I will be celebrating St Patricks Day tomorrow with a corned beef brisket and cabbage. Don't laugh. I know you know I'm not Irish; but the reason behind this meal is to have enough corned beef to make Reuben sandwiches until I say enough! Yes, the Reuben is up there as one of my three top favorite sandwiches of all time. So much so that this is one of the first recipes I posted when I started this blog in the Spring of 2009.
You don't have to make a corned beef brisket to have a Reuben. Go to the store, buy everything you need and make them at home. So much better...that is, unless you are in New York City. Nothing can beat the ambiance of a good New York Jewish deli.
The Reuben Sandwich is unquestionably one of New York's greatest contribution to the world of eating. It was named for Arnold Reuben, owner of Reuben's Restaurant and Delicatessen located at 6 East 58th Street in Manhattan. The restaurant closed its doors in the late 1960s.
Nowadays, if you are in New York City and get a yen for a Reuben, you can go to the corner deli or a nearby coffee shop and get a fairly good one. If you live in Miami, like I do, you can always cross the bridge into Miami Beach and get a fabulous one at the Epicure Market on Alton Road. But who wants to go through all that trouble for a sandwich? I do. There are times, however, when I don't want to go through the process and seeing that I get the yen pretty often, I decided to start making them at home. It is also a treat and something different to serve to your guests for a very informal lunch by the pool. All you need to do in advance, is make sure you have a chilled stein and a cold beer as the perfect companion to the Reuben sandwich experience.
Serves 2
Butter
4 slices rye bread or marbled pumpernickel and rye bread
1/2 lbs. corned beef
4 slices Swiss cheese
Sauerkraut
Thousand Island Dressing
Preheat a large skillet or griddle on medium heat. Add some butter and lay all four slices of bread. Lay a slice of the Swiss cheese on two of the bread slices, followed by half the corned beef and the sauerkraut (drained). I like to add the Thousand Island dressing on top of the sauerkraut, followed by another slice of Swiss cheese. Top with the remaining bread slices, buttered sides out. Press the grill down or place a heavy skillet over the sandwich if you are cooking on top of the stove.
Grill sandwiches until both sides are golden brown, about 3 more minutes on each side. Serve with potato chips, dill pickle and a cold beer.
Thousand Island Dressing
2 TB mayonnaise
1 TB catsup
1/4 tsp chili sauce
Wow, this sounds good. That marbled pumpernickel-rye looks wonderful. We have some pretty good delicatessen in Cleveland also, and each year we go several times, mostly for the corned beef. That is one type of restaurant we sure could use in Taiwan (even the brisket meat would be impossible here).
ReplyDeleteHappy St. Patrick's Day!
--Jim
Poor Jim. At least you get to have one once a year! I spent the afternoon in a 3 hour traffic jam coming out of Atlanta from visiting the grandkids. Glad to be back in the country!
DeleteWhat a great idea. I never know what to make for St. Patrick's Day and my husband loves a good Reuben. St. Patrick's Day is one of the extremely few times he wishes he still lived in NYC. Will definitely make a note for the Miami Reuben too. We get over there from time to time.
ReplyDeleteSam
You will go wild at the Epicure market on Alton road, Miami Beach. Don't miss.
DeleteThey have that marbled rye bread at Publix
DeleteSounds great. Confused. Are you in Atlanta or Miami?
ReplyDeleteAtlanta. The original post was from 2009 when I was in Miami.
DeleteI prepared corned beef, cabbage, new red potatoes and carrots for my St Patty's Day dinner and I dearly love a good Reuben. I've had those delicious Reuben's in Miami. I lived in Miami for three years and they were amazingly good. I make mine just as you described, now I'm getting hungry for a Reuben.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn
Carolyn, I got stuck in traffic for 3 hrs on St. Patty's coming out of Atlanta and there was no way I was going to cook so we had it last night. The same menu less the carrots. So excited about a Reuben today!!
Delete