A Reuben sandwich is so much more than just another pastrami sandwich. Piled high with warm, fall-apart homemade pastrami, quick sauerkraut recipe, Russian dressing and Swiss cheese, this is a sandwich thatโs so good it can make a grown man cry!
This recipe is a copycat of the Reuben Sandwiches made famous by Katzโs Deli in NYC. Because I canโt fly halfway around the worldย every time I need a fix!
Reuben Sandwich recipe
If youโre wonderingย whatโs a Reuben Sandwich and why are you so bonkers about them??ย close your eyes and imagine biting into this:ย lightly toasted rye breadย slathered with butter and a slightly tart/spicy mayo (Russian Dressing), piled high withย warm, flavour infusedย homemade pastrami,ย the juicy tanginess and crunch from a quick homemade sauerkrautย all smothered in melted Swiss cheese.
Itโs an unbelievable combination of flavours and textures.
And it is, without question, one of the BESTย sandwiches in the world!
What goes in a Reuben Sandwich
Hereโs what you need to make a Reuben sandwich:
Homemade Pastrami โ youโll find plenty of recipes out there that tell you to just use plain corned beef (aka salt beef)โฆ but just imagine how much more outrageously good it it is when made with an EASY slow cooked homemade pastrami thatโs fall apart tender and crusted with fresh pastrami spices!ย Thatโs the Katzโs way!
Sauerkraut โย essential for a true Reuben sandwich, a big pile of sauerkraut which is pickled cabbage. Weโre making our own here because even aย quick sauerkraut is way better than what you get in jars at supermarkets. I use a Rick Stein recipe, and itโs really (really!) good.
Russian Dressing โ Another essential component of a Reuben Sandwich! Itโs basically a slightly spicy Thousand Island Dressing. I donโt know who decided this sauce was a good idea for a Reuben but it works outrageously well to bring all the ingredients together!
Swiss Cheese โ We never say no to cheese in any form, and especially not toย Swiss Cheese (that nutty savoury flavour is just so perfect here!) Gruyere or Emmental or even โSwiss styleโ cheese works a treat as well.
Rye Bread โ No other bread will do here. (Just jokes. ๐ Some might say itโs criminal to use another bread, but actually, all the stuff between the bread is way more important in my view. Just be sure to use a sturdy bread โ stock standard white sandwich bread wonโt hold up to the generous filling!)
Iโm going to briefly talk through each of the components here, but if you want to dive right in, skip to the recipe!
1. EASY Homemade Pastrami
Homemade Pastrami is one of those gold nugget recipes that has high returns for very little effort. Essentially, you roll corned beef in a whole bunch of everyday spices, wrap in foil, slow cook until fall apart tender then bake so the spices become crusty.
Thatโs it. Really.
One bite, and you will be BLOWN AWAY how good it is. Itโs sliceable but fork tender, and the fresh flavour of the spices is just so so good!
2. QUICK Sauerkraut recipe!
Typically sauerkraut is left to ferment for weeks to allow flavours to develop. And as regular readers know, I do not possess such patience โ when I want a Reuben sandwich, I want it now, now, now!
Luckily for us, Rick Stein has a mighty good quick sauerkraut recipe โ 15 minutes on the stove. Though not quite as good as one youโll get at a European deli thatโs been fermenting for weeks, itโsย way (way!) better than what you get in jars at the supermarket. ๐
Caraway seeds?
Not seen in most sauerkraut recipes but adds an extra something-something to make up for the flavour the develops from weeks of fermentation. Rick Stein uses it โ and I like it! But itโs optional. ๐
3. Russian Dressing
Just calls for mixing up a handful of ingredients. Essentially itโs a slightly spicier Thousand Island Dressing.
I know Sriracha looks like an odd choice, being an Asian ingredient and all. But it works a treat in place of spicy Ketchup which isnโt something Iโm familiar with. Chilli sauce or ketchup + tabasco works fine here too.
