Serves 6, with extra
Darryl Nemeth joined us on the first round of Iron Chef America against Masaharu Morimoto. Darryl had a passion for replicating simple foods in transformative ways. He was a trouper and an inspiration when he worked in our kitchen. One of his many signature transformations was this Reuben Lasagna—the pasta is made with rye flour and caraway seeds, then the rye pasta and homemade corned beef is layered with Swiss cheese for the filling. Sauerkraut tops the lasagna and the whole thing is drizzled with Thousand Island dressing. We serve it with potato chips. It’s lasagna as an ode to New York City delis. You could eat a whole bowl of it without even trying.
1 head of cabbage
30 grams salt
1500 grams water
400 grams kosher salt
200 grams sugar
20 grams mustard seeds
20 grams black peppercorns
20 grams allspice
10 grams cloves
3 bay leaves
3600 grams (8 pounds) trimmed beef brisket
Brined corned beef
200 grams apple cider vinegar
20 grams juniper berries
10 grams mustard seeds
10 grams black peppercorns
10 grams white peppercorns
1 garlic clove, sliced
250 grams rye flour
25 grams caraway seeds
2 grams salt
108 grams (6 large) egg yolks
50 grams (about 1 large) egg
Rye Pasta sheets
Corned Beef
450 grams Swiss cheese, grated
200 grams white wine vinegar
50 grams sugar
5 grams salt
1 seedless cucumber, cut into ¼-inch dice
4 tomatoes, quartered
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 grams salt, plus more for seasoning the tomatoes
54 grams (3 large) egg yolks
300 grams canola oil
20 grams pickles, diced
Canola oil for frying
1 russet potato
Salt for seasoning
Remove the core of the cabbage and cut it in half. Shred the cabbage by cutting it into ¼-inch slices. Put the cabbage in a medium mixing bowl with the salt and mix well with your hands, squeezing the cabbage and working the salt into the cut leaves until the cabbage begins to give up its juices. Pack the cabbage and its liquid into a fermenting crock or clear plastic container, pressing down on the cabbage to submerge it in the liquid. Wrap some weights in plastic wrap and weigh down the cabbage to keep it submerged. Cover the container and store in a cool, dark place for at least 1 month, or until it is fermented to your taste.
Put the water, salt, sugar, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, allspice, cloves, and bay leaves in a large saucepot set over high heat hjbkm, and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. Remove from the heat and strain the brine through a fine-mesh sieve lined with damp cheesecloth. Wrap the spices up in the cheesecloth and use butcher’s twine to tie it up into a sachet. Put the brisket in a tall container large enough to hold the brisket and brine and cover with the brine. Add the spice sachet and allow to brine for 5 days in the refrigerator.
Take the brisket out of the brine and transfer to a pressure cooker. You can cut it into smaller pieces, if necessary, to fit it into the cooker. Add the cider vinegar, juniper berries, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, white peppercorns, garlic, and enough water to cover the meat by 1 inch. Cook at high pressure for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Release the pressure and let the brisket cool to room temperature. Shred the meat and keep warm until you are ready to assemble the lasagna.
Combine the flour, caraway seeds, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add the eggs. Stir the eggs with a fork to slowly incorporate them into the flour. Knead the mixture together to make a dough ball, adding more flour or extra tablespoons of water as needed to create a smooth, silky dough. Wrap with plastic wrap and let sit overnight to rest.
The next day, roll out the dough into a rough rectangle and feed into a pasta roller. Begin with setting #7, run the dough through the machine two times and then move down a setting. Repeat until you have run the dough through setting #2 two times. Flour the pasta and cut into 8-by-4-inch rectangles. Cover the pasta with a damp paper towel so it doesn’t dry out. Keep covered as you assemble the lasagna.
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Coat a deep 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Place 1 layer of pasta on the bottom of the baking pan, spread 300 grams of brisket over the pasta and top with 150 grams of Swiss cheese. Repeat the layers until you have 3 layers completed. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 1 hour. Cut into 8 pieces.
Combine the vinegar, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepot set over high heat. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar. Put the diced cucumbers in a glass jar and pour the hot vinegar mixture over them. Cover and steep for 1 hour at room temperature. Reserve until ready to use in the dressing.
Put the quartered tomatoes on a sheet pan and top each piece with a slice of garlic. Season with salt to taste. Put the tomatoes in an oven with a pilot light to dry out overnight.
Remove the tomatoes from the oven and transfer to a food processor. Add the egg yolks and turn on the machine to puree. Slowly drizzle in the oil to emulsify. Add 2 grams of salt. Remove from the food processor and transfer to a bowl. Stir in the pickles and reserve in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Preheat a deep fat fryer or pot of oil on the stove to 300°F.
Line a sheet pan with paper towels. Scrub the outside of the potato and then slice it into ‰-inch-thick slices with a mandoline. Fry the chips for 30 to 45 seconds, until golden brown, and transfer to the prepared sheet pan. Season with salt and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container until ready to plate.
Drizzle 15 grams of Thousand Island Dressing on each of 6 plates. Place 1 piece of Lasagna on the dressing. Top with 30 grams of Sauerkraut and garnish with 2 or 3 Potato Chips. Serve immediately.