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ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD |
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CORNED BEEF'S FINEST HOUR Arnold Reuben (1883-1970), opened a deli in New York City in 1908. After a few relocations it settled in its final home at Madison and 58 th or 59 th (depending on the source), where it stayed for the next three decades. As the story goes, in 1914 an actress by the name of Annette Seelos, who was working on a Charlie Chaplin film at the time, stopped into Reuben’s. Allegedly she stated: “I’m so hungry I could eat a brick.” Reuben took some rye bread and added Virginia ham, turkey, Swiss cheese, cole slaw and Russian dressing. Seelos was so pleased with his concoction that she requested it be named after her. Reuben, taking his due credit and rebuffing her narcissism stated: “The hell I will. I’ll call it a Reuben’s Special!” The next scenario takes place somewhere between 1920 and 1935, or in the year 1955, again, depending on whom you ask. Supposedly a grocer by the name of Reuben Kay created a sandwich of corned beef, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut on rye bread, during a weekly poker game in Omaha, Nebraska In yet another twist in the ontological saga of the Reuben, other Nebraskans claim the sandwich was invented by a grocer named Reuben Kulakofsky in Omaha’s Blackstone Hotel in either 1922 or 1925 for the players of a poker game. It was a big hit so the hotel owner placed it on the menu and named it a “Reuben” in Kulakofsky’s honor. And if that’s not confusing enough, a final yarn is that a waitress of the Blackstone Inn, whose employer’s father played poker with Reuben Kay, entered the sandwich in a sandwich contest and won. Supposedly her boss, a trained chef, tweaked Kay’s recipe by adding Russian dressing, replacing the rye bread with pumpernickel, and then buttering and grilling the bread. Whatever its origins the Reuben is a classic sandwich and an American favorite. The current recipe includes corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, (although some still use cole slaw), and Russian dressing on rye bread, with the option of buttering and toasting/grilling the bread. Corned beef usually comes from the brisket. The brisket is a cut taken from the breast section. It is rather tough and requires long, slow cooking. It is best when braised. Corned beef is made by curing it in a seasoned brine. Curing refers to various procedures employed primarily to preserve foods, but also add flavor. Foods can be cured with smoke, salt, or a brine. A basic brine is a mixture of water and salt but customarily, as in corned beef, the mixture will also include seasonings to enhance flavor. The term “corned” has nothing to do with corn (on the cob). “Corn” is an English word for any small particle. Hence, it is derived from the “corns” of salt used to preserve meats. Russian dressing is so named because it originally contained caviar. Putting real Russian caviar in salad dressing is like mixing a bottle of top notch Bordeaux into a punch bowl. Be that as it may, Russian dressing has more recipes than the Reuben has stories of its origin. It will always contain mayonnaise, ketchup or chili sauce, and grated onion and/or chives. From there the sky’s the limit. Other possible ingredients include sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, pimentos, capers, sour cream, horseradish, paprika, parsley, dill, etc. Here’s my recipe for Russian dressing but feel free to augment it to your taste. 3 oz. mayonnaise
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