Easy Reuben Soup Recipe - with Sauerkraut, Corned Beef, and Rye Toast! (2024)

FAQs

Is sauerkraut warm or cold on a Reuben? ›

That makes a Reuben—toasted rye bread stuffed with corned beef, a heap of warm sauerkraut, gooey layers of melted swiss cheese, and a generous dose of Russian dressing—pure sacrilege...or, should I say, sacrilege that's purely delicious.

The problem here is that a Reuben is, or should be, a melt. A melt is essentially a grilled cheese sandwich with other stuff in the middle. That means the sandwich should be assembled and then pan-fried with butter long enough to toast the bread and heat the fillings.

Reubens traditionally rely on rye bread, which is dense and can soak up any extra juices — so don't swap it for another variety if you can manage. To further fight sogginess, toast the rye bread so that it holds up to the sauerkraut's texture along with ingredients like the sauce and melted cheese.

One important issue to remember is that cooking sauerkraut will kill off the probiotic bacteria that we want to consume. Even after cooking, sauerkraut is a healthy, cabbage-based dish, but it will be missing out on that probiotic boost. So, when possible, try to add your sauerkraut to your dishes uncooked.

But does sauerkraut and kimchi have to be raw in order to have these benefits? Not necessarily. Although heat does kill the good bacteria living in your sauerkraut, it only happens at 46°C (115°F). So if you're cooking at a very, very low temperature, you should still retain a large amount of these probiotics.

The ingredient that differentiates Russian dressing from Thousand Island is—drumroll, please—horseradish. When you have Russian dressing accenting a hearty sandwich like a Reuben, the horseradish can be hard to detect, especially when you've got the sharp, funky flavors of sauerkraut to contend with.

About the Sandwich

Marbled rye bread filled with freshly sliced corned beef, melty Swiss Cheese, tangy sauerkraut and creamy Thousand Island dressing. This is a Reuben sandwich inspired by the New York standard.

Omaha, Nebraska Origins

The request came from a city store owner and casual poker player named Reuben Kulafofsky. Schimmel chose to add Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing on dark rye bread. This version originated in 1925 and was quickly put on the hotel's menu by owner Charles Schimmel.

There's nothing quite like a Chicago-style Reuben sandwich. With its juicy, tender corned beef, tangy sauerkraut, and melty Swiss cheese, it's a true comfort food classic that never goes out of style.

A Reuben sandwich is typically made with corned beef. It would taste great with pastrami too, it just wouldn't be a classic Reuben! Bottom line: You can't go wrong with either of these flavor-packed deli meats.

Is a Reuben still a Reuben without sauerkraut? ›

You can certainly make a sandwich without sauerkraut, but it won't be a reuben sandwich since one of the ingredients that defines the sandwich as being a reuben is sauerkraut.

Did you know that although similar, a Reuben sandwich uses pastrami whereas a Cuban uses sliced ham or pork loin?

He decided to try something new for his friends and put together the first reuben sandwich using swiss cheese, corned beef, sauerkraut, and his special deli sauce on rye. It was such a big hit with his poker group, he decided to include it on the menu of a nearby hotel and it grew in popularity ever since.

Tempeh, seitan, vegetables and mushrooms have stood in for the corned beef, but they're not really needed, because outsize quantities of the other traditional elements make a punchy, gooey sandwich on their own. Both sides of the buttered rye get melted Swiss.

Eat it warm or cold.

Cold sauerkraut is the best bet to reap all the natural health benefits.

Traditionally it is served warm, with pork (e.g. eisbein, schweinshaxe, Kassler) or sausages (smoked or fried sausages, Frankfurter Würstchen, Vienna sausages, black pudding), accompanied typically by roasted or steamed potatoes or dumplings (knödel or schupfnudel).