Reuben two pennies together: Reuben sandwich Melbourne style

The thing about not having a job is as a general rule you have a lot of time but not a lot of money. The thing about not having a house is as a general rule you realise you have a lot of stuff. But not a lot of money.

While if I was working to my normal spending money on food guidelines (which basically go like: ‘don’t, ever’) this would be fine, however I just moved into what I like to call a ‘triple-threat neighbourhood’. The only thing really scary at all about this neighbourhood is how easy it is to spend money. This is because it has

1) really good cafes and breakfast places

2) cheap but amazing ‘ethnic’ (everything except for Fish n’ Chips) restaurants

3) amazing and well stocked delis and specialty beer stores

So after caving within the first few hours of moving in and buying an incredible Reuben sandwich from a local cafe, I decided to balance it out the next day by making my own.

Reuben sandwich
4 pieces of rye bread
4 slices swiss cheese
5 or 6 slices silverside/corned beef (or a small handful if shaved)
2 Tbsp sauerkraut
fruit chutney/relish
as many pickles as you want

Layer half the swiss cheese, silverside and sauerkraut onto a piece of bread
Spread the relish as thick as you like on the other piece of bread
Sandwich together and toast/fry (I used a frying pan) until the cheese is melted and bread is toasted, serve with the pickles
Repeat with the other ingredients!

While a cheapskate at heart, I recommend not buying the cheapest ingredients you can get your hands on as this sandwich works a LOT better if you splash out a bit and use good quality ingredients.

I know relish is not a common Reuben ingredient but I had no mayo at the time to make Thousand Island Dressing and you’d be surprised how delicious it was with relish. Speaking of time, I also added some fresh thyme to one of the sandwiches just to see and it was goooooood. As always, don’t be afraid to experiment (potato chips/crisps also work really well as a side serving).

I ate the sandwich too fast to get a photo so here’s a photo of the dogs that are the reason I’m living in this food-trap of a suburb.