bergs - Reuben help needed (1 Viewer)

[Puggy]

bergs, need help

When I receive my customs in the Autumn, Colony Club opens with a proper menu. And what else should I put on the menu, but HUGE Reuben sandwiches.

I already have a recipe for best bread ever, but I will need your best actual Reuben fillings. I know the basic stuff and have made Reubens with normals: corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing.

But how can I make them even better that with that basic recipe?

Thanks
-Puggy

 

[gopherblue]

By griddling them until golden brown and delicious. That is all.

But if you really need to futz with greatness, try a WASP Reuben: swap cole slaw for the sauerkraut and turkey for the corned beef.

Or make my favorite variation: pastrami, chopped chicken liver, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, thousand island dressing, brown mustard on griddled rye bread. Note from cardiologist optional.

 

[jbutler]

By griddling them until golden brown and delicious. That is all.

liked for this part. not sure about that WASP thing and i'm (at least partly) a WASP.

 

[gopherblue]

liked for this part. not sure about that WASP thing and i'm (at least partly) a WASP.

What? You want I should call it a Georgia Reuben?!? Fuggedaboudit!

 

[Puggy]

Have to think about it, gopher. Thanks. The other sauce would be Russian dressing, but I might want to use Thousand Island, which I will also make myself.
I will change the amounts below according to folks coming in.

Thousand Island recipe:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon white onion, finely minced
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 dash black pepper

I might boost the dressing with Dijon mustard just a little bit.

 

[Chicken Rob]

Where I come from (W. MA, not ancestry wise back to Europe) we call the wasp reuben a turben. We also put it on sourdough instead of rye.

It is a very different sandwich, but a good one.

 

[PAZ]

Have to think about it, gopher. Thanks. The other sauce would be Russian dressing, but I might want to use Thousand Island, which I will also make myself.
.

You can also substitute Russian dressing and then it becomes an "Ivan".

Either way grilling it is the way to go. Use a Panini press if available.

 

[Chicken Rob]

+1 on panini press. I asumed this was standard for a rueben.

 

[rowlin]

Has anyone tried the Reuben-flavored Lays potato chips yet?

Was grabbing Subway today and saw them....ended up trying the truffle fries flavor and the biscuits-and-gravy ones - both were tasty.

 

[Chicken Rob]

Has anyone tried the Reuben-flavored Lays potato chips yet?

Was grabbing Subway today and saw them....ended up trying the truffle fries flavor and the biscuits-and-gravy ones - both were tasty.

We had them last friday. IBetOnEverything brought them to the game last weekend. Consensus was that it was a little weird that the dominant flavor seemed to shift around (first rye, then 1000 islands, etc). I thought it tasted too much like rye bread, not what I want in a potato chip. Actual reviews of wether or not people liked them seemed mixed. I could never taste the sauerkraut.

 

[guinness]

Along with the original post recipe, add pastrami. But OP recipe is perfect for a reason.

Also, substituting corn beef with turkey is -EV. Might as well have a mathemagician at a kids party.

At last week's game, I actually loved the Reuben chips, but haven't eaten them in bulk.

 

[guinness]

Also, I find the thick of the cut an important factor. Skinny is better (2 layers) vs a single quarter inch cut. When thick, each bite pulls the sandwich apart which stinks.

 

[Puggy]

Plan is to make as thin slices and layers as possible.

 

[snooptodd]

Has anyone tried the Reuben-flavored Lays potato chips yet?

Was grabbing Subway today and saw them....ended up trying the truffle fries flavor and the biscuits-and-gravy ones - both were tasty.

After 240+ miles on a bike in four days, my appetite was a little out of control and I ate handful after handful of these. There weren't my favorite chip by a long shot, but they were edible. I will warn you, I had ass of death for the next 36-48 hours. My wife and children, who hadn't seen me for five days, weren't really interested in hanging out with me when I got home because it was so terrible.

 

[bergs]

Bread: High quality rye. Don't skimp. You want it toasted just so it's barely crispy. Toast just the bread - not a fan of turning this wonderful sandwich into a squashed Panini.
Meat: High quality corned beef, cut thin and piled about 1.5" high. Less fatty is better. Don't go with thick cut and don't pile it on so high that a normal person can't get a bite of it.
Sauerkraut: Find the best homemade recipe you can online and make your own.
Cheese: Ask each player how much cheese they want. I'm not a huge cheese fan but obviously love it with a Reuben, but I've had Reubens get ruined by someone that just glopped a ton of a cheese on there. Everything in moderation, except...
Thousand Island dressing: Also love the idea of making your own...

Basically, use high quality ingredients and make the dressing and sauerkraut table-side. Something about watching some custom make this sort of thing table side adds to the experience and makes it taste all the better.

 

[MaxB]

Has anyone tried the Reuben-flavored Lays potato chips yet?

