Reuben Sandwich

Sandwiches for dinner usually don’t elicit much of a favorable response in my home, but everyone loved this reuben sandwich recipe and was excited to have leftovers for lunch during the week. The corned beef brisket needs to be smoked, so this sandwich isn’t a quickie to make from scratch without some forethought. But after the corned beef was smoked, the recipe came together quickly. This would also be a great football party or tailgating dish.

Of all the possible recipes my family could test, this is the perfect one. For years my husband and sons, along with several of their friends, have sought out the perfect Reuben sandwich up and down the East coast while on soccer or other trips. For years, all Reubens have been held to the standard of one from a restaurant more than 4 hours away. But now the new best Reuben sandwich to judge all others against can be made in our home. We started with a 4.8 pound beef brisket that was brined and turned into corned beef via the recipe on this website. Then we smoked the corned beef to become pastrami for 8 1/2 hours using hickory chips. We were careful to make sure the temperature stayed between 225°F and 250°F, but even after the 8 1/2 hours the meat never reached 190°F. When we took the meat off the grill, it had remained at 177°F for more than 45 minutes. Since the meat took longer to cook than anticipated, we ended up wrapping it in aluminum foil and storing it in the refrigerator until the next day. The following day we took the corned beef out of the fridge, let it come close to room temperature, and sliced it against the grain. The meat had a great smoky flavor, good moisture. and the crust added wonderful texture with a bit more of that smoky flavor. We would like to offer some suggestions to make the perfect reuben sandwich. First, the recipe calls for slicing the meat 1/4 inch thick. This is too thick for the perfect Reuben. It’s best to slice the meat very thin. The proportions of ingredients is key. You want to cover the bread with Thousand Island so you get some in each bite, but not so much your bread gets soggy. You want a lot of pastrami but just enough chess (according to your sandwich size) that you notice it but but it does not get in the way of the flavors. You want sauerkraut in each bite, but not enough to drown out the other flavors. Finally, the true error in the recipe is the bread. A traditional Reuben is made with rye bread and for a good reason. Rye bread adds to the wonderful blend of savory ingredients. The smoky pastrami, tangy Swiss cheese, bitter sauerkraut, savory rye bread ,and hint of sweet Thousand Island balance each other perfectly, creating the best sandwich you will ever eat. If the sandwich sounds odd to you, I should mention that my family members each dislike almost every ingredient independently, but together they create magic. The ingredients need each other.

A Reuben sandwich with sauerkraut, Swiss, and Thousand Island dressing just happens to be on the top of my go-to comfort food list. I love it! The choice of ingredients just elevates this Reuben sandwich recipe even more. Don’t forget to butter the bread before assembling the sandwich—a little bit of butter adds to the nice, buttery grill of the bread. I do not have a panini press, so I used a cast iron skillet instead. The lid of a small pan worked great to weigh down the sandwich and get a nice grill on the first side. I did not make my own corned beef although I purchased a good sliced-to-order version from the deli of my local Whole Foods. I chose a nice rye bread from a German deli and a preservative-free sauerkraut in a jar. I used standard big eye Swiss and a traditional Thousand Island dressing recipe. I happen to like sauerkraut so I used the full 4 tablespoons, but add to your preference and don’t forget to drain it well to prevent a soggy Reuben. My only addition to this recipe is inspired by a restaurant that is now closed. The cooks used to add…get ready…sliced cooked beets to their Reuben and it took the sandwich to a whole new level.