By Amy L. Hatch
Everyone has their favorite foods and tastes from the areas they grew up in. For some people, it’s Tex Mex. For others, it’s Polish foods or, in my case, Buffalo wings.
I’m also kind of crazy about Philly cheese steak subs, which is weird because I don’t usually like red meat, or meat of any kind, really. If I’m going to eat an animal protein, it really needs to taste like mayonnaise or any other combination of condiments. I am, however, a sucker for a really good steak every now and then.
I’ve had a hard time finding a cheese steak sub I enjoy as much as the one at my favorite bar-food joint back East. Vinny’s East Coast Pizza offers a very good one, but sometimes you just don’t want take out.
On a recent evening I tackled the Philly cheese steak at home, something I’ve done before with mixed results. My problem was always finding good beef sliced the right way — very, very thin. None of the butchers I’d visited seemed able to accomplish that.
As I cook more (and I hear my husband laughing somewhere, and I’m telling him to can it), I get more comfortable with things like Big Scary Knives. I have a set that we got as a wedding gift and I decided to get busy and shave myself some beef tenderloin.
This time, our sandwiches were so good that the mister said they did not need steak sauce — high praise, indeed.
These Philly cheese steaks are a kind of gourmet version — I used beef tenderloin. But heck if it wasn’t totally worth it. You could also use sirloin just as easily.
These subs would make a fantastic Superbowl party meal — you could make cut the portions really small, double the recipe or you could make them just for your family to enjoy while they watch the big game.
| Superbowl Recipe: Philly Cheese Steak |
- 1 1/4 lbs beef (tenderloin or sirloin)
- One small onion, sliced very thin
- Mushrooms, sliced
- Green pepper, sliced
- Garlic salt
- Pepper
- Worcestershire sauce
- Olive oil
- Cheese (see instructions)
- French bread or other sandwich rolls
- Using a sharp knife, slice the beef very thin (see image).
- Slice your onion (very thin), green peppers and mushrooms
- In a small skillet, go twice around the pan with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat.
- Add veggies and saute until desired doneness.
- Use a paper towel to wipe olive oil around a large skillet, and heat to high or medium-high.
- Add your meat in batches so you can cook one layer of meat at a time.
- Brown on both sides and chop with your spatula while it cooks. Just before it’s done, sprinkle with garlic salt, pepper and worcestershire sauce.
- Keep cooked meat warm by covering with foil.
- When all the meat is cooked, place 1/4 of it back in the pan with some of the veggies and a good melting cheese like American, mozzarella or provolone. Place on roll, bread or bun.
- Repeat until you’ve made four sandwiches or used all the beef.
- Serve with mayonnaise, steak sauce, lettuce and tomato if desired.