Reuben sandwich
Template:Short description Template:Infobox prepared food
The Reuben sandwich is a North American grilled sandwich composed of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing or Thousand Island dressing, grilled between slices of rye bread. It is associated with kosher-style delicatessens but is not kosher, as it combines meat and cheese.<ref name="joyofkosher">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Possible originsEdit
One origin story holds that Reuben Kulakofsky (his first name sometimes spelled Reubin; his last name sometimes shortened to Kay), a Lithuanian-born Jewish grocer residing in Omaha, Nebraska, asked for a sandwich made of corned beef and sauerkraut at his weekly poker game held in the Blackstone Hotel from around 1920 through 1935. The participants, who nicknamed themselves "the committee", included the hotel's owner, Charles Schimmel. Schimmel's son, who worked in the kitchen, made the first Reuben for him, adding Swiss cheese and thousand island dressing to his order, putting the whole thing on rye bread.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The sandwich first gained local fame when Schimmel put it on the Blackstone's lunch menu, and its fame spread when a former employee of the hotel won the national sandwich idea contest with the recipe.<ref name="Webster">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Omaha, March 14 was proclaimed Reuben Sandwich Day.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Another account holds that the Reuben's creator was Arnold Reuben, the German-Jewish owner of Reuben's Delicatessen (1908–2001) in New York City. According to an interview with Craig Claiborne, Arnold Reuben created the "Reuben Special" around 1914.<ref name="Ingersoll">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Craig Claiborne. The New York Times Food Encyclopedia. See also Arnold Reuben interview, American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936–1940, quoted on What's cooking America site.</ref> Bernard Sobel in his 1953 book, Broadway Heartbeat: Memoirs of a Press Agent states that the sandwich was an extemporaneous creation for Marjorie Rambeau, inaugurated when the Broadway actress visited the Reuben's Delicatessen one night when the cupboards were particularly bare.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Still other versions give credit to Alfred Scheuing, a chef at Reuben's Delicatessen, and say he created the sandwich for Reuben's son, Arnold Jr., in the 1930s.<ref name="Webster"/>
VariationsEdit
Montreal ReubenEdit
The Montreal Reuben substitutes Montreal-style smoked meat for the corned beef.<ref>"Montreal Corned Beef Reuben Sandwich", The Gazette</ref>
Thousand Island dressingEdit
Thousand Island dressing is commonly used as a substitute for Russian dressing.<ref name="The Washington Post">Template:Cite news</ref>
Walleye ReubenEdit
The walleye Reuben features the freshwater fish (Sander vitreus) in place of the corned beef.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Grouper ReubenEdit
The grouper Reuben is a variation on the standard Reuben sandwich, substituting grouper for the corned beef, and sometimes coleslaw for the sauerkraut as well. This variation is often a menu item in restaurants in Florida.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Reuben egg rollsEdit
Reuben egg rolls, sometimes called "Irish egg rolls" or "Reuben balls", use the standard Reuben sandwich filling of corned beef, sauerkraut, and cheese inside a deep-fried egg roll wrapper. Typically served with Thousand Island dressing (instead of Russian dressing) as an appetizer or snack, they originated at Mader's, a German restaurant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where chef Dennis Wegner created them for a summer festival circa 1990.<ref name="Sun-Times">Template:Cite news</ref>
Rachel sandwichEdit
The Rachel sandwich is a variation which substitutes pastrami or turkey for the corned beef, and coleslaw for the sauerkraut.<ref name="Kamberg">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="barrypopik.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Joy-Rachel">Template:Cite book</ref> In some parts of the United States, especially Michigan, this turkey variant is known as a "Georgia Reuben" or "California Reuben", and it may also call for barbecue sauce or French dressing instead of Russian dressing. The name may have originated from the 1871 song "Reuben and Rachel".<ref name="barrypopik.com" />
Dinty Moore sandwichEdit
The Dinty Moore sandwich is a Detroit variation which substitutes coleslaw<ref>"Dinty Moore Sandwich" recipe at Grobbel's Gourmet website. Retrieved 1 May 2022. "2 Slices rye bread ... corned beef ... coleslaw ... swiss cheese ... Russian dressing."</ref> or shredded lettuce and tomato<ref name="Food Network">"The Bread Basket" at the Food Network website. Retrieved 1 May 2022. "a triple-decker sandwich piled high with corned beef, slathered with a creamy Russian dressing and topped with crisp shredded lettuce and ripe tomato."</ref> for the sauerkraut. It is sometimes on toasted white (wheat) bread instead of toasted ryeTemplate:Fact and sometimes omits the Swiss cheese.<ref name="Food Network"/> It is often a triple-decker sandwich.<ref name="Food Network"/>
Vegetarian and vegan versionsEdit
Vegetarian versions, called "veggie Reubens", omit the corned beef or substitute vegetarian ingredients for it, including zucchini, cucumbers,<ref>Better Homes and Gardens, Cooking for Two, p. 82</ref> wheatmeat,<ref>Joy Nicholson, "Reubenesque", Los Angeles Magazine September, 2001, p. 52</ref> and mushrooms.<ref>Cameron Woodworth, Green Cuisine, p. 25</ref> Vegan versions can use the aforementioned wheatmeat also known as seitan, tempeh<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> or mushrooms with non-dairy cheese, dressing and butter.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Kosher versionsEdit
As a Reuben combines both meat and dairy ingredients in the same meal, it is not kosher.<ref>Jacob Rader Marcus, United States Jewry, 1776–1985, 1989, p. 334</ref> However, it is frequently served at kosher style restaurants.<ref>Sue Fishkoff, Kosher Nation, 2010, Template:Isbn, p. 103</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Kosher versions may be made using non-dairy imitation cheese, or substitute vegetarian corned beef, thereby omitting the meat or the cheese.<ref>"Kosher Reuben Sandwiches" in Faye Levy, 1,000 Jewish Recipes, 2011, Template:Isbn, p. 347</ref><ref name="joyofkosher"/>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
Template:Jewish cuisine Template:Sandwiches Template:Cheese dishes