Food & Drinks

Recipe: Reuben sandwich

photo of a toastie
Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the foodies of online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat and what to cook. This time our chefs serve you: the Reuben sandwich.

Go to a good butcher who makes his own meats and ask him for his homemade corned beef. Even better: a butcher with a smokehouse who also has good pastrami.

The original Reuben is topped with the so-called corned beef, pickled beef from the cow (the brisket), which has been in a brine bath for at least 24 hours. Corned beef is comparable to what we call pickled meat in the Netherlands and should not be confused with the leftover meat from a can that is colloquially called ‘kornèt bief’. After the brine bath, the meat is simmered in water (optionally with some herbs and spices) on low heat for several hours.

Ingredients:

  • 8 thick slices of (sourdough) bread
  • 200 g grated Gruyère or Emmental
  • 120 g fresh sauerkraut (well drained)
  • 400 g corned beef (pastrami is also allowed)

for the dressing

  • 4 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp ketchup
  • 1 tbsp mustard
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp liquid honey
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp paprika powder
  • Tabasco, a few drops
  • 3 pickles, finely chopped
  • ½ onion, finely chopped
  • coarse sea salt
  • pepper, freshly ground

How to make the Reuben sandwich

  • Mix all the ingredients for the dressing. Season with pepper and salt. Spread one side of a slice of bread with the dressing and generously top with pastrami, sauerkraut, and Gruyère. Spread a second slice of bread with the dressing. Place the second slice of bread on top of the sandwich, with the sauce-coated side facing down. Repeat this for the remaining sandwiches.
  • Spread a very small amount of butter on the top and bottom. Fry the sandwiches on both sides over medium heat in a frying pan (2 at a time) for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown and crispy and the cheese has melted.
  • Remove the sandwiches from the pan and cut in half. Serve with a bowl of pickles.

Good to know
A variant of the Thousand Island dressing is the Russian dressing which is also used for a Reuben sandwich. This dressing is also based on mayonnaise and ketchup, but also contains horseradish and more pepper, making it a bit spicier.