Dipping Into the Italian Beef
by Nick Kindelsperger on February 11, 2009
I have been a doubter of Italian beefs since I moved to Chicago six months ago. These apparent Chicago delicacies looked like any other sliced meat sandwich, except that they were messier. The beef is thinly sliced and tossed in a long roll and then the whole sandwich (!!) is dunked in some kind of juice and topped with either sweet peppers or giardiniera, which sounds like a disease but it actually a condiment of vinegary vegetables. Your hands get dirty, the bread falls apart, and juice gushes out everywhere. It's best to eat them standing up, and to bring your face to the food so you never have to move the sandwich. I had one a couple of months ago that was decent, but not especially inspiring.
My doubt ended the moment I had one from
Al's #1 Beef on Taylor Street. The sandwich is astonishingly tender and succulent, and the peppers provide the vinegary hit to cut through the heaviness of the meat. It's an absolutely brilliant sandwich, and one that has messed with my head for weeks now.
The mystery is that while the sandwich's meat is incredibly tender, it isn't made from some expensive cut of beef. From the research that I've done, most Italian beef recipes call for round or the sirloin tip, which are both tough and lean cuts. The use of a cheap, neglected cut really interested me.
At first glance, the sandwich looks a lot like a cheese-less Philly cheesesteak. But I've been to Philadelphia, and seen the sandwiches made from thinly sliced ribeye and other cuts that have a lot of fat. All they have to do is thinly slice the meat and toss it on a griddle and it is ready to go. And don't get me wrong, they are absolutely delicious.
But the Italian beef has to be treated with a little more care or it will dry out into an inedible rock hard hunk. It's usually slowly roasted first with loads of garlic and herbs along with some liquid, and then left to cool. Then the meat is thinly sliced and only right before it is served is the meat reintroduced to the juice. I caught this picture of a man in Al's that was slicing the roast during service.
Though I usually pass on the sweet peppers, something about the giardiniera really does something for me. I'd never even heard of giardiniera until it appeared on an Italian sausage I had at
Hot Doug's one time. It's essentially just pickled vegetables that are vinegary and incredibly spicy. I'm addicted to the stuff, and I think that's what got me fascinated with Italian beefs in the first place. I love how the condiment really accentuates the taste of the meat instead of trying to just cover it up. It reminds me a lot of Chicago's insistence of leaving ketchup off of hot dogs.
It's just that vat of juice they dip the sandwich in that has me confused. It's such an integral part of the sandwich, yet I don't know where it comes from and how to get it to taste so good. I get the rest. The meat is roasted much like a classic roast beef would be, with the addition of all kinds of Italian seasonings. I can make giardiniera. But is the juice made from the drippings of the roast, beef stock, boulillon cubes, or is it some kind of packaged gravy?
I'm not sure how the roast could be cooked in the juices without just turning into beef stew. Likewise, it's such a cheap sandwich in so many respects, I can't imagine them using something fancy for the sauce and creating it separately.
Anyone have ideas?
Tagged as:
Al's #1,
Beef,
Chicago,
Giardiniera,
Italian Beef
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I have never ordered an Italian beef sandwich and I'm from Chicago. I've had bites of others' Italian beef sandwiches but never had one to myself. Thanks for reminding me I need to try one.
I saw your opening photo and thought, "OH, OH, Al's Beef!". After listening to my husband and his brothers wax poetic about Al's Beef for years, we hopped a cab and went to the original last April. He showed me "the stance" and then I took the first bite- I'll never be the same. I would fly across the country just to eat at Al's Beef again. Wow.
I wish I had ideas! I've lived in Chicago for eight years, but still can't get over the Italian beef hump. And I put barbecue sauce on my hot Italian sausages which, apparently, is a complete travesty. Guess I'll always be a New England girl at heart.
You know, as an Italian Beef eater of Chicago, I remember swearing off Al's beef due to it's price after awhile… as good as the quality was and as delicious as it was, I wanted to find a more affordable option with equivalent quality. I was a college student then, which also played a role in my need for "affordability."
May I suggest you take some time to travel west down Taylor Street to a small place called "Patio" which is where I became a devote fan of the Italian Beef again. Also, a place that is rumored to have phenomenal Italian beefs is Mr. Beef, though I have not had the pleasure of trying them yet…
It's been awhile since I compared beefs, but the last time I did, Patio was just as good as Al's, but 3 bucks cheaper per sandwich. I'm not quite sure how it compares now…
Al's is like a landmark in Chicago, but that doesn't mean there aren't some other places you should be checking out for a good Italian beef.
