Making a Reuben can easily become a gloppy (but still delicious) mess. Dressing on rye bread can leak through during grilling. The moisture of sauerkraut will add to the problem. I have changed my process to make a more stable sandwich. On one slice of very lightly toasted rye I pile the corned beef, and I cover the other slice with Swiss cheese. I wring out the sauerkraut slightly, pile it liberally on the meat, and then pour the dressing on the sauerkraut, which does a good job of holding the dressing in place. The Swiss side goes on top, and it all goes into a hot oven to melt the cheese.
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That is exactly how I build mine, except I butter and grill in cast iron.
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Nice!! Sounds delicious! I enjoy it open faced and devour with a fork and knife. Broiler heated.
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I resign myself to knowing I’ll have to do a thorough hand (and sometimes forearm and face) washing after eating a Reuben. It’s going to get messy.
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I grill a Rachel (pastrami instead of corned beef; slaw instead of sauerkraut) similarly. #1 rule is to prep the two sides open face. No flipping the closed sandwich to grill each side. I do this because my friend, who worked in her parents’ restaurant’s kitchen growing up, once told me to do my grilled cheese open face, like she did in the resto kitchen - takes half the time and you don’t have to flip, just assemble. Butterered rye butter side down in pan with moar butter. Cheese on one side, slightly warmed pastrami on the other. Slaw on the pastrami, dressing on top on both sides. I briefly use a lid if everything isn’t totally melted, but not long enough to steam-sog the sandwich.
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I love Rachels, but I usually go with the kosher version, just pastrami and slaw. Yum. Slaw is such a great addition to so many sandwiches.
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100% agree on slaw as a condiment.
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For folks who may not realize: it’s not kosher to combine meat and cheese - so a Reuben, that classic, quintessential deli sandwich, is ironically not kosher.
Slaw is one of my favorite foods. Pile it on!!
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My favorite delis often had two sides, with separate kitchens and dining areas, the meat side and the dairy side. I gravitated to the dairy side for breakfast and meat for lunch and dinner.
Excellent strategy! I don’t know any delis like that anymore, even here, which has a handful of kosher restaurants and a corresponding clientele.
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Amazingly enough, my favorite deli of that sort was Green’s, in Pomona, CA in the 1960s.
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That’s pretty similar, Tim. I put the kraut on paper towels and press it to dry as much as possible.
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I heat the sauerkraut in the microwave and then drain. I use German sauerkraut because I find it less likely to be overly sour. I think they add a little sugar or sweet wine. Acme NY Rye available in the Bay Area and is perfect. Packaged rye is often like Wonder bread style Rye (too soft and mushy.) According to Mimi Sheraton Los Angeles rye bread is the best, better than any rye bread in NY. I use real Gruyere. Packaged sliced American “swiss” is a crime against humanity. Nearby Deli Rama was pretty good but it failed. I see someone near me does a Reuben on a white roll and just seeing it turns my stomach. It is increasingly difficult to go out and get a decent Reuben or a Rachel even in NY.
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Slaw is a savory Southern style of dressing hot dogs and hamburgers.
I always thought a “Rachel” was made with turkey and slaw in place of corned beef and sauerkraut in the classic Reuben. Must be a regional thing - I’m in Massachusetts.
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We’ve seen Rachel as only pastrami. At some places we’ve been, thousand island is added to the Rachel formula and the sandwich called a No. 19 or 555 or Philly (go figure . . . ) or . . .
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My brother is in Somerville. To him the Rachel is just a Reuben that subs turkey for corned beef. For me a Rachel is similarly constructed to a Reuben sandwich but with quite different ingredients. My favorite Rachel is turkey, slaw, sauce, and cheese on sourdough.
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Here a Rachel subs pastrami for corned beef and slaw for sauerkraut. Still grilled with cheese and thousand island dressing.
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Same here. I think a Rachel is typically turkey not pastrami/corned beef.
Without the cheese, or sometimes with, the pastrami Rachel is called a Cloak and Dagger. A local grocery offers it in the cold case, ungrilled. I will sometimes buy one and take it home and grill it (luckily, the slaw and dressing are in condiment cups, so this is possible)
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