Few Chicagoans make this sandwich at home—why buy a professional-grade meat slicer when there’s a beef stand in every neighborhood? So I had a hard time tracking down a recipe when I moved to New York City. Finally, an old high-school classmate responded to my Facebook plea with a photo of a stained index card titled “Italian Beef—Aunt Tammy.” Aunt Tammy’s meat-slicer workaround involves a rump roast, a slow cooker, and some fork-shredding. Our adaptation calls for sirloin, thinly sliced in advance by your butcher, then quickly poached in the juice.
Equipment
Yield: makes 4 sandwiches
Time:
1 hour
Ingredients
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2 Tbsp. rendered beef fat (or olive oil)
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1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
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3 large garlic cloves, minced (about 1 Tbsp.)
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6 cups low-sodium beef stock
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2 0.7-oz. packets Italian salad-dressing mix
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1 tsp. dried basil
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1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
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1 tsp. chile flakes
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1 tsp. dried oregano
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1 tsp. dried parsley
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2-3 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (optional)
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4 Italian- or French-style rolls (about 6 in. long)
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2 lb. boneless sirloin steak, thinly sliced on the bias
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2 cups hot giardiniera relish, drained
Instructions
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In a medium pot, over medium heat, cook the beef fat (or olive oil)
until it shimmers, then add the onion and cook, stirring frequently,
until translucent and softened, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook
until fragrant, 30 seconds more, then add the beef stock, Italian
salad-dressing mix, basil, black pepper, chile flakes, oregano, and
parsley. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until reduced by a
third, 30-40 minutes. Season to taste with the Worcestershire sauce, if
using, and maintain a low simmer.
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Meanwhile, split the rolls in half lengthwise, leaving one side intact, and place on a large rimmed baking sheet; set aside.
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Pull the steak slices apart and divide into 4 equal batches. Working
with 1 batch at a time, use tongs to dunk the meat into the juice,
swirling gently to quickly poach the meat, 1-2 minutes, before nestling
the batch inside one of the split rolls. Repeat with the other 3 steak
batches and rolls. To serve “wet,” ladle a generous amount of juice over
the beef. To serve “dipped,” use tongs to quickly dunk the entire
sandwich into the juice. To make a sandwich “hot,” top the beef with
giardiniera to taste.
