Authentic Italian Beef Sandwiches

I like to serve these sandwiches with Glazed Bacon Wrapped Onion Rings, Creamy Broccoli Salad, Restaurant Quality French Fries, and Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies for dessert.

Inspiration For This Recipe

Like millions of others, I have been binge-watching ‘The Bear’on Hulu. It’s such a great show, but the best part is watching them crank out the most delicious-looking Italian Beef Sandwiches. My mouth waters every time!

The show made me nostalgic for past trips to the Windy City to sample the sandwiches from Portillo’s and Al’s. I honestly loved them both! They were both flavorful, tender, and really messy!

So after watching the show, I did a little research and incorporated a few tweaks to make it perfect for my family. I hope you and yours will find it perfect as well!

First, I like to cook the roast with carrots, onions, celery, and pepperoncini to give both the meat and the jus incredible flavor. Then I serve the jus on the side instead of dipping the whole bun into the jus. It’s less messy and each bite gets dipped in the hot jus, so less of the jus runs down my arm and more of it gets into my mouth!

History Of The Italian Beef Sandwich

The Italian beef sandwich originated in Chicago in the 1930s as a workingman’s lunch. Italian immigrants would bring home tough cuts of meat that the stockyards couldn’t sell and they would braise it low and slow in stock, herbs, and spices then slice it thinly for sandwiches.

Because it used a cheap cut of meat, the sandwich became a staple at weddings and large family gatherings where people could feed a lot of people for minimal money. It also quickly became known as a perfect ‘hangover’ food as it was great to soak up the booze from a night of drinking

Ingredients Needed

• Garlic, onions, carrots, celery – the aromatics help make the jus extra flavorful!
• Olive oil and vegetable oil
• Italian seasoning, dried oregano, dried basil, black pepper, sweet paprika, chili powder, red pepper flakes, onion powder, Kosher salt, and granulated garlic – this looks like a lot of seasonings, but it’s well worth it for the flavor!
• Beef chuck or rump roast
• Beef stock
• Jarred pepperoncini and jarred Giardiniera – I used DeLallo’s brand for both.
• Good quality Italian hoagie buns – get the ones that are crusty on the outside with a tender interior to soak up all of the jus!

Steps To Make This Recipe

1. Sear the beef on all sides in a Dutch oven.
2. Make the wet rub by processing all of the rub ingredients in a food processor. Massage the rub onto all sides of the roast.
3. Place the roast back into the Dutch oven and pour the beef stock around the meat.
4. Nestle in the onions, celery, carrots, and pepperoncini.
5. Slow roast the meat until tender.
6. Slice the meat into thin slices.
7. Scoop out the cook vegetables from the Dutch oven and discard.
8. Dip the hoagie roll into the just and pile on the sliced beef.
9. Top the meat with the Giardiniera and enjoy!