekly poker game at a local hotel, every week for 15 years, and ordered a corned beef and sauerkraut sandwich every single time he attended. We may never know.
What we do know is that the recipe hasn’t changed much and a lot of people really do love them. A simple mix of sauerkraut, corned beef (or pastrami), swiss cheese and thousand island dressing, grilled on rye bread and served warm.
Let’s have a look at how to make one for yourself or your friends.
Classic Reuben Sandwich
Ingredients
- Sauerkraut
- Corned beef
- Swiss cheese
- Thousand Island Dressing
- Rye Bread
- Butter
Instructions
- Spread Thousand Island dressing on two pieces of rye bread.
- Add a hefty layer of swiss cheese to one of them.
- Cover the cheese with a layer of sauerkraut.
- Top this with a good amount of corned beef.
- At this point, you may want to add another layer of swiss cheese. Totally up to you.
- Put the other piece of bread, dressing side down, on top and butter the top of the sandwich.
- Put the sandwich, butter side down, into a hot frying pan or griddle and butter the other side (now the top).
- Flip the sandwich as it starts to brown, and keep grilling until your cheese is nice and gooey-melted.
