For my recent birthday my sister surprised me by having a “Reuben sandwich kit” shipped to me from Kenny & Ziggy's Delicatessen, located in Houston, Texas. The kit arrived in a thermal insulated bag with icepacks to keep everything cold. Included in the kit was a loaf of ryebread, Russian dressing, sauerkraut, sliced Swiss cheese and sliced corned beef- enough to make four Reubens (my size). All I had to do is put it all together. If it did not turn out well I would have to shoulder some of the blame- on the other hand, I had an opportunity to make it the way I think it should be made…

I decided build the Reuben by layering each slice of ryebread pretty much the same way. I started with a layer of corned beef on each slice of bread- the corned beef was sliced reasonably thin in maybe 1.5” wide strips, and very lean. After the layer of corned beef, I put a slice of slice of Swiss cheese (per side), followed by another layer of corned beef (per side) and one more slice of Swiss cheese (on just one side). There was probably about 5oz of corned beef used in the building of the sandwich.

I then put the two halves together and placed the sandwich onto a lightly, olive oiled frying pan. I flipped the sandwich a few times to prevent the ryebread from burning and stopped when I thought the bread’s crust was about right. I put the Reuben in the microwave for 15 seconds to melt the cheese just a little bit more. Next, I removed the ryebread from the top of the sandwich and added about 2 tablespoons of the Russian dressing on top of the corned beef, and about the same amount of sauerkraut. I flipped the sandwich over and repeated the process. I sliced the sandwich in ˝ and photographed it.

Ok, so after all that, what was the end result? I would honestly have to say it was one of the best Reuben’s I have eaten. There was flavor in every bite, and a lot of it. The ryebread had just the right amount of crunch to it and the bread itself contained the perfect amount of rye. There was the perfect amount of tasty, Swiss cheese, and the corned beef was perfectly tender. The Russian dressing was excellent- with just a tad bit of sweetness that you would want in a Russian dressing. The sauerkraut tasted different than what I have been used to- not bad at all, just maybe “milder”. I did not mention the price since it was a gift, but I am guessing this was a $25 Reuben. The final grade: a good, solid “A”. Had some pickle slices and chips or coleslaw been included (and tasted good), I am sure the grade would have been an A+.