Best 7 Real Chicago Style Italian Beef I Recipes

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Chicago-style Italian beef is a sandwich packed with juicy, thinly sliced roast beef, Chicago-style giardiniera, and a flavorful jus, all piled onto a soft, chewy roll. This iconic sandwich is a Windy City staple and a must-try for any foodie visiting the area. But you don't have to travel to Chicago to enjoy this delicious sandwich; you can easily make it at home with the recipes provided in this article.

This comprehensive guide includes three recipes: the classic Italian beef sandwich, a homemade version of Chicago-style giardiniera, and a rich and savory jus. Each recipe is packed with tips and tricks to ensure you achieve the authentic Chicago-style flavor. You'll learn how to select the right cut of beef, slice it thinly, and cook it to perfection. You'll also discover the secrets to making a flavorful jus and the perfect giardiniera, a tangy pickled vegetable relish that adds a delightful crunch and acidity to the sandwich. With step-by-step instructions and helpful photos, these recipes will guide you through the process of creating a mouthwatering Chicago-style Italian beef sandwich that will transport you to the streets of the Windy City. So grab your apron and get ready to experience the taste of Chicago in your own kitchen.

Check out the recipes below so you can choose the best recipe for yourself!

CHICAGO-STYLE ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICH



Chicago-Style Italian Beef Sandwich image

Provided by Jeff Mauro, host of Sandwich King

Time 5h5m

Yield 6 sandwiches

Number Of Ingredients 16

1 boneless beef chuck eye roast (about 3 1/2 pounds), tied with butcher's twine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
5 cups beef stock (or enough to submerge the roast about three-quarters of the way)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
4 green bell peppers, cut into 1-inch-wide strips
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 soft hinged French rolls (preferably from Turano or Gonnella bakeries)
Oil-packed hot giardiniera, for topping

Steps:

  • For the pot roast: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F.
  • Liberally sprinkle the entire roast with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the roast on all sides until golden and caramelized, 5 to 7 minutes per side; reduce the heat if the fat begins to smoke. Transfer the roast to a plate and reduce the heat to medium.
  • Add the onions and a pinch of salt and saute, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper and garlic and saute until fragrant, another minute. Deglaze with the red wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Simmer until reduced by about half, another 2 to 5 minutes. Add the stock and thyme and bring to a simmer. Adjust the seasoning of the liquid.
  • Put the roast back in the pot with any accumulated juices and place in the oven, covered. Cook the roast, turning every 30 minutes and uncovering the pot for the last 30 minutes of cooking, until very tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Transfer the roast to a cutting board and tent with foil. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F for the peppers and bread.
  • For the sweet peppers: Toss the pepper strips with the olive oil, granulated garlic and some salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Bake, stirring halfway through, until lighter in color and softened, about 45 minutes.
  • Strain the pot roast jus through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl and return to the pot. Bring to a simmer and simmer until reduced slightly, 5 to 10 minutes. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Keep warm.
  • Once the meat has cooled a bit, remove the twine. Pull the meat into smaller chunks and return to the reduced jus until ready to build the sandwiches.
  • For the sandwich build: Rub the rolls with some of the giardiniera oil and toast in the oven until golden brown and crispy, 5 to 8 minutes.
  • Place some beef on a roll, then some sweet peppers (with some of the oil they were cooked in), followed by some hot giardiniera. Pour a small dish of reduced jus. Quickly dunk the whole sandwich in the hot jus, then wrap in deli paper or parchment paper and wait for 2 to 3 minutes while the magic happens. Repeat with the remaining rolls and toppings. When ready, open up and eat!

CHICAGO ITALIAN BEEF SANDWICH



Chicago Italian Beef Sandwich image

Provided by Guy Fieri

Categories     main-dish

Time 3h40m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 17

4 pounds top round with fat cap
3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons fresh cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
3 tablespoons bacon fat, or canola oil
3 yellow onions, chopped
1 cup garlic, whole cloves
1/2 cup red wine
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup beef stock
2 bay leaves
6 sourdough baguette rolls halved, toasted
1 cup chopped giardiniera vinaigrette vegetables
1 cup jarred red sweet peppers

Steps:

  • Rub meat with dry ingredients, cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
  • Add meat to a roasting pan with bacon fat, add onions and garlic, saute for 15 minutes, deglaze with wine, and add Worcestershire sauce, beef stock and bay leaves.
  • Place roasting pan in the oven and cook for 3 hours, uncovered, or until an instant-read thermometer registers 135 degrees F in center. Remove, let cool, then slice very thin.
  • Cool broth in roasting pan and remove the fat that rises to the top. Strain.
  • Reheat the broth, and add the sliced meat. Place some meat on each toasted roll, ladle with some broth and top with giardiniera vegetables and red peppers.

REAL CHICAGO-STYLE ITALIAN BEEF I



Real Chicago-Style Italian Beef I image

Make and share this Real Chicago-Style Italian Beef I recipe from Food.com.

