Italian beef…with pepperoncinis, soaked
We celebrated genius husband’s birthday last weekend. Around here birthdays are big deals…we each get a whole weekend to choose exactly where to go, what to do, and where and when to 
eat. On Saturday, GH choose to have breakfast at Lazy Jane’s where one can feast on the most superb scones on earth plus have a few eggs and bacon too. Next was a stop at Trader Joe’s for provisions, then a stop at the comic book store. Then we went to the movies and watched Children of Men, a really good movie that we all enjoyed. The day ended with a dinner of Cheeseburgers.
Sunday was his feast day. Every year its the same feast, Italian Beef sandwiches. This sandwich is a Chicago specialty that inspires heated debates about which beef stand makes the best. If you want to understand how passionate Chicagoans are about their Beef check out the website GreaseFreak.
I’ve been making Italian Beef at home ever since we lived in California so by now I’ve gotten it down. The bread is always the wild card. Authentic Chicago Italian Beef is made with Gonella Club Rolls, is soaked, and features Pepperoncinis. We don’t have Gonella here in Wisconsin so we use Madison Sour Dough Company’s baguette, the beef part is pretty simple to master, and the rest is finesse.
Here’s the beef:
Italian Beef Chicago Style
Beef chuck, round, or arm roast
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 onion
1 bell pepper
Beef stock (I use boxed)
1 tablespoon Penzeys Beef Soup base
Red Pepper flakes
Italian Seasoning
Heat a dutch oven style pot on a medium high burner. Season the beef with salt and pepper. When the pot is hot add bit of canola oil and brown the beef on all sides.
While the beef is browning, chop the onion and bell pepper into large chunks. Peel the garlic but don’t chop just remove the germ. Add all of this to the pot once the beef is browned. Cover the beef with the beef stock, add the soup base and stir to dissolve. Toss in the red pepper flakes and bring this to a boil. Turn the heat down to simmer, cover, and let it simmer for 2-3 hours.
When its done remove the pot from the heat. Using tongs break the beef up into shreds and chunks. Add Italian Seasoning to taste. To serve it you must spoon some of the stock onto the bread, we soak the inside of both the top and the bottom pieces. Add the beef, then the pepperocinis. Dig in and enjoy.
BTW…it was genius husband’s 50th and he’s quite proud of it, here he is (he’s the cute one on the left) and that is Concrete Man from Dark Horse Comics on the right.
comments
8 Responses to “Italian beef…with pepperoncinis, soaked”
Leave a Reply
oh, I want a bite of that sandwich, silly me I thought the bell peppers are harbanero for a minute :P I usually cooked the whole roast in the crockpot in the ragu sauce, and pulled the meat out and dumped it back and slab it on the sandwich, that’s too much sauce, yours is much better :)
Happy belated birthday to the hubby! That sandwich looks great, I LOVE adding peppers to my sandwiches.
To be a genius at the young age of 50- he’s doing something right. Happy Birthday wishes and great sandwiches.
Vanessa, you had me cracking up with your utterly perfect usage of “here’s the beef”! :-D you know, i’ve never heard of the chicago beef sandwich before! which is a damn shame since it is right up my alley. That sandwich just looks so tender, juicy and down right amazing!
Melting Wok, We like the spicy…but not that spicy.
Ari, GH says Thanks, and I love adding peppers to almost anything.
Callipygia, You’re right he is doing something right …if we could just remember what it is! He thanks you for the birthday wishes.
Amanda, you should give it a try, I’m sure you’ll love it.
And to all of you…thanks for stopping by and leaving comments.
[...] Update — have to also try the recipe from <a href=”http://www.whatgeekseat.com/wordpress/?p=113″>What Geeks Eat</a> — a slight variation, but also looks good! [...]
Hi! All sounds good, but I much prefer my beef sliced thin and not shredded or pulled. I also use
top round or rib eye not chuck. Pocono Joe
when my children were young and i made beef sandwiches my little secret was to add instant cofee to the gravey and the beef would come out tasting like Bostons on grand & chicago ave or margies that was on cicero ave they were the best