Traditional Corned Beef Reuben Sandwich
We put the call out for your favorite Irish recipes and you delivered! Experience a taste of Ireland with this comforting recipe.
Submitted by “Vesper”:
March Means Corned Beef!
St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect time to make Corned Beef. There’s so much to love about simmering one, adding cabbage, potatoes and carrots. Pure comfort food! Because there is never enough for “left-overs”, I usually purchase two briskets. That second one is dedicated to Reuben Sandwiches. If you love Reubens and would like to make your own, read on!
Besides the Corned Beef Brisket, here are the things you will want to have on hand:
Baby Swiss Cheese (or any type of Swiss Cheese) sliced as thick or thin as you like
Sauerkraut (homemade or canned/jarred) with as much liquid removed as possible
1000 Island Dressing (homemade or store bought)
Sliced Rye or Pumpernickel Bread (any kind you like)
Butter (soft enough to spread on bread)
Optional “fixings”, including fresh ground pepper, mustard, pickles, horseradish, or any other condiment you like
You can prepare and grill your sandwich(es) right away, or prepare and store them in the refrigerator for quite a few days. Below is an assembly line method that works well for making as many sandwiches as the brisket size will allow.
Instructions:
After your brisket is fork tender, remove from the simmer water. Cover and rest for at least 10 minutes. When sufficiently cooled, wrap tightly in foil or cover with plastic wrap on a plate. Refrigerate at least two hours, or over night. Cooling allows you to easily cut away any unwanted fat from the meat. Slice as thinly as possible against the grain. Set aside. Giving yourself enough surface area to work, set up an assembly line for your sandwich building. Preparing your ingredients ahead of time makes for quick, easy work.
Judge how many sandwiches you can make by the amount of cut meat and other ingredients you have. Typically, out of an average sized brisket, I can get 8-10 sandwiches. Lay out sheets of plastic wrap that are at least 1 foot wide. Lay two slices of rye bread (stacked) on each sheet of plastic. For each sandwich, butter the top piece of bread and place, buttered-side up, just above its corresponding unbuttered piece. Flip the unbuttered piece over, butter, and place in the center of the plastic wrap, buttered-side down. For each sandwich, layer this piece with meat, dressing, sauerkraut and cheese. Place the other piece of buttered bread over the cheese, butter-side up. Wrap fairly tightly in the plastic wrap, and refrigerate. They stack well in the refrigerator.
You may think that the plastic wrap would stick, but the butter will re-harden. When ready to grill, carefully remove the plastic wrap and set the sandwich in a frying pan or on a griddle with the meat side down. This will insure that the sandwich heats through, and the cheese side will melt easily after you flip the sandwich. Cook over medium-high heat and flip when the pan-side is toasted. Do not cook too quickly, or the bread could burn before the inside is hot. When the interior of the sandwich is hot, and the cheese is melted, it’s done!
Remove from pan or griddle and pull the meat side of the toasted rye bread away just long enough to add any of the optional “fixings” you would like. Cut in half, or leave whole, and serve as you would a grilled cheese sandwich. Enjoy!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!