Classic Reuben Sandwich With Homemade Russian Dressing

It is amazing how bread is a staple in many cultures, some of which didn’t even have contact with each other for a long, long time. What’s even more amazing is our ability to make bread a more interesting meal. Take the sandwich, for example. What kind of ingenuity led to someone enclosing some sort of filling with two slices of bread? You can make a sandwich with almost anything. Peanut butter and jam? Classic. Want to slap an avocado on that? No problem! Simply put, there are few types of foods out there that are more customizable than a sandwich. 

One of my personal favourites is the Reuben sandwich. It’s a grilled style sandwich that originated in North America and it combines 5 key ingredients: rye bread, corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing. It’s wonderfully simple and it takes only 10 minutes to make! 

For the Russian dressing:

• ¼ cup mayonnaise 
• 1 tsp chili sauce
• 1 tsp relish
• ½ tsp paprika
• A pinch of salt
• ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)

For the Reuben sandwich:

• Rye bread
• Corned beef, thinly sliced
• Sauerkraut
• Swiss cheese, sliced
• Russian dressing
• Butter (optional)

• The recipe I used for the homemade Russian dressing yields a very piquant spread. You can reduce the quantities of the chili sauce if you prefer the milder option.
• Beware when using Worcestershire sauce and salt. Add each one of those to taste or you can skip them altogether if you wish since corned beef tends to be somewhat salty anyway.
• You can substitute Russian dressing with Thousand Island dressing. You can find both at the store or you can make them at home.

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, chili sauce, relish, and the paprika. Add salt to taste.

If you are using a frying pan, lightly butter the outer sides of the bread slices.

Otherwise, skip the butter and just spread the Russian dressing on the inner sides.

On one of the bread slices, add the cheese and the corned beef in that order. Top it off with a generous amount of sauerkraut and another slice of cheese. Close the sandwich with the other slice of bread.

Place the sandwich in a panini press until the cheese melts but make sure it doesn’t get too squished.

If you don't use a panini press, then place the Reuben in a frying pan and toast it over medium heat until the outer sides of the bread are toasty and the cheese has melted.

Et voilà! You just made a delicious Reuben sandwich which you can now enjoy with a side of chips or nice tomato soup!