The kick of spice from the sriracha and horseradish (jar stuff, not fresh) combined with the richness of the mayo is just sensational with the fall-apart pastrami and the tart sauerkraut!
4. Assembling
And hereโs how to assemble the Reuben. The only thing to note here is to pile the sauerkraut on the pastrami not on the bread (so it doesnโt soak the bread.
Pile up the sauerkraut generously! Once you squish the sandwich together, it compresses down alot. ๐
I know I said that this is a sandwich so good, it can make a grown man cry.
But we both know I meant a grown woman, right? (ie ME)
This is the sort of food thatโs so good, it makes me do the jiggy. Believe it. All the while I was devouring this sandwich, I was doing the jiggy around the kitchen. Which might sound strange to people living in NYC you can pop around the block for their Reuben sandwich fix. But for us Aussies, this is a sandwich that you literallyย cannot buy here except on rare occasions at night markets.
Hands down, one of the BEST sandwiches in the whole world โ and worth the effort!ย โ Nagi x
Sink your teeth into these!
Cubanos (Cuban Pork Sandwiches)ย โ made famous by the Chef movie!
Bread Bowl Sandwichย โ called aย Muffelata, a giant hollowed out bread stuffed with antipasto type things, squished and toasted with garlic butter. OUTRAGEOUS.
Homemade Filet-O-Fish (BAKED!!)ย โ Maccers copycat, but SO much healthier!
Slow Cooker Beef Brisket with BBQ Sauceย โ one of the best things to load up into sliders!
Browse all Sandwiches and Sliders, and Burgers
Watch how to make it
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Reuben Sandwich recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 kg / 2 lb homemade pastrami (1 quantity, easy!) (Note 1)
- 10 slices light rye bread
- 10 slices Swiss cheese
- Butter , for spreading
Quick Sauerkraut:
- 1 tbsp grapeseed oil
- 1/2 onion , thinly sliced
- 350g/ 12 oz white cabbage , thinly shredded (1/4 large head, 6 โ 8 big handfuls)
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup (85 ml) water
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp caraway seeds , optional (Note 2)
Russian Dressing:
- 1 tbsp onion , finely minced
- 1 tbsp dill pickle/gherkin , finely minced
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream (can sub more mayo)
- 2.5 tbsp sriracha, spicy ketchup or Chili Sauce (or 1/4 cup ketchup + 2 tsp tabasco) (Note 3)
- 3 tsp horseradish (jar), to taste (spicy/tang)
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp sweet paprika
Instructions
Russian Dressing:
- Mix ingredients, refrigerate 20 minutes+ (keeps 2 weeks).
Quick Sauerkraut:
- Dissolve sugar and salt in vinegar.
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes to soften, donโt let it brown.
- Add cabbage, vinegar, water and caraway seeds, give it a toss.
- Cover, cook on low for 15 minutes, mixing once at 10 minutes.
- Transfer to container (including liquid), cool until just warm. Keeps 2 weeks in the fridge.
Prepare Pastrami:
- Thinly slice still cold pastrami (Note 1). Place in a container with a couple of tablespoons of pastrami liquid (reserved from cooking, see pastrami recipe).
- Microwave to warm through (or use other method of choice etc cover with foil and place in oven).
Assemble Reuben:
- Preheat grill/broiler to medium high with shelf about 25cm/10โณ from heat source.
- Toast bread. Spread with butter, then 1 tbsp Russian Dressing on each piece.
- Pick up pastrami and let excess juices drip away, then place on bread.
- Do same for sauerkraut, pile onto pastrami, then top with cheese.
- Also place cheese on other slice of bread (ie with just Russian Dressing).
- Place under grill until cheese is just melted. Sandwich together and devour while hot!
Recipe Notes:
Life of Dozer
Dozer was hoping that because he was on holiday, it meant no post-beach wash downs.ย No such luck Mr Dozer!
