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The Sandwich 100 · make it at home

The Reuben

25 min · 2 sandwiches

Corned beef, Swiss, sauerkraut and Russian dressing grilled on rye. The trick is squeezing the kraut dry and warming the meat first, so the bread crisps before anything goes soggy.

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The real one

You need

• 300 g (10 oz) corned beef or pastrami, thinly sliced
• 4 slices seeded rye bread
• 4 slices Swiss cheese (Emmental)
• 150 g (1 cup) sauerkraut, well drained
• 2 tbsp soft butter
• For the Russian dressing: 4 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 1/2 tbsp ketchup, 1 tsp prepared horseradish, 1 tsp finely chopped shallot, 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, a pinch of paprika

How to make it

1. Make the dressing (3 min): Stir the mayonnaise, ketchup, horseradish, shallot, Worcestershire and paprika together. Taste; it should be tangy with a little heat.
2. Prep the fillings (5 min): Squeeze the sauerkraut hard in your fist or a towel until no more liquid runs out. Warm it in a small pan 2 minutes. Warm the meat in a covered pan with 1 tbsp water over low heat 2 to 3 minutes until just hot.
3. Build (3 min): Butter one side of each slice of bread. Turn 2 slices butter side down; on each lay a slice of Swiss, half the meat, half the sauerkraut, a good spoon of dressing and another slice of Swiss. Top with the other bread, butter side up.
4. Grill (8 min): Cook in a skillet over medium-low heat, pressing gently with a spatula, 3 to 4 minutes a side until the bread is deep golden and the cheese has melted at the edges. Cover the pan for the last minute if the cheese is slow.
5. Cut and serve: Cut in half on the diagonal and serve with a pickle and the rest of the dressing.

Tips

• Medium-low heat is everything: too hot and the rye burns before the middle melts.
• Use pastrami for a 'Rachel' style, or swap sauerkraut for coleslaw.

Chef Amazing's own home version, in our words; not any shop's recipe.