Chicago Italian Beef “Stew Meat Edition” – The Deep Dish Pizza of Sandwiches

I’ve always wondered how stewed beef would work instead of the traditional sliced roast beef for Chicago’s famous Italian Beef Sandwich, which is kind of weird, since I’ve only had the classic version a few times, and never actually made it myself. 

I figured if you’re going to roast a hunk of beef, then slice it and put it back in the juices, why not just cook the meat in a broth to begin with? How had the fine people of Chicago not thought of this obvious adaptation? Were the same people running the Cubs also in charge of civic recipe improvements? Was Kanye West somehow to blame? And another thing; why the hell would the Bears give Jay Cutler that new contract?

Anyway, once I finished my mad experiment, I realized that this wasn’t an improvement on an old sandwich at all; it was just a new sandwich. While the flavors are similar, the texture and overall mouthfeel of this sandwich is completely different. It’s much closer to pulled pork in that respect, but delicious nevertheless.

So, while this ended up not being the Chicago Italian beef breakthrough I had hoped for, it did make for a fine lunch, and if you’re looking for a manly hand-meal for your next shindig, I hope give this tasty, and very juicy sandwich a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 large sandwiches:

1 1/2 or 2 pounds beef chuck, cut in 2-inch chunks, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp vegetable oil

6 cloves garlic, sliced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. to taste

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp white vinegar

3 cups chicken broth, or enough to cover meat by an inch

4 crusty sandwich rolls

1 cup drained Giardiniera (pickled vegetables), chopped into a relish

- Brown meat and simmer covered in the remaining of ingredients until tender

The Shooter’s Sandwich – Tally Ho Indeed

Even though this trendy shooter’s sandwich has been requested many times, I’ve resisted making one because I’ve always felt there were better handheld delivery systems for steak and mushroom ingestion. Like a panini for example, or maybe even a cheesy quesadilla; but pressed into a cold, hard wedge?

Then, I had an incredibly small epiphany. I ran across the origins of the shooter’s sandwich online, and realized I might have been missing the point. This wasn’t something you make for just any lunch; it was something you make to take on a foxhunt (or what you Americans call a “tailgate party”).

I can’t remember the last time I was on a foxhunt, but after giving this a try, I can see the advantages of this very filling, very flavorful, and very sturdy sandwich. But, as I stressed in the video, you really need a couple huge steaks to make this work. Even cooked slightly pass medium, this was okay, but another half-inch of tender, pink meat would have made the whole affair significantly better.

So, I guess if I were going on a long hike, or out for a relaxing day of shooting innocent foxes, I would consider making this again, but while I tucked in, I have to admit, I’d probably be dreaming about a steaming hot, steak and mushroom hoagie. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8 Portions:

(Note: I didn’t measure anything, ‘cause it’s a sandwich, but these should be close enough.)

For the mustard sauce:

3 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp extra hot horseradish

1 tbsp mayo

For the mushrooms:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter, divided

1 1/2 pound button mushrooms

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne to taste

1/2 cup minced shallots

2 tbsp brandy or sherry

The rest:

2 at least 16 to18-oz well-trimmed beef steaks (rib eye, NY strip, or top-sirloin are best choices, in that order). Seared in some vegetable oil.

salt and pepper to taste

3-4 oz fine pate, optional

1 round loaf of crusty bread

Sorta Porchetta

One of my all-time favorite street foods in San Francisco is Roli Roti’s famous porchetta sandwich, served at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. For those of you not familiar with the perfection that is the porchetta, it's a loin, and possibly other cuts of heavily seasoned pig parts, wrapped inside a pork belly, which is then roasted until the inside is tender, and the outside is crispy and crackling. It’s then sliced and served on a crusty roll with salsa verde.

It’s insanely good, and something I've always wanted to try doing at home. Of course, a real porchetta feeds like 20 people, so I wanted a version that would be better suited for a smaller group. 

I decided to try using a small pork shoulder roast. The plan was to mimic the same flavors, but cook it more like pork loin, instead of the usual fork tender, falling apart state we associate with this cut. Pulled pork was not what I was after here.

It worked wonderfully, although you do need to slice it nice and thin. We’re only cooking this to 145 F. which is not high enough a temperature to break down all that connective tissue. All in all, I thought it was a very successful experiment, especially when you consider how much we scaled this down. 

What it didn’t feature however, was that crispy skin, also known as “the best part.” I wish I’d thought of it before I finished the video, but what I should have done was fried up some diced pancetta (un-smoked Italian bacon) until it was perfectly crispy, and topped the sandwich with that! That would have put this already fine faux-porchetta over the top! I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 very large portions:

2 1/2 pound boneless pork shoulder roast, butterflied open, and slashes made all over the connective tissues

olive oil as needed

1 tbsp kosher salt (2 tsp for inside, and 1 for out)

1 tbsp black pepper

2 tbsp chopped sage leaves

2 tbsp chopped rosemary

6 cloves minced garlic

zest from a large orange

2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed

- Stuff, tie, salt, and refrigerate uncovered for 24 hours

- Roast at 450 F. for 15 minutes

- Reduce heat to 250 F. and roast another hour, or until an internal temp of 145 F.

For the vinegar sauce:

1/2 anchovy fillet

1 tsp hot chili flakes or to taste

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup freshly chopped Italian parsley

Bonus How to Butterfly Meat for Rolling Video!