(PS Last photo from last weekendโs trip to Rick Steinโs Bannisters โ I promise!)
This Russian dressing is fantastic! Love dipping your Greek Zucchini Tots in it!
Made this, it was delicious
Made this one for lunch today along with the slow cooker pastrami recipe and it was amazing!! Absolutely worth the time spent making everything.
Also loving your cookbook and have gifted to many people who have in turn bought a copy for others as gifts also. Congrats on all of your success well deserved! ๐๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐ผ looking forward to the next book!
Just made this for Sunday night dinner. My hubby and I LOVED it!! I was a little lazy and used bought sauerkraut but made the Russian Dressing (doubled the onion with a whole eschalot). Bought the bagels from a bagel specialty shop. FIVE STAR!!!! Another hit from our beautiful Nagi!!! xoxoxo
I love a sandwich that takes 2 days to make ๐ But in all seriousness, itโs absolutely delicious and worth it!
Yummy, I made the pastrami and everything else, (I halved the optional caraway seeds just in case I didnโt like them, but I think if I did it again Iโd use them all). I did like the recipe but it didnโt taste like a standard Reuben to me. I tried one of my sandwiches with regular store bought sauerkraut and was just as happy with that
wow! great recipe for my children. Awaiting for new also
Iโve loved every element of this recipe, except I question the amount of sriracha in the Russian dressing. I would find 2.5 Aussie tablespoons of chilli sauce would blow my nose and ears off. I reduced the amount to 1 teaspoon, which was perfect for me and made the most amazing dressing, which would also make a great dip. Once Iโd made mine, I kept sneaking spoonfuls into my gob. Iโm surprise it made it onto my sandwich. It was SO good!
I just had a Reuben for my lunch using your recipe for homemade pastrami and quick sauerkraut. It was fantastic. I think using the preserved juices from the slow cooking process was essential for the flavour and texture of the sandwich.
Going to try the Reuban
Iโm thrilled with the quick sauerkraut recipe. Thank you! Hugs to you and Dozer.
Amazing (as usual), i used the oven method for the pastrami as suggested and made the quick sauerkraut and Russian dressing. I toasted some GF bread and have to say it was an absolute winner!!
instead of ketchup I will use Fountain Spicy Red Sauce โ you should try it โ itโs delish (available in Coles and Woolworths)
My mumโs obsessed with Spicy Red and carries a bottle with her when she goes out. Been telling me my whole life id never eat normal tomato sauce or ketchup again, and sheโs right. Itโs so delicious. Iโm sure we will bury her with a bottle when the time comes!
Iโm only here to talk about the kraut. I was craving a big pan of potatoes, sausage, and kraut. I will NEVER use store bought again. This is perfect and 2 people ate it all!!
Just wow ๐
Why havenโt I made this earlier๐คฆโโ๏ธ
Thanks Nagi, just brilliant!
Your recipes are always a good fit for me- this one- yet again was a winner. Thankyou.
Woo hoo Louise!! I am so glad that you enjoyed it!! N x
What a great recipe! Thank you . We have shared this with friends and family
Woo hoo!! Thanks for sharing it Phillipa! N x
This was such a hit with the 8yo boy heโs asked for it every week! Iโve made it with plain old corned beef as well as your amazing pastrami recipe, just delicious. I never (ever!) thought Iโd hear the boy begging for more sauerkraut, youโve worked your usual magic here Nagi!!
PS Iโve started using the Russian dressing for potato salad (plus a few more gherkins, spring onions, parsley etc) and serve it alongside the warm pastrami, oh my, itโs so tasty ๐ฅฐ . I donโt make plain corned beef anymore, only this!!
Delicious (even with shop bought pastrami).
Hi Nagi, you use cider vinegar in a lot of your recipes may I ask what brand you use?
Hi Gemma! Just Cornwells which is from Woolies/Coles here in Australia ๐ N x