Provided by Cookin In Texas

Categories     Roast Beef

Time 2h50m

Yield 6-10 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 8

4 lbs sirloin tip roast, trimmed of any excess fat
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
gonnella French roll

Steps:

  • Make a spice rub by combining 1 teaspoon each of dried basil,dried oregano,garlic powder,ground pepper,salt,red pepper flakes.
  • Rub HALF of the spice rub over and around the roast, Press the mixture into the meat as much as possible. Place the meat in a roasting pan. Add about 1 cup water to the pan.
  • Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
  • Roast the beef for 35 minutes, Now reduce the temperature to 400 degrees F., and roast for 40 minutes.
  • DO NOT TURN OFF THE OVEN, Remove the pan from the oven and pour 1 1/2 cups cold water into the pan, Let Stand for 15-20 minutes.
  • Add remaining seasoning mixture to the pan juices and water. Return meat to the oven and roast until meat thermometer reaches (160 degrees very important to reach this temp) about 50 minutes but use the thermometer to make sure.
  • When temp is reached remove pan and allow the roast to cool slightly befroe slicing. Slice almost paper thin (the right thiness is critical to ensure a good chew, But without being tough).
  • Transfer the juices to a sauce pan and keep it warm over low heat.
  • Immerse the sliced beef into the warm gravy.
  • To serve, scoop some of the beef out of the gravy using a fork, Load it onto a Gonnella french bread roll. Garnish with hot or sweet peppers and serve.
  • TIP: One of the secrets of Chicago Italian Beef restaurants is that they add garlic juice to the pan juices during the final roasting.
  • TIP 2: The beef served at these restaurants are not undercooked, infact most roast the beef until it is medium well which shows very little redness.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 645.3, Fat 43.5, SaturatedFat 17.2, Cholesterol 199.6, Sodium 560.4, Carbohydrate 0.9, Fiber 0.3, Sugar 0.2, Protein 58.2

CHICAGO ITALIAN BEEF



Chicago Italian Beef image

Provided by Food Network

Time P2DT3h30m

Yield 1 sandwich

Number Of Ingredients 30

Baguette (if I have to tell you what kind of bread to use, you probably shouldn't be making this sandwich)
Roast and Beef Juice, recipe follows
3 Sweet Peppers, recipe follows
Giardiniera, recipe follows
1 cup Italian seasoning
1 cup fine sea salt
1/3 cup ground black pepper
1/4 cup granulated garlic
1/4 cup granulated onion
1/4 cup dried oregano
One 1 1/2- to 2-pound sirloin roast
1/4 cup olive oil
Beef base, if needed
1 green bell pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil, for cooking
Salt and pepper
3 cups white vinegar
3 tablespoons fine sea salt
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons oregano
2 1/2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
2 yellow onions
2 green bell peppers
2 red bell peppers
2 jalapenos
1 serrano pepper
1 cup olive oil

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Cut bread two-thirds of the way through. Toast bread in oven until crispy on outside.
  • Drop sliced Roast into simmering Beef Juice. Jam beef in baguette. Dip sammich in beef juice pot.
  • Drop Sweet Peppers into Beef Juice to get hot and wet.
  • Add Giardiniera to sammich. Drape peppers across the beef.
  • Serve with more Beef Juice on the side.
  • Mix together the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, granulated garlic and onion and oregano in a bowl until combined.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Cover roast with spice mix (you will have some spice mix left over). Drizzle olive oil over top of roast. Place roast on a rack with water in the bottom of the pan (don't let the water touch the meat). Roast until the internal temperature registers 118 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour. Let roast cool. Reserve the juice.
  • Thin-slice roast, as thin as you can. Can't slice thin? You are screwed. Or you can buy your chef friend a six-pack and she will do it for you. Save beef scraps!
  • Portion roast slices into 5- to 7-ounce balls.
  • Pour all the extra juice and beef scraps in a pot. If there's not enough juice, add some beef base and some water. Taste. Make sure it's not too salty. Simmer for 1 hour, strain and put juice back on to simmer.
  • Split pepper in half, then clean white membrane out of it. Cut halves into thirds.
  • Heat saute pan on high heat. Once hot, add olive oil. Drop in peppers skin-side down. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Let pepper blister and char, then flip peppers and cook for another 2 minutes. Turn heat off and let peppers rest.
  • Put the vinegar, salt, garlic, oregano, crushed red pepper, black pepper and 2 cups cold water into a 4-quart container and stir until the salt has dissolved.
  • Cut carrots, celery, onions, green peppers and red peppers into 1/3-inch uniform dice.
  • Thinly slice jalapenos and serrano (approximately 1/8-inch thick).
  • Place cut veggies into brine and stir well until all ingredients are combined.
  • Cover and refrigerate for 2 days. Stir in olive oil.

CHICAGO-STYLE BEEF SANDWICHES



Chicago-Style Beef Sandwiches image

I'm originally from the Windy City so I love Chicago-style beef. These tender sandwiches lend an authentic flavor, and they're so simple to prepare using a slow cooker. -Lois Szydlowski, Tampa, Florida

Provided by Taste of Home

Categories     Lunch

Time 8h30m

Yield 12 servings.

