Johnnie's Iconic Italian Beef Is A Delicious Mess Of Beef And Gravy | Legendary Eats | Insider Food
With how ubiquitous Italian beef sandwiches are in Chicago, it's hard to pick just one. But the line outside Johnnie's Beef and its #1 rankings on several best lists are a good indication that this spot is one of the Windy City's favorites.
According to Eater, Johnnie's Italian beef sandwich is considered by many to be the shining standard that others strive to achieve. Other publications, customers, and critics agree for several reasons. The meat is well-seasoned with an array of secret spices. It's sliced thin and accompanied by either sweet peppers or giardiniera loaded with crunchy carrots, celery, and chiles. Customers who order it dipped get a generous helping of gravy that's sure to be absorbed by the plush French bread holding all that beefy goodness together.
MORE LEGENDARY EATS VIDEOS:
Café du Monde’s Beignet | Legendary Eats
The Pork Roll (Or Taylor Ham), Egg, And Cheese | Legendary Eats
How The California Roll Was Invented | Legendary Eats
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Johnnie's Iconic Italian Beef Is A Delicious Mess Of Beef And Gravy | Legendary Eats | Insider Food
Chicago's Best Italian Beef: Al's Italian Beef
The Italian Beef Sandwich is a Chicago Original and Elliott Bambrough is headed out to show you where it all started.
How to make a proper Chicago Style Italian Beef Sandwich
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We're tackling one of Chicago's iconic food items, it's not any deep dish pizza because today is all about the Chicago style Italian beef sandwich.
Based on my research, which included watching a lot of Al's Italian beef videos and polling some Redditors, Chicago style Italian beef is categorized by the following:
- Beef Roast (Top Sirloin Butt or Round Roast) that is braised with spices
- Roast Beef is thinly sliced and then warmed in the au jus before being put on the roll
- The serving vessel is a sturdy hoagie/sub/long roll
- Ordered dry, wet or dipped
- Topped with sweet peppers, or hot peppers (giardiniera)
- Other topping variations can include the Italian combo, red sauce, and cheese
--- FULL ITALIAN BEEF RECIPE ---
Description: Seasoned roast beef, that is thinly sliced, warmed in au jus and then loaded on a sturdy long roll. The whole sandwich is dipped in the au jus and topped with sweet peppers or hot peppers (giardiniera), or both. Wrap it in wax paper, and consume with some napkins close by.
Ingredients:
- Eye of Round Roast (3-4 lbs or 1.3-1.8 kg)
- Coarse Kosher Salt
- Fresh Ground Pepper
- 8 garlic cloves, smashed, skin removed.
Spice Rub:
- 2 TBSP (13g) Paprika
- 1 TBSP (3g) Oregano
- 1 TBSP (2g) Coriander seeds
- 1 TBSP (2g) Fennel seeds
- 1 TBSP (18g) Coarse Kosher Salt
- 1 TBSP (7g) Fresh Ground Pepper
- 2 cups (480 g) Beef stock + Water to cover
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 C)
2. Liberally salt and pepper the roast.
3. Add a thin layer of oil to a large dutch oven over high heat.
4. When the oil is hot, brown the roast on all sides creating those delicious flavor compounds.
5. Once browned, remove the roast and set aside on a plate. Set the heat to medium.
6. Add the garlic cloves and spice rub to the fond created from browning. Saute for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
7. Add the beef stock and water to create our braising liquid. Turn off the heat.
8. Add the browned roast back to the liquid. The liquid should come up to at least 1/2 the way up the beef, if it's not, add more water/beef stock.
9. Prepare a parchment paper lid, or set the lid of the dutch oven slightly ajar.
10. Move the dutch oven to the oven and let braise for 2 - 2.5 hours. Flip the beef roast and let braise for another 1.5 hours.
11. Remove the roast from the oven and wrap in plastic film and move to the fridge to rest at least 1 hour. This will allow the proteins to set for better slicing and the plastic film doesn't allow water vapor to escape, keeping our roast moist. (Note: If you are not slicing thinly, you could let the beef rest and eat the beef right out of the oven)
12. Store the braising liquid in the fridge as well.
13. Once rested, thinly slice the roast by using an electronic slicer for best results, though a slicing knife will work too.
14. Heat the au jus over medium low heat until 140 degrees F (60 c).
15. Add a serving of the sliced beef to the au jus and let warm for 30-60 seconds.
16. Load up the beef on a sturdy long roll and dip the whole sandwich in the au jus for proper Chicago style.
17. Top with sweet peppers or hot pepper giardiniera. I used my lacto fermented giardiniera (recipe below).
Lacto Fermented Hot Giardiniera - WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
Equal parts (all diced)
- Celery
- Carrot
- Onion
- Red pepper
Spices
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 red hot chiles
- 5 grams oregano
- 5 grams peppercorns
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OTHER DETAILS
All sources used:
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Music: Provided by Musicbed
Filmed on: Sony a6400 w/ 18-105mm F4
Voice recorded on Rode Video Micro
Edited in: Premiere Pro #Chicago #ItalianBeef
Affiliate Disclosure:
Cook with E is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Quick Au Jus with Some Guy Who Cooks
Who knew something that sounds so fancy could be so easy and delicious!? Honestly, for a SUPER simple au jus, you could get away with corn starch, water and beef bouillon cubes, but why not add a bit more, right? Get some drippings from a beef roast and add a MOUNTAIN of meaty flavor, plus a few herbs and toasted peppercorns to spice things up ;-)
French Dip Sandwiches Recipe (Crockpot Beef Au Jus)
FULL RECIPE:
PIN FOR LATER:
French Dip Sandwich, or French Dip Au Jus, is a delicious and easy way to enjoy crockpot beef! We create a Beef Au Jus sandwich with tender beef, provolone cheese, toasty bread, and of course the dipping sauce. Such a simple crockpot recipe that the entire family will love. This French Dip Sandwich Recipe is a winner!
INGREDIENTS:
2 packages au jus mix
2 packages Italian dressing mix
32 ounces beef broth
5 lbs. top or bottom round beef roast boneless chuck roast
8 hoagie buns
8 slices Provolone Cheese
INSTRUCTIONS:
-Spray crockpot with cooking spray
-Put beef roast into the crockpot.
-Sprinkle au jus mix and Itailian dressing mix onto the beef roast.
-Pour the beef broth over the roast.
-Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until beef is fork tender.
-After cooking, remove roast and strain broth into a bowl. Broth can be used for french dip sandwiches or for open faced roast been sandwiches.
-Slice roast beef in this slices.
-Place roast beef and provolone on hoagie buns. Wrap sandwiches and warm in oven for 10 minutes at 400F.
-Unwrap and enjoy! Use broth as dipping sauce.
The Mother Of All Steak Sauces (Other Meats Too)- Classic Demi Glace
The most versatile classic sauce base, the uses for Demi glace are endless. I use it in my steak au poivre recipe but you can use it on chicken, pork or lamb too. Traditionally made with veal bones I opt for beef bones.
Make a beef broth from scratch and freeze it in quart containers. I have a great recipe in my French onion soup video
Once you have beef broth you can make this Demi glace quickly and easily. This sauce will freeze in cup containers for months.
Recipe:
4oz small pieces of beef (optional)
1/2 bottle red wine ( a bottle good enough to drink)
1 onion
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
3 garlic cloves smashed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 quart heavy duty beef broth
yield: 1 cup demi glace
Notes:
-Make sure your beef stock is full of gelatin. That will make for a thick sauce
-Roast your meat and vegetables well to add flavor and color to final sauce
-Skim your sauce as much as possible