Reuben Sandwich

My favorite sandwich has got to be the Reuben.  Piled high with corned beef, slathered with a coarse and grainy Dijon mustard, overflowing with tangy sauerkraut...It's so good!  


You can use pastrami or smoked ham instead of the corned beef.  Coleslaw is an excellent substitution for the sauerkraut, especially with pastrami. 


I'm not a fan of Russian salad dressing, but I'm including a recipe anyway, because I know many people are.  We used rye and pumpernickel swirled bread, although it had a tendency to fall apart a little bit, but they still turned out amazing!



Butter, softened
Russian dressing (recipe follows, optional)
Dijon mustard (optional)
8 slices rye bread
8 slices Swiss cheese
2 cups drained sauerkraut
1 lb thinly sliced corned beef
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Butter rye bread, then flip over and spread each slice with about 1 tbsp. of the dressing or Dijon mustard. Top 4 of the bread slices with 2 slices Swiss cheese, 1/2 cup sauerkraut, and 1/4 lb. corned beef each. Season with salt and pepper.  Top each of those slices with 1 of remaining slices of bread, dressing side down.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and, working in batches if necessary, add sandwiches in a single layer. Cook, flipping once and occasionally pressing the sandwiches down with a spatula, until golden brown and crisp on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Serve immediately.

Russian Salad Dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 TBSP chili sauce
1 TBSP finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tsp finely grated yellow onion
1/2 tsp drained grated horseradish
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Put mayonnaise, chili sauce, parsley, onion, horseradish, Worcestershire, and kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste into a medium bowl and stir well to combine; set Russian dressing aside.