Reuben sandwich
 Reuben on rye from Katz's Delicatessen |
|
| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. [1] |
| Creator(s) | Reuben Kulakofsky [1] |
| Details | |
| Course | Main course |
| Main ingredient(s) | Corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, Either Russian dressing, Thousand Island dressing or possibly Dijon mustard if served on the west coast, and rye bread |
The Reuben sandwich is a hot sandwich of corned beef, Swiss cheese, with Russian or Thousand Island dressing, and sauerkraut. These are grilled between slices of rye bread. Several variants exist.[2]
Contents |
Origins[edit]
One account holds that Reuben Kulakofsky (sometimes spelled Reubin, or the last name shortened to Kay), a Lithuanian-born grocer from Omaha, Nebraska, was the inventor, perhaps as part of a group effort by members of Kulakofsky's 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. 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 a national contest with the recipe.[1]
Other accounts hold that the Reuben's creator was Arnold Reuben, the German owner of the once-famous, now defunct Reuben's Delicatessen in New York City,[3] who, according to an interview with Craig Claiborne, invented the "Reuben special" around 1914.[4] The earliest references in print to the sandwich are New York-based but that is not conclusive evidence, though the fact that the earliest, from a 1926 edition of Theatre Magazine, references a "Reuben special", does seem to take its cue from Arnold Reuben's menu.
A version of that story is related by Bernard Sobel in his book Broadway Heartbeat: Memoirs of a Press Agent and claims that the sandwich was an extemporaneous creation for Marjorie Rambeau inaugurated when the famed Broadway actress visited the Delicatessen one night when the cupboards were particularly bare.[5] Some sources name the actress as Annette Seelos, and note that the original "Reuben special" sandwich did not contain corned beef or sauerkraut and was not grilled; still other versions give credit to Alfred Scheuing, Reuben's chef, and say he created the sandwich for Reuben's son, Arnold Jr., in the 1930s.[1]
Variations[edit]
Rachel sandwich[edit]
The Rachel sandwich is a variation on the standard Reuben sandwich, substituting pastrami for the corned beef and coleslaw for the sauerkraut.[6] Other recipes for the Rachel call for turkey instead of corned beef or pastrami.[7][8] In some parts of the United States, especially Michigan, this turkey variant is known as a "Georgia Reuben" or "California Reuben," which sometimes uses barbecue sauce instead of Russian or Thousand Island.
Grouper Reuben[edit]
The grouper Reuben is a variation on the standard Reuben sandwich, substituting grouper for the corned beef, and sometimes will substitute coleslaw for the sauerkraut as well. This variation is often a menu item in restaurants in Florida.[9]
West Coast Reuben[edit]
The West Coast Reuben is a variation on the standard Reuben sandwich, substituting Dijon mustard as the dressing. This variation is often a menu item in restaurants in Las Vegas.[7]
Montreal Reuben[edit]
The Montreal Reuben substitutes Montreal smoked meat for corned beef.[10]
Reuben egg rolls[edit]
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 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 in about 1990.[11]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d The Reuben Sandwich
- ^ "Reuben", Oxford English Dictionary, 2 ed.
- ^ Jared Ingersoll (2006). "Toasted Reuben sandwich". Danks Street Depot. Murdoch Books. p. 115. ISBN 1-74045-598-3. More than one of
|isbn13=and|isbn=specified (help) - ^ 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.
- ^ Sobel, Bernard (1953). Broadway Heartbeat: Memoirs of a Press Agent. New York: Hermitage House. p. 233. OCLC 1514676.
- ^ Mary-Lane Kamberg (2004). "Grilled Reuben sandwich variation: Grilled Rachel sandwich". The I Dont Know how to Cook Book. Adams Media. p. 42. ISBN 1-59337-009-1. More than one of
|isbn13=and|isbn=specified (help) - ^ a b http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/reuben_sandwich_and_rachel_sandwich_celebrity_sandwiches/
- ^ Rombauer, Irma S.; Becker, Marion Rombauer; Becker, Ethan (2006). "Reuben Sandwich". Joy of Cooking (75th Anniversary ed.). Scribner. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-7432-4626-2. "For a Rachel, substitute turkey for the corned beef."
- ^ Calloway, Karin (September 21, 2010). "Takeoff on Reuben sandwich makes tasty meal". Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved February 2, 2011. "In Florida … many restaurants serve a grouper Reuben"
- ^ http://www.yelp.ca/biz/reubens-restaurant-delicatessen-montreal#query:reuben
- ^ Zeldes, Leah A. (March 10, 2010). "'Irish' food in Chicago isn't quite so in Ireland: Who played a role in the reuben egg roll?". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
Further reading[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Reuben sandwiches |
 |
Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on |
- Claiborne, Craig. "Whence the Reuben? Omaha, It Seems." The New York Times (May 17, 1976).
- McMorris, Robert. "Omaha Saw Invention of Reuben Sandwich." Omaha Evening World-Herald (September 11, 1965).
- McMorris, Robert. "Just When You Thought Reuben's Roots Were Safe." Omaha World-Herald (January 31, 1986): 2.
- McMorris, Robert. "This Reuben Explanation Seems Hard to Swallow." Omaha World-Herald (July 24, 1989): 2.
- http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/magazine/my-grandfather-invented-the-reuben-sandwich-right.html
