Chicago Style Italian Beef Sandwich Recipes

CHICAGO-INSPIRED ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICH

Steps:

• Season beef with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Heat vegetable oil in a heavy pot over high heat. Cook and stir beef in hot oil until browned, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Stir garlic, vinegar, oregano, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, thyme, rosemary, 1 teaspoon black pepper, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes into beef. Pour enough chicken broth into beef mixture to cover the meat by 1 inch and bring to a simmer.
• Cover pot with a lid, reduce heat to low, and simmer until meat is fork-tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Transfer meat with a strainer or slotted spoon to a separate pot; pour about 1/4 cup of meat broth into pot. Use a wooden spoon to gently break meat into smaller chunks. Cover pot with a lid or aluminum foil and keep warm.
• Skim excess grease from top of broth remaining in the first pot; season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover pot with a lid or aluminum foil and keep broth warm.
• Lay halves of a roll out on a work surface and spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons meat broth over each half. Top bottom half of roll with a generous portion of meat and a spoonful of pickled vegetables. Place tops on sandwich. Repeat with remaining buns, broth, meat, and pickled vegetables to make 3 more sandwiches.
• Spoon hot meat broth into ramekins and top each ramekin with 1/2 teaspoon parsley. Serve sandwiches with hot broth for dipping.

CHICAGO-STYLE BEEF SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Cut roast in half; sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, brown meat in oil on all sides. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker., In a food processor, combine the mushrooms, carrots, onion, garlic and oregano. Cover and process until finely chopped. Transfer to slow cooker. Combine beef broth and base; pour over top. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until tender., Remove meat and shred with two forks. Skim fat from cooking juices. Return meat to slow cooker; heat through. Using a slotted spoon, serve beef on buns; top with giardiniera.

ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Make slits in roast with a sharp knife, and insert garlic slivers. Place roast in a pan not much larger than the roast. Pour water into pan, and season roast with salt, black pepper, red pepper, and oregano.
• Cover, and bake in preheated oven for 2 hours, basting occasionally. Remove from oven, and let cool in roasting pan. Meat should be very rare. Wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, Remove roast from pan, and slice as thinly as possible. Add a little water to roasting pan, and heat on stovetop, but do not boil. Stir to blend seasonings. When au jus is hot, add sliced beef just long enough to heat through. Serve on crusty Italian bread with au jus available for dipping.

CHICAGO ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICH

Steps:

• Rub meat with dry ingredients, cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
• Add meat to a roasting pan with bacon fat, add onions and garlic, saute for 15 minutes, deglaze with wine, and add Worcestershire sauce, beef stock and bay leaves.
• Place roasting pan in the oven and cook for 3 hours, uncovered, or until an instant-read thermometer registers 135 degrees F in center. Remove, let cool, then slice very thin.
• Cool broth in roasting pan and remove the fat that rises to the top. Strain.
• Reheat the broth, and add the sliced meat. Place some meat on each toasted roll, ladle with some broth and top with giardiniera vegetables and red peppers.

CHICAGO-STYLE ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Place roast on a rack, in an open roasting pan, I use an 9" X 13" (230mm x 330mm) baking pan with the rack in it. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees (165 C), allowing 25 minutes per pound (55 min per kilo) , roast will be rare.
• Cool, and slice very thin, I use an electric slicer to do this. To the drippings in the pan, add the boiling water, bouillon cubes or granules, (1 bouillon cube for each cup of boiling water used). Add marjoram, thyme, oregano, hot pepper sauce, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, garlic cloves, and chopped green pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add the thinly sliced beef and cover. Marinate in gravy in refrigerator overnight.
• Next day, heat thoroughly, and serve warm on the French bread, along with a crisp, green salad and plenty of napkins!
• Note: Our family loves the gravy so much that I usually double the gravy recipe so there is plenty to dip the beef sandwich into. We also like to put a lot of gravy on the bread before adding the meat. Sometimes we add barbecue sauce to the sandwich before eating it, for a different flavor, not a lot, just a touch, about 1 Tablespoon or less to taste.
• Courtesy of Joseph Strain.

CHICAGO STYLE ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICHES (CROCK POT VERSION)

Steps:

• In a crock pot combine all of your ingredients (except for the rolls and giardinara) and let it cook on low for 8 hours until the meat is tender and falling apart.
• Remove the meat from the au jus and shred it with a fork until it is finely shred.
• Return the meat to the crock pot full of au jus to get warm for 20 minutes.
• After the meat is warmed, fill the buns with meat, ladle or dip the sandwiches with au jus.
• For Chicago authenticity, add hot or mild giardiniera to the sandwiches or the sweet green bell peppers.

CHICAGO JOHNNY'S ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICH RECIPE (CHICAGO STYLE BEEF)

Steps:

• Puree the following together in a food processor: garlic, olive oil, Italian seasoning, oregano, black pepper, sweet paprika, crushed red pepper, onion powder, granulated garlic, sea salt. Sear your roast in a hot pan, stovetop. Use a spatula to rub your pureed spices onto your roast. Put your rubbed roast & any juices from searing into a deep glass or metal dish & add 16 oz. of beef stock; place into a preheated 225 degree oven for 90-120 minutes, depending on the size of your roast. Put your roast & gravy into two separate dishes & refrigerate them overnight. Slice your roast as thin as you can without shaving it. Put your gravy into a pot & bring to a simmer; put your thinly sliced beef into the simmering gravy until cooked through; this process will only take moments. Compile your sandwich with any/or all of the following: provolone, mozzarella, Italian beef, Chicago Johnny's Giardiniera, sweet peppers*. Using tongs, grab your whole sandwich & "dip" it into your simmering gravy for a flavorful Italian beef. *To make sweet peppers, slice 2-3 green bell peppers & sauté in olive oil, 7-10 cloves garlic, 1 tea black pepper, 2 tea sea salt; cook until peppers just start to soften.