Yes, it's not bad.....better than the Gyro chips which suck. Now the biscuits and gravy chips.....awesome!

 

[Puggy]

Bread: High quality rye. Don't skimp. You want it toasted just so it's barely crispy. Toast just the bread - not a fan of turning this wonderful sandwich into a squashed Panini.

......make the dressing and sauerkraut table-side. Something about watching some custom make this sort of thing table side adds to the experience and makes it taste all the better.

Thanks bergs.

I plan also to bake bread myself. I have an enourmously great recipe (half rye/half wheat) which I plan to use. I will try to use a bit more rye than what the recipe says. Have to test first. The breads will get a crispy crust and are so good inside, when eaten red hot.

I have an oven with grill and convection and it bakes those breads beautifully.

Did you meant with "tableside", that I don't fill the Reubens myself with dressing and sauerkraut? Instead I put them on the table and folks can fill their own breads as they please?

 

[bergs]

Thanks bergs.

I plan also to bake bread myself. I have an enourmously great recipe (half rye/half wheat) which I plan to use. I will try to use a bit more rye than what the recipe says. Have to test first. The breads will get a crispy crust and are so good inside, when eaten red hot.

I have an oven with grill and convection and it bakes those breads beautifully.

Did you meant with "tableside", that I don't fill the Reubens myself with dressing and sauerkraut? Instead I put them on the table and folks can fill their own breads as they please?

Maybe not literally tableside, but make the sauerkraut and dressing yourself, and I think it's pretty cool if the players see you doing this. Makes them appreciate the sandwich all the more, and I think it actually adds something to the taste to see the ingredients being made.

 

[Puggy]

Cool. Have to check the sauerkraut recipe too. Thanks again.

 

[Chicken Rob]

Considering sauerkraut takes weeks to ferment, I think you should plan in advance for making it.

Also, berg is wrong. Panini is good with reuben, and plenty of cheese is good, and fatty cuts are good.

But he is right, make it from high quality ingredients, not processed food from the supermarket shelves, and the rest shouldn't matter.

 

[detroitdad]

sometimes simple is better. I love me a good Reuben

Not a Reuben, just a corned beef sammy with pickles.........outstanding!!!

 

[Mr Tree]

That's not a sandwich



THAT'S a sandwich!

 

[Leonard]

IMO You've got the right idea Bergs. When something is simple but delicious you don't make it better by making it more complicated, you just get the best quality ingredients that you can. The right bread. The right meat, sliced thin. Homemade sour kraut? Never had any but sounds good. Same for thousand island/russian dressing.

About the panini press, for a reuben, I favor a half&half approach. Griddle, don't press.

Then the only way to make it better is the right beer and the right company.

L

BTW there's a new sandwich shop here in Tyler that makes the best Reuben I've ever had and that includes a number of NYC Deli's. Homemade corned beef made on Sunday and usually sold out before the next weekend.

 

[Shaggy]

This thread got me hungry so I went to the local sandwich shop and ordered a Reuben. Twas good.

 

[Chicken Rob]

While you're making your own sauerkraut, consider corning your own brisket.

 

[Puggy]

While you're making your own sauerkraut, consider corning your own brisket.

[emoji1] I just saw the recipe and that takes too long. But Thousand Island I will make myself. And bake my own bread.

 

[bergs]

Considering sauerkraut takes weeks to ferment, I think you should plan in advance for making it.

Also, berg is wrong. Panini is good with reuben, and plenty of cheese is good, and fatty cuts are good.

But he is right, make it from high quality ingredients, not processed food from the supermarket shelves, and the rest shouldn't matter.

Fatty cuts will kill a Reuben. If you like cheese, OK. If you want your Reuben pressed, I disagree, but allright. I can't see how fatty cuts on a rich sandwich like this help anything tho.

 

[Chicken Rob]

[emoji1] I just saw the recipe and that takes too long. But Thousand Island I will make myself. And bake my own bread.

It all sounds delicious. I hope it goes appreciated by your friends.

 

[Chicken Rob]

Fatty cuts will kill a Reuben. If you like cheese, OK. If you want your Reuben pressed, I disagree, but allright. I can't see how fatty cuts on a rich sandwich like this help anything tho.

I always prefer the fattier cuts of meat. It is where all the flavor lives. I'll admit I haven't had a reuben in at least 5 years, (thank you monsanto for my gluten intolerance), so I'll leave an open mind I may be wrong here. But I doubt it.

 

[bergs]

I always prefer the fattier cuts of meat. It is where all the flavor lives. I'll admit I haven't had a reuben in at least 5 years, (thank you monsanto for my gluten intolerance), so I'll leave an open mind I may be wrong here. But I doubt it.

For grilled stuff, hell yes, but for a sandwich like this, you want to meat. It's already grizzletastic without the gristle.