Italian Beef Sandwiches
These classic Midwestern sandwiches, which are thought to have originated in Chicago in the early 1900s, are made from slow-roasting tougher cuts of beef in a flavorful broth until tender. The cooked beef, which can be thinly sliced or shredded, is piled on soft rolls and layered with pickled hot peppers, provolone and tangy giardiniera. You’ll often find this sandwich doused in the cooking jus (or gravy, as Chicagoans call it) or with the jus alongside, for dipping. (This is a streamlined riff, but for a classic version, rub the meat with a mixture of 2 teaspoons coriander, and 1 tablespoon each dried oregano, dried garlic powder, smoked paprika, and fennel seed along with the salt and pepper in Step 1. Rub into the meat and keep covered for up to two days before cooking.) Pickled green hot peppers are traditional, but any kind of pickled pepper will bring a welcome bit of heat and crunch.
Ingredients
- 2 ½- to 3-pound boneless chuck roast, trimmed
- 1 tablespoonkosher salt (such as diamond crystal)
- black pepper
- 2 tablespoonsextra-virgin olive oil
- 1yellow onion, halved
- 1 headgarlic, halved crosswise
- 2carrots, peeled
- 2celery stalks
- ½ teaspoonred-pepper flakes
- 6 cupsbeef broth
- 2 tablespoonstamari or soy sauce
- 6soft hoagie rolls, soft french rolls or ciabatta rolls
- ¼ poundprovolone, thinly sliced
- about 2 cups giardiniera, preferably chicago-style
- 1 cuppickled green hot peppers
- fresh parsley (optional), leaves torn
Directions
- 1
Season the meat generously all over with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high. Add the meat and sear on one side, undisturbed, until deeply browned, about 5 minutes. Flip and brown lightly on all remaining sides, about 2 minutes per side, lowering the heat as necessary to avoid scorching the oil. Using tongs, remove and place it in a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, red-pepper flakes and beef broth.
- 2
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, until the beef is very tender. (You can also cook, covered, in an ovenproof Dutch oven or pot in a 300-degree oven until very tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours.) When the beef is ready, it should be juicy and flavorful, and will pull apart easily with a fork. (The amount of time can depend upon the leanness or fattiness of your cut, or how hot your slow cooker runs.) Using tongs and a slotted spoon, remove the beef to a cutting board (and set the vegetables aside as a chef’s treat). Slice the beef thinly across the grain then return it to the broth. Stir in the soy sauce and cover to keep warm.
- 3
Heat a broiler to low. Split the rolls in half. Top each sandwich with some beef and jus, and a layer of provolone over the top. Broil just to melt the cheese (don’t overdo it, or it can make your meat tough and the roll too dry; the roll should stay soft but be slightly warm). Stuff the sandwich with giardiniera, pickled peppers and fresh parsley leaves, if using.
- 4
Serve warm, with broth for dipping, if desired, or drizzle some jus over the sandwich while warm.