The Ultimate Reuben Sandwich

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, I bought some corned beef with a mission in mind: the ultimate Reuben sandwich. Unfortunately I couldn't find corned beef in the deli-sliced meat section, so I thought, well why not make it "from scratch"? Cheers to first-times; it turned out DELICIOUS. Feast your eyes:




















If only I could transmit smells through pictures... the aroma of corned beef is heavenly. It's also surprisingly simple to make, inexpensive, and yummy! Impress your friends; here's a try-it-yourself recipe:

Ingredients (Makes about 8 servings.)

• 1 package (3 lb.) corned beef brisket
• 1 loaf sliced Russian rye bread (or any variation of rye)
• 1 16 oz. jar sauerkraut, drained
• thousand island dressing (or substitute with mayonnaise)
• 2 tbsp butter, or to taste
• 1 package sliced swiss cheese (muenster cheese works well too)

Directions

1. Place corned beef in a pot, submerge with water. Bring to a boil.
2. Turn down heat to low-medium and cover with lid. Let simmer for another 3 hours. This will make the meat very tender. Add water as necessary to keep meat submerged.
3. When done, the meat should come apart very easily/should be able to easily poke into the meat with a butter knife. Remove from water and let drain and set/cool for 20 minutes. This will help the meat solidify and make it easier to cut thin slices.
4. Heat a pan to medium heat, and melt butter. Place two slices of bread onto buttered pan, and place cheese on bread to melt while over heat. Heat until bread is toasty and browned.
5. Assemble sandwich with sliced meat, thousand island, and sauerkraut to your liking!

For the budget-conscious: all the ingredients cost a little under $25. A Reuben sandwich ranges from $6-$10 (save two to three times the eating-out cost!), and deli-sliced meat will probably cost you at least $15 more.

What's more: save the broth you cooked the corned beef in and use it to make SOUP!

Ingredients

• 5 potatoes
  
• 3 carrots
• 1 cabbage head
  
• 1 onion

Peel, wash, and dice ingredients to your liking and toss it in the broth. Add water and salt as necessary. Voila!--a hearty soup to serve with your sandwich.