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RE: ~FFF~ Meet Rueben... The Sandwich That is ~ Fast Eddies Of Walla Walla, WA ~ FoodFightFriday
To me its really not a reuben if its not corned beef. But that still looks like a good sandwich :)
To me its really not a reuben if its not corned beef. But that still looks like a good sandwich :)
Man do I feel like a horse’s a$$, corned beef.... I thought this whole time it was pastrami?!?!? So I couldn’t help but look it up, have I been lying to myself this whole time?? Or do I just not know my meats very well?? I’m going to go with both. Lol. So what I found is a “Classic” Rueben is made with Corned Beef and of it is made with Pastrami it’s called a Rachel. Hmmm interesting. So on their menu it didn’t say classic and upon my reading I also found out that pastrami and corned beef are cut from a brisket. The difference is corned beef is boiled after brining for a week as compared to pastrami which is seasoned and smoked. That is according to this. Actually a pretty insightful read if you ask me. Lol.
Thanks for making me feel like a horses a$$ and questioning my whole existence. Hahahahaha No really thanks for mentioning that or else I would probably have never found out the difference between Rueben and Rachel (of course without looking between their legs).
Cheers
Yeah a lot of places try to pass off a pastrami sandwich as a reuben, but it really isn't. I consider myself a bit of a reuben connoisseur. I have a long standing rule that if I am eating lunch somewhere and they offer an actual corned beef reuben on the menu, I have to get it (unless I have already tried it from that particular establishment, in which case I will still most likely get it but I don't have to). A real reuben also needs to be on pumpernickel rye bread (that super dark almost black rye), or at least a swirl rye bread (swirl of dark and light rye). A normal light rye bread just doesn't cut it, and don't even try to use a non-rye bread (that is a capital offense).
So RE the pastrami / corned beef distinction. Most sandwich places already have thin sliced pastrami on hand for other sandwiches, so it is understandable they try to shoehorn pastrami into a reuben rather than carry corned beef for only that purpose. You will typically have better luck at a more full menu restaurant that might actually have corned beef on the menu separately. It is not just the "corning" process that is the difference (the boiling/brining process) - corned beef is not sliced thin, and is a lot more fatty. A proper corned beef reuben will not have thin slices of meat, they should be nice thick fatty slabs :)
I believe this is corned beef due to its thickness and fatty veins running through it. You know when you go to take a bite and the whole chunk of meat comes out and slaps you in the chin and maybe picks up a stray beard hair or two. Lol The last one I got from there had the light bread with a dark swirl in it. This time they didn’t!! I am gonna have to tell them a thing or two. Hahaha
I have officially been schooled by the master of the Ruben Sandwich. I had no idea a sandwich could get so technical. 😉. But seriously thanks for the info it is really interesting.