Most people have heard of the Reuben sandwich. It is made of corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island Dressing grilled between two slices of rye bread.
We often associate corned beef with Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day, but the Reuben sandwich is said to have originated in Omaha, Nebraska.
Reuben Kulakofsky, a Jewish, Lithuanian-born grocer, has been credited with the creation of the Reuben. Kulakofsky and a group of friends held a weekly poker game at the Blackstone Hotel. The group included the hotel’s owner, Charles Schimmel, who put the sandwich on the hotel’s lunch menu. It was said to have become quite popular.
Other accounts say the Reuben was invented in New York City by Arnold Reuben, the German-Jewish owner of Reuben’s Delicatessen.
For St. Patrick’s Day this year, I have decided to put an American twist on my celebration with a Reuben burger. If you feel you need a change of pace from the ordinary slices of corned beef, soft cabbage, potatoes and carrots, why not prepare these burgers for your family?
Or, if you’d like, you can make them on March 14, which is “National Reuben Day.”
Reuben Burgers
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 can corned beef, shredded
Swiss cheese
Sauerkraut, drained
Thousand Island dressing
Rye buns or bread
Preparation:
Mix the ground beef and corned beef together in a bowl. Form mixture into patties.
Heat grill. Cook patties to the degree of doneness that you like. Top each patty with a slice of Swiss cheese. Allow cheese to melt, which will take about 2 minutes.
Remove patties from grill and place on rye buns. Top with sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing.
Serve immediately.
