Discover the story behind the Reuben sandwich
What would New York be without this all-American sandwich? The stacked deli staple has stirred disputes, starred in Hollywood films and yet has somehow stayed faithful to just a handful of key ingredients.
The Reuben is not, by any reasonable standard, a beautiful sandwich. It arrives looking like a hot mess: a chaos of corned (salted) beef brisket and sauerkraut, gooey Swiss cheese melting into a slick of dressing, slapped between a couple of slices of rye bread. Lift it to your lips and things get even less cinematic, as the barely contained fillings tend to spill out across your lap. It comes stacked so high that attempting the first bite is positively cartoonish.
For a dish lacking in silver-screen good looks, the Reuben has a certain knack for stealing the show. Its much-disputed origin is the cliffhanger question in the 1994 film Quiz Show; it made an appearance in Saving Private Ryan; and while it wasn’t the “I’ll have what she’s having” sandwich featured in the infamous scene in When Harry Met Sally, the movie’s Katz’s Delicatessen location is often considered the crucible of classic New York Ruebens.
Long associated with New York’s Jewish delis, although not strictly kosher, the Reuben has just a handful of simple ingredients — typically, hot corned beef, melted Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and rye bread. Yet, creative variations abound — often dubbed the ‘Reuben remix’. There’s the air-fryer Reuben roll; a tray bake twist; and countless takes on marbled rye, with its pleasing swirls of light and dark dough. But really, this is a sandwich that resists too much fussy refinement; the appeal has always been in its unapologetic, rustic excess.
Origins
As is often the case with cult classics, the origins of the Reuben sandwich are fiercely disputed. One version places its birth in 1914, inspired by the silent film actress Annette Seelos, known for working with Charlie Chaplin. She supposedly asked Arnold Reuben, the German-Jewish proprietor of Reuben’s Restaurant on East 58th Street in New York City (now closed) to make her a sandwich of ham, turkey, Swiss cheese and coleslaw on rye, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Another contender for the crown is the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha (currently named the Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel) in the Midwestern state of Nebraska. During a regular poker game in the latter half of the 1920s, a player named Reuben Kulakofsky is said to have requested a late-night sandwich of corned beef — a cured and slow-cooked brisket, rather than the British version, which is minced and jellied — dressed with sauerkraut. Bernard Schimmel, the hotel’s owner, is credited with creating the masterpiece by adding Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing, before finishing it in a hot press. His granddaughter, Elizabeth Weil, later added weight to the story in The New York Times, noting his typewritten specifications calling for kosher dill pickles, a radish rose and potato chips on the side. The sandwich became a hit on the hotel’s menu, later winning the National Sandwich Idea Contest in 1956. Keen to embrace the local lore, Omaha has since declared 14 March as National Reuben Sandwich Day.
Whatever its origin story, by the mid-20th century, the Reuben was a firm favourite in New York’s Jewish delis. It benefited from postwar standardisation, when menus from Midtown to the outer boroughs began to echo one another and a good idea could travel quickly on rye bread alone. Repetition soon did the rest: the more it was served, the more the grilled sandwich felt as distinctly New York as the Empire State Building.
How it’s made
This hulking sandwich is created from a satisfyingly short list of ingredients: corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and rye bread. For the dressing, it’s either Russian or Thousand Island, both mayonnaise-ketchup based, the former a slightly spicier version with paprika and Worcestershire sauce added.
To prepare, the bread is buttered, dressing is spread and then layers of meat, fermented cabbage sauerkraut and cheese are added before the sandwich is closed and pressed in a hot skillet. As the bread toasts, the rubbery cheese melts into the dressing, binding the whole thing together.
Sliced corned beef is the standard choice, prized for its soft texture after being cured in salty brine. Pastrami, its smoky cousin, is sometimes used instead, a cut coated in black pepper and coriander, then smoked before being steamed, giving it a richly charred flavour. Most chefs stay close to the original recipe, although Brooklyn’s Mile End Deli pushes it into new territory with smoked turkey on pumpernickel. Sarge’s Delicatesse Restaurant in Midtown opts for the best of both worlds with its ‘Third Avenue’ hot sandwich, alternatively layering slices of corned beef and pastrami. Whatever the variation, it’s essential to serve the Reuben warm, with a properly crisped crust.
Where to try it
Katz’s Delicatessen, Manhattan, New York
New York’s most famous deli has been serving hungry customers since 1888. Hand-carved pastrami and corned beef are the specialty here, ordered at the counter, where the theatre of preparation is all part of the experience. The walls are hung with photos of notable guests, while the centre table, a When Harry Met Sally filming location, is the coveted place to indulge in this old-school version of the Reuben.
Mark’s Off Madison, Manhattan, New York
For an upscale take on the sandwich, head to Mark’s Off Madison, as its name suggests, located just off Madison Avenue, at 26th Street. Chef Mark Strausman, a New Yorker trained in Europe, bakes his own Jewish deli rye daily. His Reuben comes stacked with both pastrami and corned beef, griddled in butter until crisp, then finished in the oven so the cheese fully melts into the meat. It arrives with homemade potato chips and a pickle on the side.
Liebman’s Deli, The Bronx, New York
This traditional kosher deli was thrust into the spotlight after celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain came calling for his Parts Unknown TV series, which aired in in 2014. Founded in 1953, it’s long been the place to try chopped liver on toast, potato pancakes and, of course, sliced marbled pastrami and corned beef, generously piled high in its Reuben. The meat is prepared in-house and, as a strictly kosher establishment, the Reuben omits Swiss cheese. If you want to take a taste of the Big Apple home, the deli also sells a kit for recreating the legendary sandwich yourself.
