Yeh, I know…
“Who doesn’t know how to make a Reuben?”
Well… me, for one. I mean, the basics are obvious, corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, and then, cook’s choice; rye or dark pumpernickel bread.
But! There are a couple of little tricks, one from Emeril, and one from one of my fave dive restaurants; so let’s go ahead and make us a sammich!
INGREDIENTS
•Thinly sliced corned beef
•Rye or pumpernickel bread
•Russian dressing
•Sauerkraut
•Sliced Swiss cheese
•Butter, softened
•Grated Parmesan cheese
Note: Emeril also had a recipe for Russian dressing, which looked very good, but I already had an open bottle from the market. Mebbe next time.
First thing I did not know: heat your oven to 350º, then place the corned beef slices in a shallow baking dish. Cover tightly with foil, then bake for 20 minutes to warm the corned beef.
Corned beef well and truly warmed (but not dried out, because of that spritz of water), we can assemble our sammiches.
Lay the bread out on a board, and spread some Russian dressing on each slice.
Top one slice with corned beef, sauerkraut, and a slice of Swiss cheese, then place tthe other slice of bread, Russian dressing side down, on top.
Spread the top of each sammich with some of the softened butter, and then…
Second thing I did not know: sprinkle finely grated Parmesan cheese evenly over each buttered sammich side.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add the sammiches, butter and Parmesan cheese side down, and cook until nicely browned and a bit crispity – about four minutes should do it.
While you are browning that first side of your sammiches, spread butter and Parmesan cheese over the top of each.
Flip the sammiches and continue to cook until the untoasted buttered and cheese side is also nicely browned, and the Swiss cheese is ooey gooey melty, another four minutes or so should do it.
Remove from the heat and let rest for a minute or two before slicing and serving.
Emeril called for serving his with coleslaw and dill pickles.
I went with sliced dills and potato chips, and we thought it a fine and dandy dinner.
So, go ahead, Rueben up!