One of the great corned beef leftovers sandwiches of all time. Toasting it in a skillet warms the sandwich and melts the cheese.

The most widely accepted and best-documented invention of the sandwich version points to Omaha, Nebraska, around the mid-1920s (often cited as 1925). A Lithuanian-born Jewish grocer named Reuben Kulakofsky (sometimes spelled Reubin or Kay) was part of a regular poker game at the Blackstone Hotel. During a late-night session, he requested (or inspired) a sandwich featuring corned beef and sauerkraut. Bernard Schimmel (son of hotel owner Charles Schimmel, who had culinary training) assembled it in the hotel kitchen, adding Swiss cheese and Russian dressing on rye, then grilling it. The group loved it, so the hotel added it to the menu as the “Reuben” (named after Kulakofsky). It spread through the Schimmel hotel chain, appeared on menus by the 1930s (with evidence from 1934 and 1937), and gained national fame when a waitress entered it in the National Sandwich Idea Contest in 1956—and won. Omaha even celebrates March 14 as Reuben Sandwich Day, and local historians (including the Nebraska state historical society) strongly back this Midwestern origin for the classic version we know today.

A rival claim comes from New York City, tied to Arnold Reuben (a German-Jewish restaurateur who founded Reuben’s Restaurant/Delicatessen around 1908), but that sandwich had turkey and ham.

The modern, popular mayonnaise-ketchup-horseradish version is widely credited to James E. Colburn, a grocer from Nashua, New Hampshire. He reportedly created and began producing/selling it commercially in the early 1910s (some sources pinpoint around 1906–1914 when he ran his wholesale grocery business). It became so successful that he retired wealthy in 1924 from the sales alone.

I’m a New Yorker and I’ve been eating and loving Reuben sandwiches all my life.

EQUIPMENT: cast iron skillet, fish flipper.

Reuben Sandwich

Recipe by Anna Stockel Cuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 4 slices dark rye bread

• 1/2 lb sliced corned beef

• 4 slices deli Swiss cheese, sliced; or freshly sliced at home from a block of quality cheese

• 1/4 cup homemade Russian dressing

• 1/2 cup fermented sauerkraut

Directions

• Spread butter evenly on both sides of all slices of bread.
• Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
• When the butter has melted add the dark rye slices. Work in batches if necessary.
• When the bottom sides have toasted, set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium and add the corned beef slices to the skillet. Cook until the edges are just starting to crisp.
• Meanwhile, top two slices toasted sides of bread with sliced swiss cheese, then dressing and sauerkraut.
• Transfer corned beef slices on top of sauerkraut and top with remaining slices of bread, toasted side down.
• Transfer sandwiches to medium hot skillet and cover with a heavy lid, pressing down slightly.
• When bottom side has toasted and cheese starts to melt use the fish flipper to turn the sandwiches over. Cover with the heavy lid pressing down slightly and toast the other side.
• Cook until the bread is well toasted and the cheese is melted.
• Removed from heat, transfer to plates and slice crosswise.
• Serve immediately with a crunchy whole dill pickle.