A mushroom Reuben recipe that channels the flavors of the deli classic, minus the meat
I have long enjoyed everything about the Reuben sandwich — except the corned beef. To me, it’s always been secondary to the griddled rye bread, zippy Russian dressing, gooey Swiss cheese and crunchy sauerkraut.
I often gravitated toward what many delis call the Rachel, not the infamous Jennifer Aniston haircut, but rather a Reuben made with turkey. These days, I find myself eating much less meat and poultry. I wanted to see whether I could come up with a vegetarian version that was just as satisfying.
Of course, the temptation is to just leave out the protein entirely. That felt a bit defeatist, and then really all I’d have was a grilled cheese with a bunch of condiments (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I wanted something more substantial, that would replicate the stateliness and height of the original. I’ve had a few restaurant versions made with tempeh and liked them, but the fermented soybean product didn’t quite fit the profile for me for this recipe, so I turned to that classic, “meaty” vegetarian staple, the portobello mushroom.
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Initial tests were promising, if not perfect. Roasting thinly sliced portobello caps at a high heat cooked off so much moisture I practically had mushroom jerky. Tasty, but the sandwich felt more like a mushroom melt. Next, I tried whole caps. They didn’t cook down enough, leaving me with mushrooms that were too thick, squeaky and stringy for my taste. For help, I turned to Washington chef Rob Rubba, whose restaurant Oyster Oyster places an emphasis on locally foraged mushrooms. I was already ambivalent about having to use both the oven and stovetop to make the sandwich, and he suggested I consider pressing mushrooms in the skillet. My next test involved slicing the portobello caps in half through the equator, arranging them in layers in a nonstick pan and weighing them down with a cast-iron skillet. Bingo. The mushrooms gave up most, but not all, of their liquid, leaving me with stackable slices with just enough bite and juiciness to almost replicate a pile of deli cuts.
Rubba also mentioned that sometimes he rubs the mushrooms with a miso-mustard mix to get a crust that in this case would offer some of the same textural contrast as corned beef. Again, he was spot on. I assembled a spice and Dijon mustard paste that incorporated a few of the ingredients you might find in the pickling brine for the beef — allspice, mustard, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper and coriander. Spread onto the mushroom slices and briefly browned in the skillet, it added the right amount of punch and crunch.
The rest was straightforward. Sliced Swiss, check. Rye bread, check (you can use seeded, seedless or marble). Russian dressing, check. I’m offering a modified version of the dressing from our archives, but feel free to use store-bought. All that was left was to griddle the sandwich — a “mushreuben,” as my colleague Kari Sonde and others have called it — to golden brown perfection and dig in. Even without the meat, it will meet with your approval.
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Recipe notes: The sum total of these ingredients makes for a high-sodium meal, though steps such as using less dressing, finding a low-sodium or homemade bread and reducing the salt in the spice rub can help bring the numbers down, if desired.
Leftover dressing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Extra mushrooms can also be refrigerated for a few days for additional sandwiches, though you may want to warm them slightly or allow to come to room temperature before using.
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