Skip to main content

Created on the Sout Side of Chicago (there is no "h" used in South in this context), in the Italian enclaves around the now defunct Stockyards, the classic Chicago Italian Beef Sandwich (pronounced sangwitch) is a unique, drippy, messy variation on the French Dip Sandwich. It is available in hundreds of joints around the city, and rarely found beyond its environs.

I decided to see if I could get close to these delicious Chicago classics by trying this recipe I found on knol.google.com. I wanted to cook the beef slowly, therefore, the Cookshack smoker. Here is a picture of the Chicago Stlye Italian Beef Sandwich I grabbed from the web.



Several things to note about this picture. First, the bread is wet. Very wet. Au Jus is poored over the bread, and sometimes the bread is just plain dipped into the juice to get it nice and wet. Get bread that will hold up well to the soaking. Secondly, I've never seen such little beef used. Should be twice as much. Thirdly, I only get them with sweet green peppers sauted like typically ordered in Chicago. Recipe and technique follows:

The beef
1 boneless beef roast, about 4 pounds with most of the fat trimmed off
(Top sirloin butt, top round roast, or bottom round roast are preferred in that order. I used a sirloin tip roast)

The rub
3 teaspoons garlic powder
1.5 teaspoon onion powder
1.5 teaspoon dried oregano
1.5 teaspoon dried basil
1.5 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

The juice
6 cups of hot water
6 cubes of bouillon

The bread
Rolls (I used sourdough rolls) sliced lengthwise but hinged on one side
3 medium sized green bell peppers
1 tablespoon olive oil, approximately

Mix the rub in a bowl. Sprinkle it generously on the meat and massage it in. There will be some left over. Do not discard it, we will use it in the juice. Let the meat sit at room temp for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the smoker to 235* with a small chunk of wood (I used 3.5 oz of cherry) You don't want a lot of smoke flavor.

Pour the water into a pot 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 pot. Place a rack on top of a roasting pan. Place the roast on top of the rack and pour in the juice . Here is the rubbed beef sitting on a rack above the roasting pan with the au jus sitting in the pan.



Place the beef and au jus into the smoker and smoke until internal temperature is 140F for medium rare, roughly 3 hrs. The temp will rise a couple degress 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 5 and the au jus will eliminate any pink color. Here is the roast just out of the smoker.



Let the meat sit for about 30 minutes for the juices to be reabsorbed into the meat fibers, and then place it in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Let it cool for about a couple hours, long enough for the meat to firm up. This will make slicing easier. Slice the meat against the grain as thin as humanly possible, preferably with a meat slicer. Here is a picture of the meat sliced. Looks great.



While the meat is cooling in the fridge, cut the bell peppers in half and remove the stems and seeds. Rinse, and cut into 1/4" strips. Cook the peppers in a frying pan over a medium high heat with enough olive oil to coat the bottom, about 1 tablespoon. When they are getting limp and the skins begin to brown, about 10 minutes, they are done. Set aside at room temp.

Put the juice into a pot and then on the stove top over a low heat, just a gentle simmer. Soak the meat in the hot juice for about 2 minutes at a low simmer. That's all. That warms the meat and makes it very wet. You can't leave the meat in the juice for more than 10 minutes or else it starts to curl up, squeezes out its natural moisture, and toughens. Here's a picture of the sliced meat sitting in the juices.



Once the beef has been soaked/simmered in the juices, remove and place in a bowl. I simmered the beef in batches until it was all Italianized. Big Grin Slice your rolls, hinged on one side. Spoon juices from the pot heavily onto the rolls. Add a heaping pile of Italian Beef and cover with sauted sweet peppers. Add more juice. Salt and pepper. Enjoy. Here's a picture of my first sandwich ready for consumption.



These sandwiches were absolutely delicious. Slight smoke flavor. Italian flavorings. Very wet. Reminiscent of the Italiam Beef Sandwiches we loved so much back in our Chicago days. When we visit, we make these regular eating. Now I can get them whenever I want by following this recipe.

OK. These were very close but not exactly like the restaurants serve. Maybe just a little more oregano, salt, and pepper. I'll tweak next time. But all in all, very good.
Last edited {1}
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Pags - Great post and pix. I use the same recipe for Italian beef with excellent results. When I make it in my CS smoker, I use a small chunk of cherry wood, like you, or apple. Results in a nice light smoke flavor without overwhelming the beef flavor.

Tip for that tweak you're looking for the next time you make this - Before making the sandwiches, add 1/3 cup garlic juice to the gravy, then simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes. Uncover, add the beef slices for a short period until they're warm, then make the sandwiches. Garlic juice is one of the so called "secret" ingredients that a lot of beef stands in Chicago use.
THANK YOU DLS. That makes a lot of sense. I've got a container of the juice left over so I'll add the garlic juice for one of my next smokes when it makes sense. Hey. Wonder if this would make a decent alternative to Smokin's Finishing sauce.

