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.

Thousand Island dressing was invented in the Thousand Islands region along the St. Lawrence River, which straddles the border between northern New York State, USA, and southeastern Ontario, Canada. This archipelago of over 1,800 islands was a popular Gilded Age vacation spot for the wealthy around the turn of the 20th century (early 1900s). Like the Reuben sandwich, its exact inventor is debated with multiple local legends, but all credible accounts point to the same geographic origin: the Thousand Islands area in upstate New York.

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 thousand Island 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.