So how did the Reuben get its name? The earliest account for the invention of the Reuben sandwich was by Arnold Reuben in 1908. He was a German Jewish owner of Reuben’s Delicatessen in New York City. Another possibly, is Reuben Kulakofsky from Omaha, Nebraska. He was a Lithuanian born grocer who invented this sandwich for his weekly poker games at the Blackstone Hotel around 1920. What is for sure, the Rueben Sandwich is so popular that you can find it at nearly any deli or lunch time restaurant. The classic Rueben is made using rye bread, corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and dressing. But you can use pastrami or turkey as well. And two dressings come to mind, Thousand Island Dressing or Russian dressing. Both are popular for this type of sandwich. The difference between the two are that the Russian has horseradish and paprika and the Thousand Island is milder with pickle relish and shallots. A final note on the naming of Thousand Island Dressing is the visual of minced onion and sweet pickle relish resembling thousands of tiny islands in the ocean!
The Thousand Island dressing is easy to prepare. Mix mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, pickle relish and minced shallots. Salt and pepper to taste and set aside. Heat a pan to medium to medium high temperature. Butter all slices of bread on one side. On the opposite side, spread thousand island dressing. Lay two slices of bread into the pan. Layer with the meat, sauerkraut and cheese. Cover with the other slice of bread with the butter side up. Flip the sandwich when the bottom is golden. Remove sandwich when both sides golden brown.
Slice in half and serve with pickles, coleslaw and potato chips. This makes two tasty sandwiches!
Ingredients
Directions
The Thousand Island dressing is easy to prepare. Mix mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, pickle relish and minced shallots. Salt and pepper to taste and set aside. Heat a pan to medium to medium high temperature. Butter all slices of bread on one side. On the opposite side, spread thousand island dressing. Lay two slices of bread into the pan. Layer with the meat, sauerkraut and cheese. Cover with the other slice of bread with the butter side up. Flip the sandwich when the bottom is golden. Remove sandwich when both sides golden brown.
Slice in half and serve with pickles, coleslaw and potato chips. This makes two tasty sandwiches!