Thursday, November 3, 2011

National Sandwich Day

Today is National Sandwich Day, so I thought I would feature the popular sandwich that put Omaha, my home town, on the map.  The Reuben!!  





Reuben Kulakofsky, a Lithuanian-born grocer from Omahawas the inventor, perhaps as part of a group effort by members of Kulakofsky's weekly poker game held in the Blackstone Hotel from around 1920 through 1935. The participants, who nicknamed themselves "the committee", included the hotel's owner, Charles Schimmel. The sandwich first gained local fame when Schimmel put it on the Blackstone's lunch menu, and its fame spread when a former employee of the hotel won a national contest with the recipe.  The classic reuben sandwich made with luscious corned beef, tangy sauerkraut, creamy Russian dressing and melted swiss cheese grilled until the cheese has melted and the rye bread is crispy and golden brown.  We typically will buy several corned beefs when they are on sale for our annual St. Patrick's Day feast and we always cook way more than we need just so that we can make reubens, but don't wait until then to try this amazing and delicious sandwich.  I remember my Aunt Lil used to make them using canned corned beef, and they were just as tasty!

Reuben Sandwich Recipe


Sandwich ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter, softened

8 slices rye bread

8 slices Swiss cheese

3/4 lb corned beef brisket, thinly sliced

1/2 lb sauerkraut

1/4 cup Russian Dressing

Russian Dressing:

Combine the following ingredients. Makes one-half cup.

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 1/2 Tbsp ketchup

1 1/2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

Butter one side of four slices of bread, and place the slices buttered-side down on a large piece of wax paper on a flat surface. Top each with a slice of Swiss cheese, and then divide half of the corned beef among them.  Using paper towels, squeeze out excess moisture from the sauerkraut. Divide the sauerkraut among the sandwiches, and top each with one tablespoon of Russian dressing. Add another layer of corned beef and a second slice of Swiss cheese to each sandwich. Top with the remaining bread slices; butter the side facing out.  Preheat a griddle or frying pan to medium heat. Cook the sandwiches on one side until the bread is golden brown. Use a spatula to carefully flip the sandwiches over and finish cooking on the second side. Cut the sandwiches in half before serving.



1 comment:

Anita Rex said...

Thank you so much for your sweet comment on my blog! :> What an interesting blog you have! Enjoy the recipes and the tid bits of info!!! And you made me hungry!