Corned Beef Reuben with Beer Braised Onions

One of the first questions people usually ask me when we first meet is, “What are you?”

And they don’t mean that in the sense of, friend or foe? Alien or human? A Libra or a Sagittarius?

What they mean is… what is my ethnicity. Historically, I’ve heard that I look Puerto Rican, Spanish, Greek, Cuban, Israeli, Iranian, you name it. I’ve been told dozens of times by strangers that “Nora” is a Middle Eastern name. But you know what I NEVER hear? EVER?

You look Irish.

Which, ironically, is a quarter of who I am.

And that’s the story of how I came to make a corned beef reuben for dinner tonight for St. Patrick’s Day.

I had the craving all weekend. All week even. It’s like my body is on some annual St. Paddy’s circadian rhythm where I only crave corned beef on or around the 17th of March. Last year, I slow roasted 8 pounds of corned beef… and then I was stuck with 8 pounds of corned beef. And no one wants that after the holiday is over. But this year, I wisened up. Let’s just get enough corned beef to crush this craving and then move on with our lives.

Rather than going the cabbage route, which frankly I feel is more of a scare tactic that parents use when their children are young to make the rest of the year’s meals look delicious to picky eaters, I went easy. I went Jewish. I went corned beef on rye.

And I’d do it all over again.

A still life portrait of an unmade sandwich.

I wish I was as photogenic as marbled rye bread.

Without even trying, I assembled these sandwiches and they looked like the dragon from Mulan.

THIS PIC DESERVES A FULL PAGE SPREAD IN THE NEW YORK TIMES.

Ingredients:

One half to three-quarters lb. deli corned beef
6 sliced marble rye bread
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp creamed horseradish
1 white or yellow onion, sliced thinly
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup beer of your choice
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 slices deli swiss or provolone
Cooking spray

Directions:

Heat butter in a small skillet, adding onions after foaming subsides. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add beer, salt and pepper, and reduce to a simmer. Stir occasionally and remove from heat after well caramelized (10-15 min. longer).
Combine horseradish and Dijon mustard into a spread. Spread on the inside of the top slices of bread.
Cut cheese slices in half, layering one piece on the mustard/horseradish covered top slice, and one on the bottom slice. Divide the corned beef evenly between sandwiches, stacking on top of the bottom slice with cheese only.
Divide the caramelized onions between sandwiches, layering on top of the corned beef. Top the sandwich with the mustard/horseradish & cheese covered slice of bread.
Preheat cast iron griddle or skillet to medium-high heat. Spray both sides of the outer bread with nonstick cooking spray.
Add the sandwiches to the griddle, leaving undisturbed for 4-5 minutes (or until nice grill lines have developed.) Flip them over and cook for an additional 3 minutes longer. When the cheese is melted and outside is nicely browned, remove from heat and serve immediately.

Get in mah bellay.