Padrefan. Next time you get to Chicago, go to Portillo's or Buono Beef. They're all over the City. Restaurant chains, but very good beef sandwiches and convenient. I think there's a Portillo's in Ohare Airport if you're just passing through. There are a few locally owned restaurants that supposedly have better, but like I said these are convenient. Next time I'm there my brother is taking me to one of the originals but it'll be a 45 minute travel where P or BB's would only be a few.

My brother has an annual 4th of July party where they have excellent grilled foods all day long, and I showed up on the 4th just to surprise him. Stopped at Portillo's on the way to his house from Ohare. Cool Just couldn't wait to get my hands on one of those sandwiches.

Oh. And the combo sandwich is delicious. It's the same Italian beef sandwich, but with a grilled Italian sausage stuck in it. Smiler
Last edited by pags
quote:
Originally posted by Pags:
Padrefan. Next time you get to Chicago, go to Portillo's or Buono Beef. They're all over the City. Restaurant chains, but very good beef sandwiches and convenient. I think there's a Portillo's in Ohare Airport if you're just passing through. There are a few locally owned restaurants that supposedly have better, but like I said these are convenient. Next time I'm there my brother is taking me to one of the originals but it'll be a 45 minute travel where P or BB's would only be a few.
Portillos is pretty good, have never been a fan of Buona Beef. One of the originals... Let me guess, that's probably Al's or Mr. Beef. Also give Johnnie's Beef in Elmwood Park a try.
quote:
Originally posted by dls:
Tip for that tweak you're looking for the next time you make this - Before making the sandwiches, add 1/3 cup garlic juice to the gravy, then simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes. Uncover, add the beef slices for a short period until they're warm, then make the sandwiches. Garlic juice is one of the so called "secret" ingredients that a lot of beef stands in Chicago use.
DLS, good catch, didn't even notice that there wasn't any garlic in the recipe. A good beef has gotta have garlic in it. And don't be shy with it either! :-)
quote:
Originally posted by AndyJ:
Portillos is pretty good, have never been a fan of Buona Beef. One of the originals... Let me guess, that's probably Al's or Mr. Beef. Also give Johnnie's Beef in Elmwood Park a try.

I agree 100%. Portillos is OK and convenient, and I've never cared much for Buona myself. Johnnies in Elmwood Park tops my list, followed closely by Al's #1 (Taylor St. only). In fact, we had some beef sandwiches from Johnnie's earlier this week.
Last edited by dls
Pags - Most of the time I leave the garlic powder out of the rub, and stud the meat with slivers of raw garlic. Lots of them. Then I add the garlic juice when simmering the gravy.

BTW, there's no Portilla's at O'Hare. The only beef sandwiches that I've ever seen there are at Gold Coast Dogs in Terminal 3 (American), or Terminal 5 (International). I've never tried them, but I hear they're pretty good.
Last edited by dls
Thanks. But I cheat.

I use an Olympic for the shots, but I use Photscape on my computer to resize, contrast, sharpen, adjust color, backlight, etc. So I improve the camera's picture to make them look as clear as possible for the group.

I'm to the point where I think the Photoscape or some other photo shop is just as important as the camera. Get a decent camera and add the software, which I think is free. You can really improve your digital pictures, which I do when forwarding them to someone. You can also have fun with the pictures by drawing on them or attaching things.

When you get to the sammiches, don't forget the garlic juice like dls and Andy suggest. I'm glad I shared these with the forum as I may never have figured the missing ingredient. Funny though. I'm a real garlic lover. Now dls and Andy have really got me pumped up. Sammiches in the near future. Doubling the recipe. These went too fast.
Last edited by pags
Mmmm, beef sammich...
I caught one of those Food Channel shows that was featuring regional "fast food" joints a few years ago, and one of them happened to be an Italian beef place. I don't remember the name, but I do remember that they would slow roast a large pan of eye rounds in a liquid batch that included plenty of garlic juice (they poured it out of gallon jugs). Your initial recipe did not have garlic, but it looks like you'll be including it.

I just flew through Midway Airport, and there's a "sangwich" joint just past the frisk and grope station. They have Chicago dogs as well as beef and sausage sandwiches. Al's Beef has a few locations outside of the Chicagoland area open or scheduled to open soon. Portillo's also has a few stores in CA. If you're visiting Chicago, Al's Beef on Taylor St. would be my suggestion, particularly if it's summer and you can go across the street for a real Italian ice. Keep going down the street if you're still hungry to Ferrara Bakery. Gotta stop before I drool on the keyboard.
I make Italian Beef all the time. I have a similar recipe to Pags. The au jus has the usual italian spices, which are listed plus a small amount of fennel powder, fresh grated nutmeg and worscestershire. Many folks think these added ingredients are the secret to Al's Au jus.