As for the juice, most places use a beef broth with various seasoning to slow cook the meat in… a lot of places use a rump roast of sorts. You may have to experiment to find the right flavor for you…
Hillary: You need to have one! During my massive internet searching I actually heard good things about Tore's, which is up on Elston and Western. But I have nothing to back this up beyond some pics from LTH Forum.
ChicagoKid: Al's certainly isn't cheap, which is why I'm trying make it at home! I probably should visit some of the other legendary and cheaper places. Though I just heard that Mr. Beef's was running into some money problems.
Don't know how authentic this is but I came across this recipe relatively recently. I'd never even heard of them before.
http://www.roadfood.com/Recipes/Recipe.aspx?RecipeID=43
Nick—On my couple/few Italian beef forays, I've skipped the dunk, asking for some sauce to be poured on top. Have to admit, I've been less than impressed. Think I'll have to give Big Al's [and dipping] a try. I'm a huge fan of hot giardiniera, though. It's a key ingredient of a spicy chicken salad I make.
I love italian beef…
correction: my co-worker loves italian beef.
So much that he went to chicago and brought back 16 pounds of frozen italian beef + jus. It reminded him of grad school. He also started a facebook fan club just for the tasty sandwich.
I have never had the pleasure of eating on in chicago proper, but if it tastes anything like the frozen kind I have been missing out on life! (I can't believe I am comparing anything to frozen equivalents).
I also have to say that the pickled bits are the best, but only when they are imported from chicago. I bought some jarred ones packed in a water base, and they were quite horrific. Pack in oil is better. But of course.
Recipe?!
Anyways, I smell a recipe in the works.
Actually, it is a "Middle Round" cut. A butcher in Blue Island hipped me to that. When I make it at home (i'm in CA now – no giardinera, no italian beef here), I use the juice from the top round roast I buy and "paste" boulillon. I marinade it in "basque-style" red wine marinade.
Nick,
Check out Man vs. Food (Travel Channel)Chicago episode. Adam (host) goes to Al's and has a rather extensive interview with the owner and they go into quite a bit of detail about preparation of these things:
http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Man_v_Food/ci.Chicago.show?vgnextfmt=show
This is right on: "I love how the condiment really accentuates the taste of the meat instead of trying to just cover it up. It reminds me a lot of Chicago's insistence of leaving ketchup off of hot dogs." I've been trying to articulate for years to non-chicagoans why I leave ketchup of the dog (and for that matter, my burgers as well). Ketchup is just too much, its a distraction!
I recently moved to Chicago and am not sure what to think about the Italian Beef. I have never heard about one before until I moved here. I tried one at some random touristy place when I first got here. I just thought it was a really messy Philly cheese steak without the cheese. I was soo disappointed (I thought it was soo bland). I guess that I just tried the wrong place and I will have to go out and try again.
Ah, Hot Doug's, consistently introducing people to flavors they never knew they liked, and making lifetime devotees out of them!
Italian Beef is on my list for the next time I visit Chicago. I went to school in Philly, so I avoided Italian Beef out of a feeling that it just seemed like a soggy cheesesteak, but you've convinced me.
here’s a good read from another blogger on Beefs.
http://www.skilletdoux.com/2006/12/the_year_in_bee.html
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I was so inspired by your recipe after hours of research about Italian Beef.
Thanks for educating me and giving a good, clear and easy-to-follow recipe plus all the good tips. My Italian Beef turned out well on first try and I hope to improve to look like yours in time to come. I posted your recipe on my Facebook (Asian Cookery) and have made mention of you and your site. Thanks again!
Italian Beef or Peppered Beef has been a tradition in our family for many, many years. Ours is called Peppered Beef because of the barbecued (or pan fried) green peppers and banana peppers (hot of course) and some chopped garlic.
After the roast (round is preferred) is prepared it is chilled overnite in the roast pan. Removed the next day, thinly sliced and wrapped while the au juice is prepared. Water is added to the roast pan to deglaze it. Add fennel seed, the peppers and garlic and simmer slowly. Refrigerate overnite adding back some of the thinly sliced meat if to be served right away. Serve as usual on Italian hard rolls or Italian bread. Add the hot giardiniera in oil on top with some of the peppers. NOTE: Peppers barbequed on the grill are much better than those sauteed).
Absolutely great! At least as we all learn to make it we don’t have to worry about finding it at some stand.