Chicago Style Italian Beef: Succulent with a Kick

Chicago Style Italian Beef Sandwiches

Last week, I spent time in my home town of Itasca, Illinois with my partner, Darren, and 2 of my dear friends from High School, PJ and Greg.  When I asked PJ what her agenda for our visit included, she seemed pretty open, but had two requests:  Chicago Style Pizza (we went to Lou Malanati's) and a Chicago Beef.  For me, that meant only one thing....Johnnies.  Perhaps it was the taste of memories, but every bite of that sandwich was like gazing into heaven.  Tender, and succulent, with the Turano roll perfectly permeated with an unctuous au juice, punctuated perfectly with Chicago style spicy giardinara.  

Trying to replicate this recipe was a challenge.  There are many recipes out there, but in my experience, few come even close.  With years of practice, this is the recipe I have arrived at.  It does come with a caveat.....you need good, Chicago style Italian rolls and patience.  Now, if you have a Chicago style hot dog joint in your town, there is a chance they serve Italian Beef.  And if they serve Italian Beef, there is a chance they get good Italian sandwich rolls, which have an amazingly chewy crust, which you need for this sandwich.  Ask them to buy a half dozen.  You also need a Giardinara (hot peppers and vegetables packed in oil).  You may have more luck finding Giardinara packed in vinegar, but it is not the same.  Now if you can get these two items, I think you absolutely need to try this recipe.  I would not ask you to spend 2-3 days on a recipe if it was not worth your time.  Trust me, as a graduate student, I don't have much time to waste.

I hope you enjoy this sandwich--this taste of Chicago--as much as I do.

Serves 6-10 (depending on size of the roast)

INGREDIENTS

3-5 pound rump roast or sirloin roast ( I prefer sirloin)

6 cloves of garlic chopped fine

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp of dried basil

1 tsp of dried thyme

½ tsp majoram

½  tsp salt

 ½ tsp red pepper flakes

 ¼ tsp black pepper

1 onion, thinly sliced

4 cups of beef broth

1/2 cup of red wine

1/2 cup of water

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup additional broth

Serving:

3 red and green bell peppers, sliced in ¼ inch slices

1 white onion, sliced in ¼ inch slices

pepperoncini

Hot Italian Giardinara (packed in oil)

Italian Rolls, preferably Turano (must have a good crusty exterior and fluffy interior to hold up to the juices)

DIRECTIONS

Mix garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, marjoram, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Rub the mixture into the beef. Massage it thoroughly. Place the beef in a large plastic bag and let sit 4 hours to overnight.  Remove the roast and place on top of onion slices in a roasting pan.  Pour in  broth and wine and the additional 1 cup water, 1/2 t. salt and additional black pepper.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roast with no lid for about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours (depending on size of the roast) turning once within that time (roast to 120 degrees.  A 3 lb. roast should be made with same ingredients and will take less than 1 ½ hours).

Remove roast and let stand on a rack over a rimmed baking sheet until completely cooled.  Freeze for ½-1 hour, until lightly firm hour once cool. Reserve juice and skim off any additional fat.

Add 6 pepperoncini and 1 T. juice from jar to reserved juices.  Reserve.

Remove roast from freezer and slice beef thin on a meat slicer or thinly with a sharp knife (as thin as possible but not shredded).  Put meat into juices and let sit for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight (flavors will develop with time--I like to do overnight).

If using peppers, saute onions and peppers in oil until al dente.

When ready to eat, remove meat from the broth.  Heat broth on low until hot.  Dip in whatever meat you are using in the broth and let it gently warm for 30 seconds or so, but not much longer.

Slice your rolls and pile on that juicy beef. Add sweet peppers, pepperoncini or giardinera and some additional juice.  Enjoy. I know I do.

Sunday Roast Beef

I have a distinct memory of rump roast on Sundays growing up.  I doubt we had it every week, but I remember those lovely meals.  Last week, I decided to try to relive this memory with a bit of updating.  I've not made many roasts in my life.  A big hunk o' meat isn't really my thing....except, I see the benefits of them in the sense that once made, there are so many things you can do with the leftovers.  Anyways, I purchased an 8 pound sirloin roast last week, and here's what I did.

First thing I did was research.  How does one make a roast?  There is a lot of debate on this matter on the web.  Methods vary from cooking at a high temperature to very low.  From what I understand, most roast making methods end up with a fairly gray roast.  What I was aiming for was a well browned roast that was pink throughout.  What made sense to me was what I read from America's Test Kitchen, so I tried it with a few additions--and it was good!    In terms of what cut to purchase, everything I have read suggests that "rump roasts" can be one of two cuts--round or sirloin.  I have also read many authors who suggest that round cuts can be very tough and can have a livery taste, so I went with a sirloin roast, which has nice flavor and a bit more fat.  I first cut that huge roast in half and froze the second half for a foray into Italian Beef in the near future.  Next, I put a cooling rack on a cookie sheet, placed the roast on the rack and covered it with a sheet of paper towel. I put this in the refrigerator for a week.  By the end of the week, the outside of the roast was rather leathery, so I used a very sharp slicing knife and cut off the leathery bits.  I did this about 2 hours before cooking and kept it out of the refrigerator before cooking.  Next, I did the cooking.  The total cooking time for my 3 1/2 lb. roast was 2 1/2 hours using this method.  I served my roast with mashed potatoes, gravy, and asparagus broiled with ghee (browned clarified butter), salt and pepper.

Ingredients
1 3-4 lb. Sirloin roast
2 T. Vegetable oil (divided)
2 t. kosher salt
1 t. freshly ground pepper
1 large onion, quartered
2 carrots, sliced into 2 inch pieces
2 stalks celery, sliced into 2 inch pieces
1 sprig thyme

Directions:  Dry age the roast in the refrigerator for 3-7 days (see above for instructions).  2 hours before cooking (4 hours before eating), remove the roast and carefully remove all leathery parts (dog treat!).  20 minutes before cooking, turn your oven on to 250 degrees and rub the roast with 1 T. vegetable oil, salt, and pepper.  Tie the roast so that it is in a nice bundle and will cook evenly.  Heat a roasting pan with remaining 1 T. oil until the oil is smoking.  Add the roast and let it brown without moving it for 3-4 minutes per side.  Add the onions, carrots, celery, and thyme and place, uncovered in the oven. Cook the roast until it registers 110 degrees in the center.  This will take 45 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes.  Raise the oven temperature to 500 degrees.  Finish cooking the roast until it reaches 120 degrees for rare, 125 for medium rare, or 130-140 for well done (but don't do this).  When the roast reaches your desired temperature (I love 125--it is pink throughout and a little rare in the very center for those who like it that way) take it out, remove it from the roasting pan, and place foil on it to let it rest while you make yourself some lovely gravy.  Let the roast rest 15 minutes, remove the strings, slice thinly and serve.

Bonus!  To make gravy, put your pan on a burner on medium.  Add butter to your roasting pan to equal about 2 tablespoons (do not remove the vegetables).  When the butter has melted, add 2 T. flour.  Stir and let this cook for 1 minute.  Add one cup chicken broth and one cup beef broth and stir vigorously.  Cook until thickened.  Season with pepper (probably won't need salt), strain, and serve.