Reuben sandwich
Template:Short description Template:Infobox prepared food
The Reuben sandwich is a North American grilled sandwich comprising 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">Template:Cite web</ref>
Possible origins
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 contestTemplate:Clarify with the recipe.<ref name="Webster">Template:Cite web</ref> In Omaha, March 14 was proclaimed Reuben Sandwich Day.<ref>Template:Cite 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"/>
Variations
Montreal Reuben
The Montreal Reuben substitutes Montreal-style smoked meat for the corned beef.<ref>"Montreal Corned Beef Reuben Sandwich", The Gazette</ref>
Thousand Island dressing
Thousand Island dressing is commonly used as a substitute for Russian dressing.<ref name="The Washington Post">Template:Cite news</ref>
Walleye Reuben
The walleye Reuben features the freshwater fish (Sander vitreus) in place of the corned beef.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Grouper Reuben
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 rolls
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 sandwich
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">Template:Cite 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" />
Vegetarian and vegan versions
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>Template:Cite web</ref> or mushrooms with non-dairy cheese, dressing and butter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Kosher versions
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 by removing the cheese, using non-dairy imitation cheese, or substituting the corned beef with a rabbinically supervised alternative.<ref>"Kosher Reuben Sandwiches" in Faye Levy, 1,000 Jewish Recipes, 2011, Template:Isbn, p. 347</ref><ref name="joyofkosher"/>
See also
References
Further reading
Template:Jewish cuisine Template:Sandwiches Template:Cheese dishes
- Pages with broken file links
- American sandwiches
- Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine
- Ashkenazi Jewish culture in the United States
- Beef sandwiches
- Cheese sandwiches
- Cuisine of Omaha, Nebraska
- German-Jewish culture in New York City
- Hot sandwiches
- Jewish American cuisine
- Jews and Judaism in Omaha, Nebraska
- Kosher style
- Lithuanian-Jewish culture in the United States
- Rye-based dishes