In the hierarchy of sandwich greatness these come in second, holding steady beneath turkey/stuffing/gravy/cranberry on brown, and just above lox/cream cheese/capers/red onion on a bagel. All three do well on the comfort food scale, but a cheesesteak trumps all when it comes to sheer sin.
Note that none of the following is particularly conducive to vigorous health or low blood pressure (though Hoffman keeps trying to tell me that sodium intake has nothing to do with hypertension compared, say, to an utter dearth of exercise, ahem) but good heavens does it hit the spot for Sunday lunch or movie night. Guaranteed to win over pouty French teenagers every time, but that’s more my problem than yours.
You will need:
- fresh, crusty and rather dense hoagie-style rolls
- some nicely marbled rib-eye steak(s)
- green and red peppers
- red onion
- Cheez Whiz or sliced provolone, or both
A sharp slicing blade is crucial here, so wrap up all your dull battered knives in newspaper and head down to your local wingnut hunting & fishing & ammo shop, where Cletis or Earl or whoever will be happy to grind back a bitter-sharp edge for a nominal fee. Don’t try to sharpen on a whetstone or with a honing steel, because you’ll just make it worse. (Do of course use a steel once your knives are sharp: two or three light strokes every time you’re going to cut.)
As you get going, think in terms of extreme temperatures: very cold meat and very hot metal. Put the steak(s) in the freezer for at least an hour before doing any slicing, otherwise they’ll have too much give and you won’t get proper, consistent thinness. As to the cooking surface, it’s important to have high heat that won’t dissipate when frying. A non-stick pan therefore, no matter how fancy, won’t do the job. You want a nice big cast-iron skillet on the stove, rendered so hot that you’re kind of afraid to stand near it.
Cut off and discard the top and bottom of the peppers, slice through the resulting cylinder once, lay the halves flat skin-side down, and remove the nasty white ribs from the pepper flesh with your knife. Slice into quarter inch thick sticks and put in a bowl.
Peel and trim the onions, cut in half pole-to-pole, lay flat then slice equator-to-centre at quarter inch increments. Toss with the peppers in the bowl with a good pour of vegetable oil and a big pinch of salt and pepper.
Slice the slightly frozen steak against the grain as thinly as possible, strew the meat in a single layer across the cutting board, and sprinkle on about twice as much salt as that with which you’d ordinarily be comfortable.
Put the vegetables into the very, very hot skillet and begin agitating at once, using tongs to dislodge anything that sticks. After 30 seconds or so, alternate agitation with stillness, so the vegetables have a chance to get a little brown. When everything has started to soften, throw in a splash of water (or better yet, strong beef stock), and once this has evaporated, dump everything onto a plate and set aside.
Once more ensure the skillet is unreasonably hot and fry the sliced beef in batches. Distribute in a single layer and do not disturb for at least thirty seconds so some browning can happen, then agitate quickly before scooping everything onto a plate. If the pieces of meat are overcrowded, steam won’t be able to escape and you’ll end up trying to fry in a puddle. Don’t do it. Each batch shouldn’t take more than about 45 seconds. Combine everything back in the pan, check for salt and pepper, and let heat through.
And then, darling one, this is important: you’re going to have to fry the bread. Get another pan medium-hot, slice open the rolls, spread with butter and lay butter-side down until nice and brown and just barely crispy.
Slap in some cheese or cheez, and rather a lot of the good stuff from the pan, roll up tight in tinfoil, pile up on a tray, and deliver to the cheering hordes.
12 Comments
I might have to diasagree about the peppers. Some people are pretty particular about it. For my money, It REALLY should be on Sarcone’s bread, though an Amoroso roll is OK.
Ah, well, you’ll note the word ‘philly’ never appears on the page, partially out of deference to my colleague John Gruber, who lives there, and partially out of fear of the slightly unhinged ex-marine consumer advocate linked above.
As a footnote though I’ll add that anyone who could imagine the sandwich without peppers is batshit insane.
You know, in my 24 or so years of existence, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten around to eating this particular sandwich. Was very popular with my college friends though.
“Enjoy every sandwich.” -Warren Zevon
I try to live my life by those words. Your concoction I will definately have to try.
It is rather funny that Dean, our man is France, is the guy with the cheesesteak recipe. But here in Philly, I’m not sure I can recall ever having had one prepared at home. My “recipe” would be to head on over to Tony Luke’s or to Rick’s King of Steaks at Reading Terminal Market.
Though I do like a good cheesesteak once in a while, what really compels me to post is Dean’s use of the cast iron skillet. I have recently fallen absolutely in love with cooking on cast iron. Properly seasoned (which isn’t hard, no matter how much we’ve been taught to be intimidated by it), a good cast iron skillet can gently cook an over-medium egg or can go all the way up to Scary Hot for frying and searing. They’re inexpensive and will last forever. (Mine was made in the 19th century some time, by a company that went from pouring skillets to making cast-iron piston cylinders for the largest diesel engines in the world. Somehow, I really like owning an old piece of that story.)
Two things, peppers are right out, that’s just not allowed – and Ricks? C’mon John, Jim’s is where it’s at! Takes me 20 minutes to walk there versus 5 mintues to Ricks, but the walk is worth it.
Different steaks for different folks, Lou. I find Jim’s steaks to be grizzly, greasy, and more than anything, salty as hell. I like my salt as much as the next guy, but Jim’s steaks taste like how I imagine the meat tasted on trans-Atlantic voyages in Columbus’s day.
Tony Lukes cheesesteaks suck. Between having to wait in line for 30 minutes to make an order, then wait another 20 to pick it up only to discover that the meat tastes like it has been thawed out then refrozen, Jim’s, Pat’s even Geno’s is better. In the Roxborough neighborhood, there’s Delassandro’s. But the new king in Philly is McNally’s Schmitter (not the one you get from Citizens Bank park, but from the bar in Chestnut Hill). Cheesesteak on a kaiser (yes its sacralige), with fried salami, fried onions, tomato and a secret sauce (which is basically a spicey version of thousand island dressing). Phenomenal!!!
Delassandro’s was good – I used to live pretty nearby in Germantown and was glad to have them close by. I think my all time favorite was from a hole in the wall on South 10th, I think it is now called Shank and Evelyn’s (I think Shank has passed on). QUAL-IH-TEE. Oh, and I know this is “off-topic”
but ya gotta try a Chicken Cutlet with Greens and Cheese from them. Wow.
Hehe. Being a Ruby/Rails guy, I never thought I’d end up here for Cheesesteak advice!
I have relatives in the Philly area, and I suddenly had a yearning for Cheesesteak, with no idea how to knock one up. I’ll have to find an Italian hoagie substitute, but my mouth is watering at the prospect. Cheers!
hi guys,new UK bodybuilder here, looks like a decent forum with lots of good info – hopefully i can contribute & learn.