You don’t have to make this the way I made this. Making things more difficult than necessary is the way I do things, but I understand that I am a weirdo. Feel free to buy corned beef at the deli instead of brining and boiling your own brisket. I’m sure you can also pick up some perfectly respectable rye bread. I draw the line at using Thousand Island salad dressing instead of mixing up a few ingredients for the traditional Russian dressing (which is similar, but not identical, to Thousand Island).
I make mayonnaise-based baked dips exactly once a year, for the Super Bowl. Because I love them, but they are, after all, a bowl of fat that you spread on carbs. This was our third-quarter snack, and even after a quarter of chips and dips and another of vegetables with dip, we scarfed down a considerable amount of this dip.
My biggest worry with this recipe was that it was not a sandwich, as reubens are one of Dave’s favorite foods. I was fully expecting Dave to consider this “good…but I’d rather just have a reuben.” He said nothing of the sort. Now that’s a good dip – fully worthy of being my one choice this year, and, it goes without saying, of the time I spent obsessively making most of the components from scratch.
One year ago: Honey Ginger Pork Tenderloin
Two years ago: Chicken Artichoke Pesto Calzones
Three years ago: Banana Walnut Pancakes
Printer Friendly Recipe
Baked Reuben Dip (adapted liberally from allrecipes and epicurious)
Serves 4
See that thick layer of swiss cheese on top? Don’t do that. Let the mixture itself brown, not just the cheese. There’s no need to have a layer of cheese armor on top of the dip.
I used the food processor to shred the cheese, chop the meat, and mix everything. All that mixing probably accounts for the uniform grey-ness of my dip. Another factor is that my home corned beef is more of a muted purple color than storebought version because it doesn’t have the nitrates that keep the meat red.
I just actually read through that allrecipes recipe for the first time, and apparently it doesn’t call for mixing all of the ingredients together anyway, just layering them. That might make this more attractive too. Although sometimes taste trumps looks, and ugly food is okay.
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 tablespoon horseradish
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons minced parsley
8 ounces sauerkraut, rinsed and squeezed dry
4 ounces corned beef, shredded
6 ounces (1½ cups) shredded Swiss cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the mayonnaise, cream cheese, ketchup, onion, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and parsley until evenly combined. Stir in the sauerkraut, beef, and cheese. Spread the mixture in a 1-quart casserole dish. Bake 20-25 minutes, until bubbling and golden. Serve with rye bread.
I love reubens! This is at the top of my list for my next get-together.
I made a baked Reuben dip that called for chopping everything up so I think you’re still good. Perfect for a football game.
Reuben’s are one of my favorite sandwiches too. This dip does look like a great variation on the sandwich even if it’s not the prettiest!
I love a Reuben! Your spread looks delicious- I’m saving it for when I have a crowd to help me eat it. 🙂
Having just discovered your blog, I love it!! Especially the baking desserts part of it. So happy for me!! Yay..I have my own baking blog, yr always invited to peruse.
Thank you for sharing!
-Jackie Hale
Oh, you have those canape bread pans! I had a set years ago and must have decidedly (wrongly) that I didn’t want them anymore.
Audrey – My mom found them, still in the packaging, when she cleaned out my grandmother’s kitchen! This was the first time I used them. I was worried that, with how thin they were, the bread would brown too fast, but they worked great!
I’m pretty sure I know someone in this house who would suddenly start asking for mayonnaise-based dips weekly if I dared to make this once!
I have been eating Reubens all week! This is such a great variation on the sandwich. I also LOVE that you said ugly food is ok! I have been cooking for a while but my food is not that pretty. Hopefully this just comes with time ?
Bridget, I think my hubby would love this, thanks for sharing! 🙂
I saw this posted today on wc and I am so glad I found it! I’ve been looking for a good reuben dip recipe. Thanks so much. It looks delicious!
My daughters basketball coach’s wife made a reuben dip(this recipe was different then her’s) for their end of the season party and i was really reluctant to try it since i don’t like reubens but i have to say I LOVED IT! and whats funny i still don’t like reubens unless it has coleslaw on it. I am going to try making this for my husbands family christmas get-together since they all love reubens. Thank you