Al's original Taylor Street location ( the others stink), Johnnie's and Buoena Beef are excellent. Al's has been on tv many times and they braise their beef at low temperatures, as do many other stands. Cook's Illustrated did several tests on determining the best temperature for oven cooking roasts and found 250 degrees to be the optimum. I would agree. Mr. Beef uses a dry roast method the first half of the cook, and finishes the roast off in a braised fashion. When braising cover the roast almost all the way leaving about an inch uncovered. I use the hybrid method.

I use a jacard meat tederizer to plunge small holes in the roast. I then cover with the dry rub and tightly wrap with plastic wrap and refridgerate overnight. The roast is so lean that it isn't worth the trouble dry roasting in a pan over the au jus. Make the au jus on the stovetop separatly. I dry roast till meat about 95 degrees and finish off in in tightly fitting roast pan (uncovered) with sliced onions at 200 degrees. I remove at 135 degrees. Let sit for 30 minutes and tightly wrap and place in fridge for at least 2 hours or freezer for about an hour. I then use a Chef's Choice model 610 slicer ( 100 bucks). Make slices so thin that you can see through them. A knife or cheap mandoline won't work well. I use a foodsaver to store the meat in 1 pound packages. I use the same foodsaver and vacuum seal the au jus in Mason jars and freeze both juice and meat. The only other critical ingredient is Chicago-style Giadinnera which you can make or buy.Living in jersey i can't buy Italian beef so I have to make my own. I have arrived at this recipe after much trial and error. Don't use a slow cooker as the meat will shred like pulled pork which is a no-no.

I would think smoke-flavored beef would be kind of funky?
It actually turned out delicious. I used very little wood since I wasn't trying to get a lot of smoke. Adding the garlic juice next time to see how it improves the recipe. Slow cooking in the smoker is fine as long as the beef is removed at 135*. It won't shred like pulled pork unless you take the temperature much higher. Can actually use the smoker without wood since you're trying to get the authentic Chicago Italian Beef.
I just took a 5 lb top round out of the smoker, and it's resting on the counter. I used just a small chunk of wood (already previously burned), added more of the rub to the au jus and 1/3 cup of garlic juice.

Wow. It smells like the real thing. Refrigerate overnight, slice and finish for tomorrow's dinner. Can't wait. The house smells great.
quote:
Originally posted by Pags:
Just had the sandwiches with the garlice juice and dipped the whole sandwich. What a sloppy mess! Perfect. Taste great, very very wet. This'll become a regular around here.


Pags - Sounds, and looks, like it worked out well for you. I haven't done Italian Beef in a while, and I'm overdue. Maybe this coming weekend. That said, after reading your post, I really have a taste for one and think I'll run out now to pick up a beef sandwich to go at a local place that does a pretty good job.

Personally, Ive never cared much for the dipped version. Messy as hell, and, more often than not, it requires sitting at at a table eating the sandwich with a knife and fork. That's totally wrong. Even at home I just go to the counter and assume the "Stance".
Last edited by dls
That's perfect...the Stance. The bread I had held up pretty well in the quick dunk. The second sandwich I poured the au jus on since I then sat in the recliner while I ate.

Between the loin chops rubbed in garlic and the Italian Beef Sandwiches, I've had a lot of garlic lately...not all was lost, I had no vampires. Big Grin
OK dls. We're doing these again. Threw a 6 lb top sirloin into the smoker yesterday (no wood. Just looking for the moist environment and slight smoke from the seasoned smoker). GARLIC JUICE added again as suggested. Also sweet french type buns instead of sour dough.

Slicing up today, then Italianize. Tonight's dinner. Smiler

I'll wear an old shirt when eating them. I'm making them juicy.
Last edited by pags
quote:
Originally posted by Pags:
OK dls. We're doing these again. Threw a 6 lb top sirloin into the smoker yesterday (no wood. Just looking for the moist environment and slight smoke from the seasoned smoker). GARLIC JUICE added again as suggested. Also sweet french type buns instead of sour dough.

Slicing up today, then Italianize. Tonight's dinner. Smiler

I'll wear an old shirt when eating them. I'm making them juicy.


Sounds good. Let us know how it comes out. Don't forget the hot and mild giardiniera. You may want to consider picking up a copy of "The Blues Brothers", and putting some Old Styles on ice.

You don't need and old shirt. Just take a few minutes this afternoon, and go to the counter for "Italian Stance Practice". If your guests are not familiar with this dining procedure, just tell them to "Assume The Position". Be leery of those who tell you they don't know what that term means. They're probably lying.

Enjoy!

Add Reply

Post
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×