Reuben. It is, for my preferences, the perfect sandwich. Even a cheap, poorly made Reuben is as good as most other sandwiches.

The best one I’ve ever had is my own, but it was modeled after the way a local deli does it, then tweaked via choice of brands and proportions to get it down to my idea of perfect. I can say that I’m also proud of how many people that enjoy Reubens have said that mine kid the best they’ve had too. It isn’t everyone, nor a majority, but I’ve never had anyone dislike it at all.

Back in the day, my school had a trip to DC, and Joe Namath had a restaurant there. Their Reuben was phenomenal, and the third best I’ve ever had. The problem is that I’ve never had one from a new York deli, which is supposedly the absolute best place to get them. So they may blow mine out of the water.

Good sourdough rye bread (I make my own), good corned beef (my cousin makes the stuff I like best, but any decent deli brand will do), good swiss (boars head is my go-to), home made thousand island, and as much butter as necessary. The kraut I’ll get to in a second.

Optional is some gulden’s mustard lightly applied to the meat side. This is not standard Reuben protocol, but it’s damn nice

Kraut though, that’s what makes a Reuben more than just a corned beef (or pastrami) sandwich.

My top pick is obviously home made, but I don’t have the ability to do that any more. I favor either Bavarian seeded kraut, usually Silver Floss brand; or something like Bubbies or Kühne. But the kraut is where you’ll have the biggest difference in final results. As long as you’re using decent corned beef, any brand works fine, there just isn’t much difference once you get past buddig types of cold cuts.

So, finding your ideal kraut is the real key to tweaking the perfect personalized Reuben. The rest is easier to sub in a different brand.