Alright folks, gather ’round! Today I’m spilling the beans on my corned beef special adventure. It was a wild ride, let me tell you.
It all started last week when I got a serious craving for a corned beef special. Not just any sandwich, mind you, but a proper, piled-high, taste-of-deli heaven corned beef special. So, I decided, “Why not make it myself?” Famous last words, right?
First things first: the corned beef. I waltzed down to the local butcher shop, thinking I’d just grab a slab. Nope! They were all out! Apparently, everyone else had the same brilliant idea. I ended up at the grocery store, settling for a pre-packaged brisket. Not ideal, but hey, gotta roll with the punches.
Next up: the rye bread. This is crucial. It HAS to be rye. I opted for a seeded rye, because, well, seeds are good, right? Found a decent loaf, but it wasn’t quite as dense as I wanted. Strike two, but I kept moving.
Now, for the special sauce. This is where things got interesting. I knew I wanted something tangy and creamy. I rummaged through my fridge, and here’s what I cobbled together:
- Mayonnaise (the base, obviously)
- Ketchup (a little sweetness)
- Horseradish (the kick!)
- Sweet pickle relish (for the crunch and zing)
- A dash of Worcestershire sauce (for umami, you know?)
I mixed it all up in a bowl, tasting as I went, until I got a flavor that made my taste buds sing. It was a bit of an experiment, but hey, that’s half the fun, right?
Then comes the sauerkraut. Now, I’m not a HUGE sauerkraut fan. But a corned beef special ain’t a corned beef special without it. I bought a jar of the stuff, drained it well, and gave it a quick rinse to mellow out the sourness a bit.
Finally, Swiss cheese. Gotta have that nutty, melty goodness. Sliced up a few pieces, ready to go.
Assembly time! I buttered the rye bread and toasted it lightly. Then, I piled on the corned beef, followed by a generous dollop of my special sauce, a layer of sauerkraut, and topped it off with the Swiss cheese.
The first bite? Oh man. It was a symphony of flavors. The salty corned beef, the tangy sauce, the sour sauerkraut, the creamy cheese, all on that slightly toasted rye. It wasn’t perfect, the brisket was a little tougher than I’d hoped, the rye could have been denser, but it was still damn good.
Would I do it again? Absolutely! Next time, I’ll hunt down that proper deli-style corned beef, and maybe even try baking my own rye bread. But for now, I’m happy with my homemade corned beef special. It was a labor of love, and a tasty one at that!
