My family is not, by any means, Italian, but we do love a good Italian Beef sandwich. Being from the Chicagoland area, and if you’ve ever been to Chicago, you’d know that Italian beef is a signature Chicago dish. You can’t throw a rock without hitting a restaurant or a curbside food stand that sells this scrumptious sandwich.
Italian beef sandwiches are not so easy to find here in California… and if you found one someone would invariably slap some avocado on it. So, when I crave one, I tend to grab my recipe book and make it from scratch at home. My mom has been making this recipe for as long as I can remember, and it’s always been a family favorite.
This is my mom’s original Italian beef recipe. She has tweaked it over the years, but I keep going back to the original. Why mess with perfection, right? If you decide to make these, make sure to buy rolls tough enough to soak up the juices. The roll you use is as important at the meat. I prefer Gonella or Turano rolls. You’ll also want to buy pepperoncinis and giardiniera mix to make your sandwich complete.
If you’re looking for a refreshing dessert to accompany your Italian beef sandwich, be sure to check out my recipe for Lemon Sorbet. They go well together!
Italian Beef
Ingredients
- 4-5 pound upper or lower round roast
- 21 oz beef broth
- 6-8 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbls fennel seed
- 1 jalapeno pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 package french rolls
- 1 jar pepperoncini
- 1 jar chopped giardiniera
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Place the roast in a large dutch oven and rub it all over with salt and pepper
- Chop up the garlic cloves and jalapeno and add them to the pot with the roast.
- Add the fennel
- Pour the beef broth over the roast and spices.
- Cover and place the roast in the 350 degree oven for one hour.
- Take roast out of oven and let it cool. (It will not be completely done)
- Thinly slice up the entire roast. The thinner the better.
- Add the sliced roast back to the pot and beef broth.
- Cook on the stovetop for 30 minutes at medium heat.
- Thinly slice up the bell pepper.
- Stir in the sliced bell pepper and cook on medium heat for another 30-45 minutes. The longer it simmers the more tender it will be.
- Serve on the french rolls and top with pepperoncinis and giardiniera.
- Enjoy
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So good!