Some sandwiches are lunch. The Reuben is an event. Hot salt beef piled high, sharp sauerkraut, molten Swiss cheese and a slick of pink dressing, all pressed between two slices of buttery, crisp rye. It is messy, a little bit excessive and very good indeed.
If you have stood in the queue on Brick Lane at two in the morning for a salt beef beigel heaving with mustard, you already know half the story. The Reuben is that same beef, dressed up for a night out. Here is how to make one properly in your own kitchen.
Where does the Reuben sandwich come from?
Nobody agrees, which is part of the fun. One camp credits Reuben Kulakofsky, a grocer in Omaha, Nebraska, who is said to have rustled it up for his weekly poker game at the Blackstone Hotel in the 1920s. The other gives the honours to Arnold Reuben, whose delicatessen was a New York institution. Both stories have their champions, and neither side is backing down.
What matters to you is the formula, and that has barely changed in a century: cured beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing on rye, grilled in butter until the cheese gives up.
In America the meat is corned beef. In Britain we call it salt beef, and it is essentially the same thing: brisket cured in brine, then simmered slowly until it is tender enough to cut with a stern look. London’s Jewish East End has served it for generations, which is why Brick Lane’s all-night beigel shops are the natural home of the British salt beef habit.
Should you buy salt beef or make your own?
Buy it, at least the first time. A good deli or butcher will slice you salt beef from a whole joint, and the larger supermarkets sell it pre-sliced near the cooked meats. Ask for it thick-cut if you can. Thin, wafer-like slices go limp; you want slices with a bit of heft and a ribbon of fat.
Making your own is a satisfying weekend project, but it takes planning. You will need a piece of brisket of around 1.5–2kg, a brine of salt, sugar and spices such as peppercorns, bay, cloves and mustard seed, and curing salt containing sodium nitrite, which gives the beef its rosy colour. Follow a trusted recipe to the letter on quantities, because curing salt is not something to freelance with. The beef sits in the brine in the fridge for about a week, turned every day or so, then simmers gently for three to four hours.
Keep raw meat covered and at the bottom of the fridge, below anything ready to eat, and make sure the container fits before you start. A brisket in a bucket of brine takes up more room than you think, and your other half will have opinions.
Thick-cut, warm salt beef is the whole point. Get the meat right and you could build the rest from the corner shop and still eat like a king.
The supporting cast: cheese, kraut, dressing and bread
Cheese: Emmental is the classic Swiss choice, sweet and nutty, and it melts beautifully. Gruyère works too, with a bit more punch. Allow two slices per sandwich, about 40g.
Sauerkraut: jars are easy to find in most big supermarkets, Polish and Eastern European grocers and delis. Squeeze it hard in your fist before it goes anywhere near the bread. Wet kraut makes a soggy sandwich, and a soggy Reuben is a sad thing. Around 50g per sandwich is plenty.
Russian dressing: make your own in two minutes. Mix 4 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 tbsp ketchup, 1 tsp hot horseradish, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and a finely chopped gherkin. A pinch of smoked paprika does no harm. Thousand Island dressing is the sweeter, milder cousin and plenty of delis use it; pick your side.
Bread: rye, ideally with caraway seeds. Light rye is easier to handle than dense, dark German-style loaves, which can be heavy going. Look in the bakery section or at an independent baker. If all else fails, a good sourdough will do the job without complaint.
How do you make a Reuben sandwich at home?
This makes two generous sandwiches.
1. Warm 250–300g sliced salt beef. Steam it in a covered pan with a splash of water over a low heat for a few minutes, or wrap it in foil and give it 10 minutes in the oven at 160°C (140°C fan, gas 3). Warm beef is softer and it means the middle of the sandwich is hot without burning the bread.
2. Butter four slices of rye on one side only. Turn them buttered-side down on a board.
3. Spread the dressing on the unbuttered sides. On two slices, layer cheese, then beef, then the squeezed sauerkraut, then a second slice of cheese. The cheese at both ends acts as glue and keeps the kraut from making the bread wet. Top with the remaining slices, dressing side in.
4. Heat a heavy frying pan or cast-iron skillet over a medium-low heat. No hotter: you want the cheese melted by the time the bread is golden, not the other way round. Cook for 3–4 minutes a side, pressing down gently with a fish slice or a smaller pan. A lid over the pan for the first couple of minutes helps the cheese along.
5. Rest for a minute, cut on the diagonal and serve with a pickled cucumber and some crisps. Napkins are not optional.
What to drink with a Reuben
Salt, fat, sourness and spice need something cold and crisp. A Czech or German-style pilsner is ideal, cutting through the richness without fighting the caraway. If you prefer wine, an off-dry German Riesling handles the salt and the tang of the sauerkraut well, and a fruity Beaujolais is a decent red option.
It is a lunchtime sandwich at heart, so keep it to one. The UK Chief Medical Officers advise no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days. The good news is that alcohol-free lager has come on enormously and a crisp one sits very happily next to a Reuben. So does a sharp ginger beer, or a cream soda if you want to go the full New York deli.
In short
A proper Reuben is warm, thick-cut salt beef, Emmental, well-squeezed sauerkraut and Russian dressing on buttered rye, cooked slowly in a heavy pan for 3–4 minutes a side until the bread is golden and the cheese has melted. Buy good salt beef from a deli or butcher, or cure your own brisket for about a week if you fancy a project. Serve it with a pickle, a cold pilsner or an alcohol-free lager, and plenty of napkins.
Sources
Midcent Food & Drink
Angus Irvine writes about food and drink for men 45 and over who like to eat well but don't want a performance. Recipes that work on a weeknight, dinners worth the effort at the weekend, what to pour with them – wine, beer and the good alternatives – and the restaurants and pubs worth the trip. Without the fuss.
One of Midcent's writers. Spotted something? Write to angus@midcent.uk.
