For the past two days my house has smelled DELICIOUS. I’ve been working on the quintessential Chicago-Style Italian Beef Sandwich. Although, a fairly simple dish, it takes some planning and special equipment* to make it taste like an authentic version.

The sandwich seems to have evolved from a need to make something tasty from less desired cuts of meat. Perhaps, it is suggested, that Italian meat cutters from the stockyards brought a cheaper cut of meat home and savvy cooks had to figure a way to deliciously present it. One trick of cooks is slow-cooking or roasting of tougher cuts of meat. Another trick would be thinly slicing such meat. And finally adding family familiar spices to enhance the flavor.

Rae’s Italian Beef

4-5 pounds of bottom round roast

1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper

2 teaspoons of dried oregano

small handful of fresh basil

4 cloves garlic

paprika

beef bouillon (I prefer “Better Than Bouillon” a semi-liquid)

salt and pepper, to taste

canned or homemade beef broth (around 28-29 ounces)

nutmeg (preferably freshly ground), to taste, but no more than a scant 1/2 teaspoon at most

3 - 4 medium sweet green peppers

bottled giardiniera

a couple french baguettes

I bought my nearly 5 pound bottom round roast for $14 (practically a steal). I then made a paste, using a mortar and pestle) of the oregano, basil, garlic, paprika, bouillon, salt and black pepper and stirred in the crushed red pepper. I rubbed this mixture on the roast and then let it sit at room temperature for an hour. Meanwhile I pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. I put the roast in the oven and cooked it for 25 minutes before turning the heat down to 250 degrees. After another 25 minutes at 250, I poured on a can of beef broth and a can of water. I then let it slow-cook for an additional hour. I then turned the oven up to 275 degrees and let it cook for 1/2 hour. At this point I checked the internal temperature, which was barely 140 degrees. I took the roast out of the oven and let it sit until cool enough to handle. I cut it in half, hoping the interior would still be nicely pink. It was. I strained the broth and put the cut halves and richly flavored broth in a gallon-size zip closable freezer bag. Done for the day.

The next day I poured out the broth, carefully saving it. I put the meat halves in the freezer for 1 1/2 hours. The partially frozen meat is much easier to slice. *Now here comes the “special equipment” part. I own a “professional” meat slicer. It’s certainly not restaurant/deli quality, but it’s a pretty decent home version. I’ve never been able to slice the meat thin enough for my liking. Hence I finally caved and bought a slicer, I found on sale at Blaine’s Farm and Fleet. It’s German-made and “knock on wood,” has held up well.

Anyway, I sliced the semi-frozen meat at the thinnest possible setting. I put the sliced meat back in the seasoned broth and add an additional can of beef broth, along with a sprinkling of the above herbs & spices to taste. Heat it through (that pinkness in the meat will now disappear). AND here is the IMPORTANT part. The SECRET INGREDIENT: grate some fresh nutmeg onto the meat/broth mixture and gently stir. You’re set now, as far as the meat.

The sweet peppers can be prepared the day you’re roasting the meat: Wash the sweet green peppers and roast in a 250 degree oven, turning every 15 minutes until they’re limp and the skin is blistered on all sides. This usually takes about one hour. Remove from the oven and wrap in foil or paper bag until cool. The steam will help the skin separate from the peppers. When cool, remove skin and inside pith and seeds and discard. Slice or roughly chop the remaining peppers and season lightly with extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover them if you’ve prepared them the day before. Done.

When ready to serve, cut baguettes into serving pieces of 4-6 inches and slice the bread pieces almost in half. Put heated Italian beef onto the bread. Top with spicy giardiniera or sweet green peppers. For extra juiciness, some prefer to dip their sandwich into the broth (you can also spoon additional broth on, however it’s Chicago customary to dip it.)

Sorry, I don't have a photo of the finished sandwich, but honestly, they were eaten before I could take one. We brought them to a pot-luck supper and they disappeared quickly. :-)

Delicious!