Chicago Italian Beef Sandwiches From The Stand Man Food

CHICAGO-STYLE ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICH

Steps:

• For the pot roast: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F.
• Liberally sprinkle the entire roast with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the roast on all sides until golden and caramelized, 5 to 7 minutes per side; reduce the heat if the fat begins to smoke. Transfer the roast to a plate and reduce the heat to medium.
• Add the onions and a pinch of salt and saute, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper and garlic and saute until fragrant, another minute. Deglaze with the red wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Simmer until reduced by about half, another 2 to 5 minutes. Add the stock and thyme and bring to a simmer. Adjust the seasoning of the liquid.
• Put the roast back in the pot with any accumulated juices and place in the oven, covered. Cook the roast, turning every 30 minutes and uncovering the pot for the last 30 minutes of cooking, until very tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Transfer the roast to a cutting board and tent with foil. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F for the peppers and bread.
• For the sweet peppers: Toss the pepper strips with the olive oil, granulated garlic and some salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Bake, stirring halfway through, until lighter in color and softened, about 45 minutes.
• Strain the pot roast jus through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl and return to the pot. Bring to a simmer and simmer until reduced slightly, 5 to 10 minutes. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Keep warm.
• Once the meat has cooled a bit, remove the twine. Pull the meat into smaller chunks and return to the reduced jus until ready to build the sandwiches.
• For the sandwich build: Rub the rolls with some of the giardiniera oil and toast in the oven until golden brown and crispy, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Place some beef on a roll, then some sweet peppers (with some of the oil they were cooked in), followed by some hot giardiniera. Pour a small dish of reduced jus. Quickly dunk the whole sandwich in the hot jus, then wrap in deli paper or parchment paper and wait for 2 to 3 minutes while the magic happens. Repeat with the remaining rolls and toppings. When ready, open up and eat!

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 ITALIAN BEEF

Steps:

• Cook first 5 ingredients in a Crockpot on LOW for 18 (eighteen) hours.
• Turn over at the 6th and 12th hour interval.
• At the 17th hour cut sweet green peppers into 1/8 ths lengthwise and cook in water on low heat until soft.
• Cut bread into 6 inch lengths and slice on the side lengthwise.
• Pull roast apart with a fork, and using tongs, pile bread with meat and juice.
• (Do not let juice drain before putting on bread. The juice is half the taste of the sandwich.) Lay strips of green pepper on top of the meat.
• Salt to taste.
• OPEN WIDE and enjoy the most wonderful taste sensation.
• May be frozen when cooked.

CHICAGO ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICHES FROM THE STAND MAN

Steps:

• DAY 1.
• Roll whole beef round on all sides in Worcestershire sauce until it's brown. Roll in garlic powder until it's white. Roll in basil until it's green. Sprinkle lightly with red pepper flakes.
• Put in baking pan without rack and bake in oven at 250 dg. for 20 minutes per lb. (Roast will be extremely rare, but don't worry because it will be tender and juicy after recipe is completed) Do not remove roast from pan or drain off drippings. Wrap it all in foil and chill in refrigerator overnight to firm up for easy slicing and to meld seasonings.
• DAY 2.
• Remove from pan and save all drippings including any browned bits from baking pan. Refrigerate until needed.
• Slice chilled roast as close to paper thin as possible (I bring it to butcher where purchased and he slices it for me on his electric slicer.) Put beef slices (saving any juice that dripped off) in plastic bags and chill until ready to assemble.
• Add 1 1/2 cups of water per lb. of beef in saucepan, adding drippings that had been saved earlier. Stir over low heat to make an au jus. If more flavor is needed, add more of the above spices and beef bouillon cubes until flavor seems right. The last few years I've used au jus gravy envelope(s) to speed things up or to stretch out more sauce, adjusting seasonings above to keep the "Italian" flavor If wanted, at this point you can add a bit of garlic powder, oregano, or pepper to taste.
• Bring au jus mixture to a boil.
• TO SERVE:.
• Immediately pour boiling au jus to cover beef slices in a roaster, electric frypan, or large crockpot that will keep sandwiches warm but not hot. DO NOT heat up beef first! The boiling jus will warm up the beef and finish the cooking process. If beef is actually cooked in sauce it will get tough.
• Serve immediately by having guests prepare their own sandwiches on small french sandwich loaves or hoagie buns. If Gonella- brand rolls are available, that was the bread of choice for Sid the stand man.
• Serve with green pepper slices that have been sautéed to soften as well as with yellow pepperoncini peppers for those who want more of a kick!
• NOTE: Sid also made Stromboli Sandwiches, which are a French roll stuffed with Italian beef, a link of cooked hot Italian sausage.
• and mozzarella cheese. He wrapped the sandwiches in foil and heated in oven until the cheese was melted, then poured a drizzle of warm marinara sauce on filling and added a few sautéed green pepper slices (or pepperoncini peppers). I make these with frozen leftover Italian beef after the party by making broiled garlic bread rolls and assembling them as Sid did.