Reuben Sandwich Recipe | Homemade Food Junkie (2024)

FAQs

What is a classic Reuben sandwich made of? ›

The Reuben Sandwich is an American classic made with savory corned beef piled on our favorite marble rye bread and topped with plenty of baby swiss cheese, crunchy, tangy sauerkraut, and zippy Russian dressing, then griddled to perfection until the cheese melts and the bread is toasted.

Reubens traditionally rely on rye bread, which is dense and can soak up any extra juices — so don't swap it for another variety if you can manage. To further fight sogginess, toast the rye bread so that it holds up to the sauerkraut's texture along with ingredients like the sauce and melted cheese.

You can certainly make a sandwich without sauerkraut, but it won't be a reuben sandwich since one of the ingredients that defines the sandwich as being a reuben is sauerkraut.

A Reuben sandwich is typically made with corned beef. It would taste great with pastrami too, it just wouldn't be a classic Reuben! Bottom line: You can't go wrong with either of these flavor-packed deli meats.

About the Reuben

Unfortunately, this traditional sandwich is NOT one that I consider "heart healthy" as it provides approximately 800 calories, 50 grams fat, 20 grams of the artery-clogging saturated fat, 40 grams carbohydrates, 36 grams protein, and a whopping 3200 mg. of sodium!

That makes a Reuben—toasted rye bread stuffed with corned beef, a heap of warm sauerkraut, gooey layers of melted swiss cheese, and a generous dose of Russian dressing—pure sacrilege...or, should I say, sacrilege that's purely delicious.

The problem here is that a Reuben is, or should be, a melt. A melt is essentially a grilled cheese sandwich with other stuff in the middle. That means the sandwich should be assembled and then pan-fried with butter long enough to toast the bread and heat the fillings.

Assuming you have room in your stomach to fit in a side dish (Reubens should be filling): sauerkraut or half-sour or dill pickle, potato salad (with a non-mayonnaise dressing), and coleslaw. The side dish should have some vinegary tang to it to offset the fatty meat and cheese of the sandwich.

Did you know that although similar, a Reuben sandwich uses pastrami whereas a Cuban uses sliced ham or pork loin?

Reuben sandwich is known to be originated at Mader's, a German restaurant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the chef Dennis Wegner created them for a summer festival circa 1990. The Main ingredients of this sandwich are : Corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, rye bread.

What is a New England Reuben sandwich? ›

The Reuben sandwich is a North American grilled sandwich composed of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing or Thousand Island dressing, grilled between slices of rye bread.

Fried Haddock filet, Swiss cheese, homemade coleslaw & Russian dressing served on marble rye.

Swiss cheese: Swiss cheese is generally used for a Reuben Sandwich because of its mild flavor. You may also try mozzarella or provolone cheese, two more mild-tasting kinds of cheese.

Pastrami is made from beef brisket that has been cured, coated in spices, cold smoked and then steamed. Pastrami's thick coat of spices typically includes crushed black pepper, coriander, mustard seeds, garlic and other spices that might be included in a pickling spice mixture.

The difference between a Rachel and a Reuben is the use of cole slaw rather than sourkraut. Traditionally, both sandwiches were made with corned beef, but that has been modified by using other meats, such as turkey. But the form of cabbage is the distinguishing factor.

Corned beef is made from the leaner flat brisket. Pastrami is made with point brisket, which contains more marbling and fat. Pastrami can also be made with other cuts of beef, such as deckle (a lean shoulder cut) or navel (aka beef belly, which comes from the plate, a juicy section just below the ribs).

A Reuben is corned beef + Swiss cheese + Russian dressing + sauerkraut. You can ask for a "pastrami Reuben" and they'll figure it out. A pastrami sandwich would just have pastrami. Or you can ask for a Rachel, which is pastrami + Swiss cheese + cole slaw + Russian dressing.

Both feature corned beef and sauerkraut on rye bread, but where a corned beef sandwich keeps it simple with mustard and relish, the reuben takes things an extra step further by adding Russian dressing and melty cheese.