When we decided to share with you our super easy Italian beef recipe my Honey thought it was too simplistic. You see, he loves a challenge. So, we decided to look for an Italian beef recipe that has a little more pizzazz, some history, ergo . . .
. . . Piccante Italian Beef – Chicago Style.
I thought you may be tired of our titles always including the word “spicy”. This time I used the Italian word for spicy — piccante 🙂 Now, I have to admit, our original recipe for the Italian beef is excellent. How can you possibly go wrong with just 3 ingredients and a slow cooker? Yep! Just 3 ingredients. If you’re interested, here is the recipe:
Super Easy Italian Beef
3 pounds trimmed chuck roast
3 cloves garlic minced
1 large jar pepperoncini ( 14 oz. juice and all) Add hot pepper flakes if you like it spicier
Toss all this in a slow cooker and cook for about 8 hours on low or until the chuck shreds easily. Keep the chuck in with the juice and pepperoncini. When ready to serve put the beef plus a pepperoncini or two on hard crusted Italian rolls. Make sure you put some of the juice on the sandwich so some of the delicious juice soaks into the bread. Top with mozzarella cheese. That’s it!!!
We got this easy recipe, quite a few years ago, from a radio talk show — Don and Roma on 89 WLS Chicago. The show ran early in the morning and as we’d get ready for the day, we’d listen to it. It was as if they were part of our family. At first they didn’t admit they were husband and wife but the listeners suspected. As time went on, they finally admitted it. Don, Roma, and their children Hunter and Heather were part of our family. Don loved to eat and he bragged that he could eat just about anything without gaining an ounce. 🙁 One morning he shared his easy Italian beef recipe. We immediately tried it and loved it.
We didn’t think it could get any better until now.
The exact origin of the Italian Beef sandwich is unknown although it is surmised that Italian immigrants, on Chicago’s south side, in the early 1900s created it once they were able to afford beef for roasting. Pasquale Scala, a South Side butcher and sausage maker, popularized it. During the 1920’s, food was scarce and Pasquale, knowing a good thing when he ate it, would thinly slice roast beef and serve the beef on a bun with a natural gravy and fried peppers.We do not use the green peppers because we like the taste of the hot giardiniera by itself. There are lots of Italian beef stands in Chicago and beef sandwiches are a staple within the Chicago Italian community.
In this recipe, the Italian beef is first roasted and then thinly sliced. The beef is served with an au jus or simply “juice” for short. The juice is typically made with bouillon. The thin slices are soaked in the juice for just a minute or so, and then layered generously, dripping wet, on Italian bread or for us, our homemade Crusty Italian rolls {which we will post at a later date}.
The meat is topped with sautéed green bell pepper slices (if you like) and giardiniera. Giardiniera is a condiment of hot pickled serrano peppers and vegetables. I first tasted giardiniera when I ordered a hot tuna sandwich from Angelo’s — the Italian market that we frequent in Venice, Florida.
I loved the spicy taste so much we ended up buying a jar of these delicious pickled vegetables at the store before we left. Now we not only put it on our homemade tuna salad but also in our Italian Beef – Chicago Style!
This recipe can be made ahead of time and we think it would be great for a sports game weekend. Frankly, the meat is better if you let it rest and get cool. Dip the meat in the warm au jus then throw it together and Ecco! you are all set to go. We wanted you to see the ingredients so we put the mozzarella on the top roll side, normally we’d put it on top of the meat.
Tutti a tavola è pronto!
Un caro saluto e alla prossima.
- 3 pound boneless beef roast ( sirloin or round), with most of the fat trimmed off
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil for rubbing the outside of the meat
- 1 Tablespoon coarse ground pepper
- 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh garlic + 2-3 cloves slivered for inserting inside of roast
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 6 cups hot water
- 4 cubes beef bouillon
- 1/2 onion thinly sliced
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 10 hard crusted Italian rolls
- The roast cut into thin slices
- Hot giardiniera (as much as you'd like)
- Shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese for topping
- Cut slits in the meat and stick slivers of fresh garlic into the meat.Mix the rub in a bowl. Rub the roast with the olive oil to help the rub stick. Sprinkle it generously with the rub and massage it in. There will be some left over and you'll use it in the juice. Let the meat sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Put the oven rack just below the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400F.
- Pour the water into 9 x 13" baking pan and heat it to a boil on the stove top. Dissolve the bouillon in the water. It may look thin, but it will cook down and concentrate during the roasting. Pour the remaining rub into the pan. Place a rack on top of the pan. Place the roast on top of the rack above the juice. Roast at 400 F until interior temperature is 130 F for medium rare, about 30 minutes per pound (exact time will depend on the cut of meat, its thickness, and how well calibrated you oven is). This may seem long, but you are cooking over water and that slows things down. The temperature will rise about 5 degrees F. more as it rests. Don't worry if there are people who won't eat medium-rare meat. The meat will cook further in step 4, and you can just leave theirs in the juice until it turns to leather, if that's what they want. { This recipe is designed for a 9 x 13" baking pan. If you use a larger pan, the water may evaporate and the juice will burn. If you have to use a larger pan, add more water. Regardless of pan size, keep an eye on the pan to make sure it doesn't dry out during cooking. Add more water if necessary.}
- Remove the roast and the juice pan. Take the meat off the rack and remove the rack. Pour off the juice, put the meat back in the pan, let it cool and place it in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Let it cool for a few more hours, or overnight, long enough for the meat to firm up. This will make the slicing easier. Chill the juice, too, in a separate container. When you are ready to slice the meat, slice it against the grain and as thinly as possible. If you have a meat slicer that would be ideal. If you don't have a slicer, use a thin blade and draw it along the meat. If you try to cut down or saw through the crust your will be cutting it too thick.
- In a pan sauté the onion in the butter until translucent. Pour in the juice from the roast and heat it up. Taste it. If you want you can thin it with more water, or make it richer by cooking it down on top of the stove. It should be rich but not too concentrated.Turn the heat to a gentle simmer. Soak the meat in the juice for about 1 minute at a slow simmer. That's all!! That warms up the meat and makes it very wet. You can't leave the meat in the juice for more than a few minutes or it will curl up and toughen. This method enriches the juice with meat protein and seasoning from the crust.
- To assemble the sandwich, start by spooning some juice directly on the roll. Get it wet. Then lay on the beef generously. Spoon on more juice being careful not to burn your hand. Top with the hot giardiniera and shredded mozzarella cheese or provolone. Broil for a minute until the cheese melts, then serve. Be ready for all of the oohs, ahhs, and yums the sandwich produces.
- Italian giardiniera is also called "sottaceti" meaning under vinegar. It is eaten as an antipasto or with salads.
- Adapted from: http://amazingribs.com/recipes/beef/italian_beef.html
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