Reuben Sandwich Discovery

I bought a corned beef flat the other day specifically to make Reuben sandwiches but I can’t remember what it weighed.  I noticed on the label that it contained a fair amount of water which I assume is curing liquid that is injected into the meat to speed the process.

To cook, I covered the meat with water and cooked in the slow cooker until it was tender and ended up removing a much smaller piece of meat than I started with as the fat and water both came out.  I ended up with just enough meat for three sandwiches so I guess I need to go back to buying a big beef brisket and making my own corned beef.  After cooking, I stuck it in the fridge for easier thin slicing (Bev’s desire) when cold.

One of the most difficult aspects of making a Reuban sandwich for me is flipping it after one slice of bread is browned so I decided to try a different method.  It didn’t occur to me to take pictures of the process but hopefully you can imagine them from my description.  Since everything was cold, I laid three pieces of corned beef on a plate such that they were a little larger than my slice of bread then topped with two more layers.  Then I added the kraut and finally the cheese. I nuked this until the cheese was melted, 1-1½ minutes.  I used my longer fish spatula to handle it.

I had my skillet hot and melted enough butter for two slices of bread and laid the bread in the pan.  I topped one slice with the meat stack (bottom) and the other with 1000 Island dressing (top) and put a lid on the pan to keep the meat stack warm.

When the bread was a golden brown, I flipped the top onto the bottom and removed from the pan, cut Bev’s sandwich in half, and plated with dill pickle.  This is my uncut sandwich (a mistake) prior to the pickles.

I may be the last person on the planet to learn to do it this way but the method worked beautifully and is the new go-to for grilled sandwiches – except maybe grilled cheese which stay together when flipping.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

1/2/21 event date