Menu

in: Food & Drink, Living

• Last updated: September 30, 2023

AoM Month of Sandwiches Day #1: The Breakfast Reuben

Vintage Breakfast Reuben sandwich.

Welcome to the first day of the Art of Manliness Month of Sandwiches!

A few weeks ago I published my suggestions on upgrading the humble bologna sandwich. At the end of the post I asked readers to leave a comment with their favorite sandwich recipe. 483 of you deliciously delivered. Jeremy (AoM’s newish editor and community manager) and I then combed through all of the sandwich submissions and picked 20 that we’re going to highlight during April. Each weekday this month you’ll find a new delicious sandwich recipe complete with photo instructions on how to construct it. I’m really looking forward to this. I’ve already made a few of these user-submitted sandwiches and all of them have been fantastic. Hopefully you’ll glean some new ideas to add to your sammich repertoire.

At the end of the series we plan to compile all the sandwich submissions into an epic man-sandwich recipe book.

A note to all those who shared a sandwich I’m going to be highlighting: I know I won’t make it as well as you, with all your exact signature touches. This is just one guy’s first-time go at it.

Today’s Sandwich: The Breakfast Reuben by Dan W.

I love breakfast and I love Reubens, so I had high hopes for this sandwich. Did Dan W. let me down? Let’s find out.

The Ingredients Ingredients for Reuben sandwich.

  • Rye bread. Marbled is Dan’s preferred rye of choice, but he says dark or light rye work great, too. I couldn’t find any marbled rye, so I just went with dark.
  • Swiss cheese or emmentaler (I used Swiss)
  • 1 egg
  • Pastrami, corn beef, and roast beef (I just used a bit of pastrami and corn beef)
  • Horseradish sauce
  • Ketchup
  • Sauerkraut

Step 1: Fry Your Egg

Fried egg into frying pan.

This is what makes the Breakfast Reuben a Breakfast Reuben. Fry up an over-medium egg. Dan suggests keeping the yolk a little runny. Don’t know how to cook an over-medium egg? Check out our comprehensive guide on how to cook eggs.

Step 2: Place Cheese and Egg on Piece of Rye Bread

Vintage placed cheese and egg on piece of rye bread.

I over-cooked the egg a little. Oh well.

Step 3: Layer Meats and Kraut

Vintage layer meats and kraut in plate.

Add your pastrami, corn beef, and roast beef. Be as generous as you want. Top it off with a big heap of sauerkraut.

Step 4: Add Ketchup and Horseradish Sauce

Vintage ketchup and horseradish sauce.

Add your “Russian Sauce” by squirting some ketchup and horseradish sauce on top of your glorious pile of cheese, egg, meat, and kraut. I could have taken the extra step of mixing the ketchup and horseradish sauce together, but I was hungry.

Step 5: Top with Bread

Vintage finished process top with bread.

Ain’t she a beaut?

Step 6: Eat!

Vintage eating Reuben sandwich.

Taster’s Thoughts

This is a solid sandwich. Savory and filling. The addition of a fried egg to a traditional Reuben sandwich is a deft touch. Despite being called the “Breakfast Reuben,” I probably wouldn’t eat this sandwich for breakfast. It’s too salty for my tastes to start my day off with. It’s a great sammy for a lazy Saturday lunch, though. Two thumbs up!

Related Posts

Tags: