Classic Reuben Sandwich History and Recipe • Curious Cuisiniere (2024)

FAQs

What was on the original Reuben sandwich? ›

He decided to try something new for his friends and put together the first reuben sandwich using swiss cheese, corned beef, sauerkraut, and his special deli sauce on rye. It was such a big hit with his poker group, he decided to include it on the menu of a nearby hotel and it grew in popularity ever since.

You can certainly make a sandwich without sauerkraut, but it won't be a reuben sandwich since one of the ingredients that defines the sandwich as being a reuben is sauerkraut.

According to Omaha lore, the Reuben Sandwich was dreamed up at Omaha's Blackstone Hotel in 1925 by Reuben Kulakofsky, a local grocer, to feed a group of late-night poker players. Charles Schimmel, one of the players and the hotel's owner, liked it so much he put it on the menu of The Plush Horse, the hotel restaurant.

According to Omaha lore, the combination of rye bread, corned beef, Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut had been dreamed up in 1925 to feed participants in a late-night poker game at the Blackstone Hotel in downtown Omaha by a local grocer, Reuben Kulakofsky.

Reuben sandwich is known to be originated at Mader's, a German restaurant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the chef Dennis Wegner created them for a summer festival circa 1990. The Main ingredients of this sandwich are : Corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, rye bread.

The request came from a city store owner and casual poker player named Reuben Kulafofsky. Schimmel chose to add Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing on dark rye bread. This version originated in 1925 and was quickly put on the hotel's menu by owner Charles Schimmel.

As a Reuben combines both meat and dairy ingredients in the same meal, it is not kosher. However, it is frequently served at kosher style restaurants. Kosher versions may be made using non-dairy imitation cheese, or substitute vegetarian corned beef, or omitting the meat or the cheese.

A Reuben sandwich is typically made with corned beef. It would taste great with pastrami too, it just wouldn't be a classic Reuben! Bottom line: You can't go wrong with either of these flavor-packed deli meats.

Pastrami is made from beef brisket that has been cured, coated in spices, cold smoked and then steamed. Pastrami's thick coat of spices typically includes crushed black pepper, coriander, mustard seeds, garlic and other spices that might be included in a pickling spice mixture.

A staple in delicatessens throughout the country, a typical Reuben includes pastrami and vinegar-y sauerkraut on some rye bread. We knew that we could do better, and decided to experiment one weekend with our menu. This Texas Reuben features our own lean smoked brisket thrown over some buttered and griddled rye bread.

What is the difference between a New Yorker and a Reuben sandwich? ›

The New Yorker is made of 10 ounces of fresh steamed corned beef and pastrami, melted Swiss, and spicy brown mustard on toasted sliced marbled rye bread. California Turkey Reuben is Butterball Turkey, fresh, house-made coleslaw, melted Swiss, and a signature Thousand Island dressing on toasted sliced marbled.

There is strong evidence for both versions. Interestingly, however, both versions list the ingredients of the original Reuben as rye bread, corned beef, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut. So my pastrami was a variant. Here is a basic recipe from Epicurious.com by way of the cookbook “Arthur Schwartz's New York City Food.”

It is said that Arnold Reuben created the sandwich around 1914 or 1915, and it quickly gained popularity among his customers. The Reuben sandwich traditionally consists of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing, all grilled between slices of rye bread.

That makes a Reuben—toasted rye bread stuffed with corned beef, a heap of warm sauerkraut, gooey layers of melted swiss cheese, and a generous dose of Russian dressing—pure sacrilege...or, should I say, sacrilege that's purely delicious.

The Reuben is a grilled sandwich traditionally made on rye bread with a filling of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing. The Rachel sandwich is one of several variations on the famous sandwich.

A Reuben sandwich is typically made with corned beef. It would taste great with pastrami too, it just wouldn't be a classic Reuben! Bottom line: You can't go wrong with either of these flavor-packed deli meats.

The ingredient that differentiates Russian dressing from Thousand Island is—drumroll, please—horseradish. When you have Russian dressing accenting a hearty sandwich like a Reuben, the horseradish can be hard to detect, especially when you've got the sharp, funky flavors of sauerkraut to contend with.

The difference between a Rachel and a Reuben is the use of cole slaw rather than sourkraut. Traditionally, both sandwiches were made with corned beef, but that has been modified by using other meats, such as turkey. But the form of cabbage is the distinguishing factor.

The classic Reuben sandwich is dressed with Russian dressing not mustard. Thousand island dressing is similar enough to Russian dressing that it is often substituted for it. The main difference is that Russian dressing has a little horseradish in it and thousand island dressing doesn't.