Italian Beef Sandwich ~ Cook's Thread for "BBQ/Grilled Sandwich" Throwdown

[thirdeye]

I took a page out of my own playbook for my sandwich entry in this month's "BBQ/Grilled Sandwich" Throwdown. I chose an Italian Beef sandwich, sometimes known as a Chicago Beef sandwich and I like making them with chuck roasts.

I trimmed the heavy fat and made a beefy slather to anchor some Montreal Steak rub, then used a raised direct set-up at 250° for the first 2 hours. Then ramped up the pit temp to get the sizzle I need for the next step.

When the meat has good color and is ~160° internal, I added French Onion soup mix, Italian salad dressing mix, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire, along with beef broth. Then a jar of pepperoncini and the juice. The broth needs to cook down and thicken.... you can wrap but a pan works better so you can keep an eye on things for the next few hours. Eventually the muscle groups come apart and the meat is ready.

I double-dunked the beef, moved it to the bun.... then dressed the sandwich with pepperoncini, roasted red peppers, Havarti cheese, then melted the cheese.

 

[ssv3]

Killer!! The pepperoncinis take it over the top.

Going to tough to beat that one. :clap2:

 

[PnkPanther]

Looks great

 

[Stingerhook]

Damn fine

 

[tom b]

That sammich looks so good, I need one in my mouthal area

 

[HogGrog]

That looks and sounds phenomenal!

Thanks for posting your methods, I’m gonna try this.

 

[thirdeye]

That sammich looks so good, I need one in my mouthal area

It's funny because we sampled the meat and the broth a couple of times but didn't get to taste the whole combination until I snapped a few photos. It was not shy on flavor or moistness.

 

[tom b]

nice camera work too

 

[PatAttack]

Good Lawd!!

Y'all killin' me with these steak sammiches!!!

 

[Big George's BBQ]

YUM. Love that stuff

 

[Fatback Joe]

Nice!

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

Going to tough to beat that one. :clap2:

That's what I was thinking...

But I'm not intimidated

 

[Titch]

That looks delicious

 

[LYU370]

Good looking beef sammich! But not a Chicago Beef, needs to be thin sliced and LOTS of garlic in that juice.

But I'll take two! Wet with hot. Hot Giardiniera that is.

 

[Learning to BBQ]

Just, Wow! Very imaginative! I gotta try that.

 

[bowhnter]

I bet that tasted as good as it looks.

 

[thirdeye]

Good looking beef sammich! But not a Chicago Beef, needs to be thin sliced and LOTS of garlic in that juice.

But I'll take two! Wet with hot. Hot Giardiniera that is.

Brother, you are right as rain.... It was none other than Dr BBQ that lined me out many years ago on another forum.... on the differences between the two sandwiches when I posted this ↓↓ as an Italian Beef sandwich. :doh: He was passionate about the gravy if I recall correctly.

 

[LYU370]

Brother, you are right as rain.... It was none other than Dr BBQ that lined me out many years ago on another forum.... on the differences between the two sandwiches when I posted this ↓↓ as an Italian Beef sandwich. :doh: He was passionate about the gravy if I recall correctly.

Hahaha... You are correct! Ray is a riot! Very passionate of all things BBQ/Chicago. And yes, the sauce/gravy/jus is thinner in a Chicago beef. More like an Italian, garlic, au jus. Grab the sammich with some tongs and dunk the whole thing in.

 

[LYU370]

Actually there was a local Chicago company that used olives in their giardiniera, but I think they were/are the only one. Marconi is the best giardiniera and best known Chicago brand, started in the late 1890's if I recall. They also make a special version just for Portillo's, a local Chicago hotdog/beef/burger chain, although Portillo's has started branching out to other states in recent years.

 

[bluejeep]

Now that is a sandwich!