Number Of Ingredients 13

1 boneless beef chuck roast (4 pounds)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms
2 medium carrots, cut into chunks
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
6 garlic cloves, halved
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 carton (32 ounces) beef broth
1 tablespoon beef base
12 Italian rolls, split
1 jar (16 ounces) giardiniera, drained

Steps:

  • Cut roast in half; sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, brown meat in oil on all sides. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker., In a food processor, combine the mushrooms, carrots, onion, garlic and oregano. Cover and process until finely chopped. Transfer to slow cooker. Combine beef broth and base; pour over top. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until tender., Remove meat and shred with two forks. Skim fat from cooking juices. Return meat to slow cooker; heat through. Using a slotted spoon, serve beef on buns; top with giardiniera.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 450 calories, Fat 18g fat (6g saturated fat), Cholesterol 98mg cholesterol, Sodium 1101mg sodium, Carbohydrate 33g carbohydrate (4g sugars, Fiber 3g fiber), Protein 37g protein.

CHICAGO ITALIAN BEEF



Chicago Italian Beef image

You'll be sorry you didn't grow up in Chicago, and eat one of those wonderful beef sandwiches from Carm's. This tastes identical. This wonderful recipe came from my sister Linda knowing how homesick I am for Chicago food. Start cooking 18 hours before you want to eat.

Provided by Moonbugz_

Categories     Lunch/Snacks

Time 18h10m

Yield 5 lbs meat

Number Of Ingredients 7

5 lbs rump roast (do not substitute for a different type roast)
2 (10 1/4 ounce) cans beef consomme (Broth)
1 (1 ounce) package Good Seasonings Italian salad dressing mix
pepperoncini pepper (1/2-1 jars depending on level of spiciness)
giardiniera (1/2-1 jars)
3 -5 sweet green peppers (according to size)
1 loaf long thin French bread

Steps:

  • Cook first 5 ingredients in a Crockpot on LOW for 18 (eighteen) hours.
  • Turn over at the 6th and 12th hour interval.
  • At the 17th hour cut sweet green peppers into 1/8 ths lengthwise and cook in water on low heat until soft.
  • Cut bread into 6 inch lengths and slice on the side lengthwise.
  • Pull roast apart with a fork, and using tongs, pile bread with meat and juice.
  • (Do not let juice drain before putting on bread. The juice is half the taste of the sandwich.) Lay strips of green pepper on top of the meat.
  • Salt to taste.
  • OPEN WIDE and enjoy the most wonderful taste sensation.
  • May be frozen when cooked.

" DA BEST" CHICAGO-STYLE ITALIAN BEEF



Tender, garlicky and full of oregano 'n stuff! Start this one a day ahead; the beef slices need an overnight stay in da gravy to be at their best. And please don't overcook the roast! As it rests right out of the oven and as it's reheated it'll stop mooing! Serve on crusty Italian sandwich rolls; add sauteed peppers if you like, but too much more and it starts looking like a Philly steak 'n cheese, a whole other beast. Prep time includes overnight marinating.

Provided by EdsGirlAngie

Categories     Lunch/Snacks

Time 10h45m

Yield 7-8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 13

1 (5 lb) rump roast (please don't use chuck roast, too stringy and greasy)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon coarse-grind black pepper
2 cups boiling water
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon coarse-grind black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
salt (bouillon can be salty, taste first!)

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 325°F.
  • Sprinkle the roast with garlic powder, oregano and pepper, then cook roast, uncovered, in a shallow roasting pan, about 30 minutes per pound.
  • Roast will be very rare-- don't overcook it!
  • Let cool slightly, then thinly slice.
  • Add to the roast's pan drippings: the boiling water, bouillon cubes, oregano, thyme, pepper, Tabasco sauce, garlic and Worcestershire sauce.
  • Simmer for 20 minutes, scraping up the browned bits.
  • Taste for salt and add some if you wish.
  • Add the sliced beef; cover and marinate in da gravy overnight.
  • Reheat the next day and serve in crusty Italian sandwich rolls.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 657.6, Fat 39.6, SaturatedFat 15.6, Cholesterol 243.2, Sodium 517.7, Carbohydrate 3.2, Fiber 0.4, Sugar 0.8, Protein 67.7

Tips:

  • Choose high-quality ingredients, especially for the beef and the bread. Using fresh, flavorful ingredients will make a big difference in the final dish.
  • Don't be afraid to experiment with different cuts of beef. While chuck roast is the traditional choice, you can also use other cuts like brisket, top round, or even flank steak.
  • Cook the beef slowly and low. This will help to tenderize the meat and develop the flavor.
  • Use a good quality Italian bread. The bread should be sturdy enough to hold up to the beef and the gravy, but it should also be soft and flavorful.
  • Make sure to dip the bread in the gravy before eating. This is the traditional way to eat Italian beef and it helps to add flavor and moisture to the sandwich.

Conclusion:

Italian beef is a delicious and iconic sandwich that is a must-try for any fan of Chicago cuisine. With its tender beef, flavorful gravy, and soft bread, it's a sandwich that is sure to satisfy. So next time you're looking for a hearty and satisfying meal, give Italian beef a try. You won't be disappointed.

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