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Chicago Style Italian Beef Sandwich
 

 

Ingredients, the beef:

3lb top sirloin roast

 

The rub
1 tablespoon Tone's Ground Black Pepper
2 teaspoons Tone's Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Tone's Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Cathy's Dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Cathy's Dried Basil
1/2 teaspoon Cathy's Red Pepper Flakes

 

The juice
6 cups of hot water
4 cubes of Tones Beef Bouillon

 

The sandwich
10 soft, fluffy, high gluten rolls sliced lengthwise but hinged on one side or Italian bread loaves cut widthwise into 10 portions (Gonnella, Turano, and D'Amato are the bakers of choice in Chicago)

 

Cooking Instuctions:

 

Special note: 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  or beef broth if necessary.

 

 

1.      Mix spices and rub on roast.

2.    Pour the water into a 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 140°F for medium rare, about 30 minutes per pound. This may seem long, but you are cooking over water and that slows things down. The temp will rise about 5°F more as it rests.

3.    Remove the roast and the juice pan. 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 few 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. If you don't have a slicer, use a thin blade and draw it along the red part of the meat. If you try to cut down through the crust you will be cutting it too thick.

4.    Taste the juice. If you want you can thin it with more water, or make it richer by cooking it down on top of the stove. In Chicago beef stands it is rich, but not too concentrated. Then turn the heat to a gentle simmer. Soak the meat in the juice for about 30 minutes at a low simmer.

5.     To assemble the sandwich, start by spooning some juice directly onto the bun. Get it wet. Then lay on the beef generously. Spoon on more juice. Top it with giardiniera peppers. For that authentic Chicago texture, wrap the sandwich in wax paper, wait 10 minutes and eat!