Reuben The Delicious

The Reuben sandwich is one of my personal favorites. I think it stems from my love of Sauerkraut and all things vinegary or pickley. Don't fret if you have never had Sauerkraut or if you are nervous about trying it. I'll explain it more later in the post. If you are unfamiliar with the sandwich, it is pastrami or corned beef, Sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and dressing grilled on rye bread. 

As with many great foods, sandwiches seems even more so, the origin is a little iffy. About 3-4 different places claim that they invented the Reuben sandwich so we really don't know exactly where it came from. We do know it was created sometime in the 1920's though. 

About any deli can make this for you and probably keeps it on the menu just like they would a club sandwich. You can change it up too. Some people make fish (grouper in particular), roast turkey, or pastrami instead of the roast beef. Bread can be changed, cheese, dressing. I have even heard of people nixing the Sauerkraut! Ridiculous as it sounds, I know, they put Cole slaw instead! I have yet to try that variation.

I use Pastrami because I like the strong flavor and lean cut. Swiss cheese because it's one of my favorites. Well that's not really fair to say because all cheese is my favorite cheese. Hahaha. 

So fist butter one side of a slice of Rye bread and put it in a skillet on medium high heat. (if you have a George Foreman or pastrami maker you can just make the sandwich and grill it that way but I don't have one so I'm going to do it in the skillet) Basically think of it like making a grilled cheese with extra stuff on it. Add a slice of cheese to let it melt while the bread is also toasting in the pan. 

I like to have a separate pan going as well and heat up the Sauerkraut in it so it's nice and warm. I think it helps bring out the flavor as well.

Curious about Sauerkraut? Well it literally translates to mean "sour cabbage" and is a type of canned cabbage. It does have a distinct and sour flavor so if you like pickles and other veggies that have been pickled, you will most undoubtedly like this too. It actually has a good amount of vitamin C in it. If you do not eat acidic food often though, do not over do it because it could upset your stomach with the high acidity and low pH. It has also been suggested to have cancer fighting compounds but who really knows what fights cancer. Before we had frozen foods Sauerkraut was widely used in Russia and other countries as a winter food that had good vitamin and mineral content. I know, most people associate it with Germany but it was first made 2,000 years ago in China(well, something very close to what we eat now, not exactly the same) and is most widely used now in Russia, France, and the United States.

Add as much pastrami, corned beef, turkey, or whatever meat you are using that you want to eat now and top with warm Sauerkraut.I don't pile mine high with meat but a lot of restaurants do!

Spread some Thousand Island dressing on one side of the other piece of bread and the other with butter and place it dressing side down onto the sandwich. Flip the sandwich and let the other piece of bread brown and crisp up. Take off the heat, slice, and serve! It was very tasty and as could be expected of me, I had a side of more Sauerkraut Hahaha!