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Reuben Dog

The legendary New York deli sandwich converted into a high-utility street food format.

Flag of United StatesOrigin: New York City, New York, United States
Reuben Dog illustrated hot dog icon

Origin region: New York City, New York, United States

The anatomy

Vessel
Toasted rye bun
Sausage
All-beef frank
Region
New York
Ingredients
Sauerkraut illustrated ingredient icon

The Reuben Dog adapts the heavy, sour, and fatty elements of the classic Jewish-style deli sandwich to a hotdog chassis. This is a deliberate configuration of cured beef, fermented cabbage, melted cheese, and sweet-and-sour dressing. When constructed with dry sauerkraut and caraway seeds, it delivers the exact sensory profile of the sandwich without the structural failure of wet rye bread.

Method

  1. 1Wring the sauerkraut in a clean cloth until completely dry to prevent bun failure.
  2. 2Warm the dried sauerkraut in a skillet over low heat, optionally tossing with a pinch of caraway seeds.
  3. 3Grill the all-beef frank on a medium-high griddle until the casing blisters.
  4. 4Toast the buttered rye bun on the griddle until golden.
  5. 5Place the hot frank in the bun and immediately cover with sliced Swiss cheese.
  6. 6Broil the hotdog for 1 minute until the Swiss cheese is melted and acts as a barrier.
  7. 7Mound the warm sauerkraut over the melted cheese.
  8. 8Drizzle Russian dressing down the center of the cabbage.
  9. 9Garnish with a light pinch of caraway seeds and serve immediately.

Sources

Controversies

Substituting pastrami for corned beef disqualifies the hotdog from being a true Reuben Dog.

Our take: If you wrap the beef frank in pastrami, you are making a highly seasoned, double-cured salt bomb. It works. Purists can argue about the terminology, but the extra spice from pastrami actually improves the translation to sausage format.

The Kansas City-Style Hot Dog is a fake marketing invention.

Our take: Locals in Kansas City are right to be confused by the Swiss-and-kraut designation, which belongs to New York or Omaha. A true Kansas City dog would involve burnt ends or sweet barbecue sauce, not imported deli components.

Thousand Island dressing is a lazy and incorrect substitute for Russian dressing on a Reuben Dog.

Our take: Use Russian dressing. The hotdog is already rich, and Thousand Island is sweet-relish-heavy baby food. You need the sharp horseradish kick of true Russian dressing to cut through the grease.

The Reuben flavor profile belongs entirely to Omaha, Nebraska, not New York City.

Our take: We do not care about hotel poker games in the 1920s versus deli counters in 1914. The sandwich is legendary, but the adaptation to a hotdog is what matters here. New York did it first, but Kansas City made it famous at the stadium.