Corned Beef Cooking Terms

Corned Beef Glossary Term

A meat dish that refers to cuts of beef that have been cured or pickled in a salt brine solution and then cooked. The beef brisket is most often used when preparing corned beef, but cuts from the round primal and at times, the tongue, are sometimes used. When served, corned beef is thinly sliced for deli-style sandwiches, or it is served as a main dish. It is often prepared with cooked cabbage, and many people like it as an ingredient in hash recipes. In the United States, it is often associated with the St. Patrickâ€™s Day holiday, served as a complete corned beef and cabbage dinner accompanied by other cooked vegetables, such as potatoes and carrots.

Tangelo Glossary Term

A variety of mandarin orange, which includes several types, such as Minneola, Orlando, and Ugli Fruit. Tangelos are a hybrid fruit that is a cross between a grapefruit and a Dancy tangerine or a pummelo and a tangerine. Larger in size than tangerines, a tangelo is oval in shape and generally has a bright reddish-orange outer skin and inner flesh. The shape, flavor and seed content vary with the different varieties of tangelos. The flesh is very sweet and often seedless, depending on the type. They generally have a loose skin that is easy to peel.

When selecting, choose fruits that have a good colored glossy skin and feel heavy for their size, because they typically will have more juice. Fruits with damaged or broken skins should be avoided.

Reuben or Rueben Sandwich Glossary Term

A type of deli sandwich recipe that can be served hot (grilled) or cold and is made with layers of thinly sliced corned beef, sliced Swiss cheese, plenty of sauerkraut, and a special sandwich dressing, which is usually homemade Russian dressing or Thousand Island dressing, all sandwiched between slices of rye bread. There are several stories concerning the origin of this sandwich: Some people say that it originated at a New York City deli run by Arnold Reuben in the early 1900s. Others proclaim that it was invented by a grocer in Omaha, Nebraska known as Reuben Kulakofsky. Regardless of its origin, the Reuben sandwich began as a Reuben and has been relabeled occasionally as a Rueben (the u before the e) with the basic ingredients remaining the same.

Traditional recipes call for either a Russian rye bread or a pumpernickel rye bread to be used for the sandwich. If served hot, the sandwich is spread with butter on the outside and grilled, while the interior ingredients remain relatively cool. Although corned beef is typically the type of meat that is most often used in the sandwich, other meats, such as turkey, are sometimes used.