Cooking For Pleasure: Reuben sandwiches

A baked, not boiled corned beef Reuben. (Photo by Patty Schied)

By Patty Schied

With St. Patrick’s Day this week and corned beef now available in local stores, I thought it would be a great time to make Reuben sandwiches.

This year I decided to bake my corned beef rather than boiling it.  For one thing I don’t particularly like the texture of it when it is boiled.  Nor do I care for the traditional boiled cabbage either.  But I really love a well-made Reuben sandwich.

These sandwiches take a little bit of time to prepare, but the result is well worth it.  After you have purchased your corned beef, also get some sauerkraut, swiss or gruyere cheese and some good rye bread.

Preparing the corned beef. (Photo by Patty Schied)

Baking the corned beef: 

Remove meat from the packaging and pat dry.  Sprinkle the included spices over the meat (you can add more from your spice cabinet if you like). Spread meat with your favorite mustard and wrap tightly in aluminum foil.  Place in a baking pan and cook the roast at 325 degrees for one hour per pound of meat (about 3 hours for a 3-pound roast).

When done, remove from oven and allow it to rest for at least 15 minutes before unwrapping the meat. Pour off the juices. Place the cooked corned beef on a cutting board and when cool enough to handle, slice the meat as thin as you can.  

Ingredients for Reuben sandwiches:

– 1 loaf of your favorite rye bread

– Sauerkraut, warmed in a small saucepan at low heat and thoroughly drained (otherwise the bread will get soggy)

– Swiss or gruyere cheese, sliced thin

– Thin-sliced corned beef

– Russian dressing

– Soft Butter

Russian dressing: (for about 2 sandwiches)

– ¼  cup mayonnaise

– Two tablespoons ketchup or chili sauce

– 1 tsp Worcester Sauce

– Dash of Tabasco sauce

– 1 teaspoon or more of horseradish

This recipe is very flexible. For several sandwiches mix ½ cup mayonnaise with two tablespoons of ketchup or chili sauce.  Add the remaining ingredients to taste.  If you like it hotter, add more Tabasco and horseradish.  

Preparing to assemble the sandwiches. (Photo by Patty Schied)

All ingredients should be at room temperature so that the cheese in the sandwich will melt.

Thinly spread the Russian sauce on each slice of rye bread. If you use too much, the sandwich may break in the frying pan. Cover with thinly sliced corned beef, about ¼ cup drained sauerkraut and sliced swiss or gruyere cheese. Butter one side of the sandwich.

Turn heat on stove to medium and carefully place sandwiches butter side down on a large fry pan or grill. Butter the side of the sandwich not touching the pan.

Cook slowly, flipping the sandwich once or twice to ensure that the cheese melts.  This can take awhile so be sure the heat of the stove isn’t so hot that the sandwich will burn.

These sandwiches go great with potato salad, a large dill pickle and potato chips.  

Erin Go Bragh!

• Patty Schied is a longtime Juneau resident who studied at the Cordon Bleu in London and has written a cookbook. Cooking For Pleasure appears every other week in the Juneau Independent's features. She welcomes questions about her column at patschied@yahoo.com.