In this installment
Zingerman’s Reuben Sandwich Recipe
Jewish Rye Bread
First Cut Corned Beef
Raye’s Down East Schooner Yellow Mustard
No-Nut and Magic Brownie Bites
Zingerman’s Corned Beef Sandwich Recipe
On the sandwich line at Zingerman’s Deli we communicate in numbers. You have in your hands all you’ll need to make one of our most popular (and classic) sandwiches: the #81 aka Oswald’s Mile High. Fantastic bread, our delicious lean corned beef, and a century’s old yellow mustard from Maine. When you factor in the brownies for dessert, it’s a classic deli experience you won’t soon forget.
There’s a few things we do at Zingerman’s Deli to get the most flavor from our food. Feel free to follow your own sandwich making heart, but here’s how we do it:
- Place the naked loaf in the middle of a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.
- Take the meat out of its pouch and portion what you’re going to use. At Zingerman’s it’s 4 ounces of meat per nosher-sized sandwich.
- Lay the meat in a pile on the aluminum foil. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water on top then fold the foil closed. Place in the same oven alongside the bread and steam the corned beef for ten minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
- After 15 minutes, take the loaf out of the oven. Careful—it’s hot! Grip the “twice baked” loaf with a towel in your hand. Roll the loaf up on its side. Cut one inch slices at a 30 degree angle. Protractor not required.
- Slather Raye’s Yellow Mustard on two slices of bread, pile 4 ounces of steaming corned beef in the middle, close the sandwich.
- Slice at a diagonal, serve with brownie bites for dessert.
Jewish Rye Bread
Traditional Jewish Rye Bread is an endangered species these days. We’re one of the last folks baking the real deal in America. This is rye like my grandparents ate in Eastern Europe, made with plenty of freshly milled rye flour (believe it or not, most “rye bread” sold in America contains very little rye flour), a natural sour rye starter (not the usual canned shortcuts) and lots of time to let the dough develop. The wheat flour we use is organic, too. There’s a touch of ground caraway that adds depth and flavor. It makes a difference.
First Cut Corned Beef
The foundation of Zingerman’s Deli. Every week we sell thousands of pounds of our corned beef, much of it piled high on Zingerman’s Jewish Rye bread (which you also have) and nearly as much sliced up for our customers to take home and have for dinner. The recipe and source of our corned beef hasn’t changed since we first opened our doors in March 1982 which is saying something.
Wondering how corned beef from the Midwest stacks up next to the deli centers of the east? A few years ago we slipped a pound of our corned beef into a blind, all New York City corned beef tasting held by Slow Food. The result was happily surprising—we were voted the best! That might be why we send so many of our sandwich kits to NYC…hmmm.
Raye’s Down East Schooner Yellow Mustard
A smooth yellow mustard with crystal clear flavors, highly recommended. I think the most interesting part about J. W. Raye’s fourth-generation operation in Eastport, Maine, is that the seeds are ground in a century-old stone mill. It has a series of eight one-ton quartz grindstones that, though I haven’t seen them in person, must be a dramatic sight.
As the mustard mash moves from stone to stone it gets creamier without any addition of heat, which would drive off the aromatics and lessen the flavor. It’s put into large barrels and aged about six weeks to balance and deepen its flavor. Then it’s off to us. It’s the house mustard at Zingerman’s Deli for very good reason.
No-Nut and Magic Brownie Bites
Almost a quarter pound each. Dense, cakey, loaded with chocolate. Stuff a couple in your drawer for late afternoon pick me ups and inter-office bribes. The Magic Bites are the original Soft, chocolatey, chewy interior dotted with toasted walnuts and covered with a thin chocolate crust. USA Today raved about them. So will you. Worth noting that Magic Brownies are more cake like than moist and fudgy. The No-Nut Bites are the same great brownie, just without the nuts!