Easy Italian Beef Recipe can be made in a slow cooker, braised in the oven, and even simmered on the stovetop.

All the spicy flavors you expect from a Chicago-style Italian Beef.

This recipe gets all of its flavors from spices, pepperoncini are reserved as a condiment.  There is no vinegar in a true Chicago Style Italian Beef.

We call slowly cooked and shredded beef that has been cooked with pepperoncini Mississippi Roast and not Italian Beef where I come from.

This Italian Beef Recipe can be served as a sandwich, over mashed potatoes, or even alone for those gluten issues, eating paleo, or on a ketogenic diet.

Here I go again with another recipe designed to cure a craving for a food that I can’t seem to find outside of the Chicago area.

There, Italian beefs are easily accessible at almost every pizza or hot dog place. 

You can search high and low outside of that area and never find one. 

Finding a good Chicago style hot dog is also another challenge.

These are nowhere near an original Italian Beef that can easily be found in that area.  Those are made with beef roasts cooked to rare in a flavorful broth, then sliced into thin perfection pieces of meat.

The meat is dipped back into that wonderful broth and slapped onto a sturdy Gonnella roll (which are unfortunately only available in and around the Chicago area grocery stores).

I’ve tried recipes that called for rare beef, thinly sliced and simmered in broth, but I could never get a kitchen slicer or knife to recreate that perfect tenderness of the original beef in Chicago.  So now I used the shredded beef method.

Shredded meat should never appear in an authentic Italian Beef, but unless you have a commercial slicer, slicing beef appropriately as a home cook is almost impossible.

Not perfect, but it will get the job done and its less work anyway.

It turns out more like an Italian “flavored” shredded beef in a spicy au jus.

I prefer to serve these with hard rolls, Kaiser rolls, or any sturdier roll, but soft sub rolls will do in a pinch.

If I were back home, I could easily buy Gonnella Rolls in the store.  But I could also easily buy an Italian Beef………..

Yield: 20 Portions

Italian Beef

Print

Shredded beef in a spicy broth, reminiscent of those served in restaurants in the Chicago area.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 6 hours

Total Time 6 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 5 pounds roast (chuck roast works the best, but I use other cuts if they are on sale)
• 6 cloves Garlic cut into slivers
• 2 cans condensed Beef Consomme
• 4 beef bouillon cubes (or 1 Tablespoon concentrated Beef Base) (optional)
• 3 Tablespoons Dried Oregano
• 1 pinch Red Pepper Flakes (more if you like heat)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Trim roast of any visible silver skin, gristle, and large pieces of fat. Cut small slits all over the meat and insert garlic slivers.
3. Place roast in a roasting pan that has a fitted lid.
4. Cover with oregano, sprinkle with red pepper flakes and pour condensed consommé over the top. Add the bouillon or beef base into the liquid. Add water if necessary to bring the liquid up to the top of the roast.
5. Place lid on the pan, or tightly cover with aluminum foil. Place in preheated oven and slow roast for 3 to 4 hours or until meat is easily shredded with 2 forks.
6. Remove meat from liquid and shred. Place meat back into broth and reheat over low heat if necessary.
7. Use tongs to place meat on sliced hard rolls. Serve with pepperoncini. Add broth to individual small bowls for dipping sandwiches.
8. This recipe can be made in a slow cooker. Cook on high for 5 – 6 hours or low for 8 – 12 hours.

Notes

Nutritional Data is for Beef only.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size:

4 ounces
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 215 Total Fat: 9.6g Saturated Fat: 3.6g Cholesterol: 81mg Sodium: 306mg Carbohydrates: 1.1g Fiber: 0.3g Sugar: 0.3g Protein: 31g

More Chicago Inspired Recipes from Our Kitchen:

Meatball Subs

Sauce Buns

Egg Rolls

Bacon Quesadillas