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7. Place the smoked meat in 1 inch of water in a Dutch oven and bring the water to a simmer over high heat. Cover, place in the oven, and braise for 2 to 3 hours, until tender. Cool to room temperature. Pat dry. Wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator for 1 week. For longer storage, freeze.

Makes about 5 pounds

SAUERKRAUT

You can use purple cabbage or green; you can add dill, fennel, or mustard seed and omit the apple and caraway. You can add shredded beets, pineapple, grapes, or quince, though the minute you add chiles and garlic you’re not making sauerkraut, you’re making kimchi. I always disliked sauerkraut until I made it. It’s an essential component of the Reuben but also works wonders on a grilled cheese sandwich.

Make it or buy it? Make it.

Hassle: Engineering challenges

Cost comparison: Homemade will set you back $2.00 per quart. Bubbies: $5.70.

1 small head green cabbage, about 1½ pounds untrimmed

1 tablespoon fine sea salt

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1 apple, peeled and grated

¼ cup whey, optional

1. Slice the cabbage thin and chop into pieces about 1 inch long. In a large bowl, toss with the other ingredients, massaging the salt into the shreds. If you have time, let the cabbage macerate for 1 or 2 hours at room temperature.

2. Pack the cabbage tightly into a wide-mouth quart canning jar. Find a smaller jar that will fit inside the rim of the quart jar—a jelly jar, for instance. Fill it with water and cap it tightly. Place it on top of the cabbage and press down so the juices are forced up and over the vegetables. Cover the whole contraption with a clean apron or T-shirt and tie tightly around the middle. You want the kraut able to breathe, but inaccessible to flies.

3. Place the contraption on a tray on the counter. (Occasionally, the jar will overflow.) Let the kraut ferment at room temperature, tasting daily. When you like the flavor—for me, it takes about 5 days—dismantle the contraption, cap the jar, and store in the refrigerator.

Makes 1 quart

RUSSIAN DRESSING

Russian dressing—that thick, coral-hued salad bar staple—may once have been made with caviar, which may be how it acquired the name. One 1923 recipe for Russian dressing called for mayo, chili sauce, green pepper, onions, pimientos, and “if liked, add one tablespoon caviar.”

Don’t like. Caviar would be wasted in a Reuben, for which you want a basic Russian, like this one. Wish-Bone is too sweet. This dressing is plenty sweet, but the horseradish and Worcestershire push back hard.

Make it or buy it? Make it.

Hassle: Mixing is all

Cost comparison: Homemade: $1.00 per cup. Wish-Bone: $2.20 per cup.

½ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons ketchup

1½ teaspoons horseradish

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon pickle relish

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Stir everything together and taste. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Store in a jar in the refrigerator, where it will keep for months.

Makes a scant cup

DILL PICKLES

Juicy and refreshing. Hard to go back to Vlasic.

Make it or buy it? Make it.

Hassle: Simple

Cost comparison: $2.00 per quart for homemade. Close to $6.00 for Vlasic.

4 pickling cucumbers, 1½ to 2 pounds

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

1 bay leaf

A few sprigs of fresh dill

1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

Peel of 1 lemon, removed with a vegetable peeler in strips

2 fresh grape leaves (optional, but the tannin keeps the pickles crisp)

2 tablespoons fine sea salt

1. Cut the tips off the cucumbers. Place the spices and lemon peel in a 1-quart canning jar. Add the grape leaves and pack the cucumbers in vertically.

2. Dissolve the salt in 2½ cups water and pour over the cukes, making sure the vegetables are submerged in the brine. Find a smaller jar that will fit inside the rim of the quart jar—a jelly jar, for instance. Fill it with water and cap it tightly.