A Real Philly Cheesesteak

Submitted by Fleischer

"I come from Philly and now live in Alaska. What they think is a Philly Cheese Steak involves green peppers and onions. So if thats what you are looking for, then no dice. If you want something similar to what they sell in every pizza place in the philly metro area, this is as close as you can get from outside the state"

 

• Ready In: 20mins
• Ingredients: 5
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 lb rib eye, frozen, then cut very thin
• onion
• mushroom
• provolone cheese or Cheese Whiz
• 4 hoagie rolls

directions

1. MEAT: Make friends with your butcher. You need him to partially freeze a hunk of Rib Eye, and then slice it very thin. You want it sliced thin even though common sense tells us that thick is better. You can buy the hunk of rib eye and freeze and slice it yourself, but the butcher generally does a better job than I do. I can only get it about 1/8" thick and he does about.
2. BREAD: This is the hard part. If you aren't in the tristate area, and can't get AMOROSOS rolls (the only thing that is REALLY good on a cheesesteak) then you have to find a substitute. Squishy sub rolls will NOT do. They do not hold together under pressure. Refrain from buying those "hero" rolls too. A good hoagie roll is almost rubbery in texture, but quite soft. The best substitute I have found is a loaf of French bread. Not as good as the real thing, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.
3. Toppings: All of this is personal choice. I like fried onions and mushrooms myself.
4. Cheeses used vary - I hate to admit it but I think cheese whiz tastes the best. Provolone is awesome too and thats what I would use if I was afraid of the plastic orange stuff called whiz.
5. Cooking the steak: In a cast iron frying pan, or a grill pan heat some oil. Saute toppings until pliable - make them however you like them. Remove them from pan and set aside.
6. Pour some more oil in the pan (I use olive oil, but if you have access to the stuff they use in restaurants on grills it would taste even better) on medium high heat. Place 1/4 to 1/3 of a pound of meat in the pan, lying the pieces flat and overlapping to form a shape that will fit nicely in a bun.
7. When the meat turns grey with doneness, flip it over and if you are using cheese slices now is the time to lie them on top of the meat. Add the other toppings back into the pan next to the meat and allow to reheat. Cover the pan to allow the cheese to melt. This should take 1-2 minutes. If the meat looks overcooked, thats ok - i t should be GRAY.
8. This is the time to toast the bread if you so wish. I don't like mine toasted at all. Warmed is ok.
9. If you are using cheese whiz, warm it in the microwave. Pick up meat and melted cheese with a spatula and deposit on the roll. IF using cheese whiz, use a butter knife or chopstick to smear whiz next to the meat.
10. Push the meat on one side of the roll and deposit the toppings next to it. This is important because if you put the toppings ON the meat, they will not be in the bottom of the sandwich, which really sux.
11. You should get meat, toppings and cheese in every bite.

Reviews

[Ed Marion]

I live in the tri-state area and you're right. Same thing with pizza. Maybe its the water?

 

[Ryan Fountain]

I used a smoked roast and added sauteed garlic and, of course, red and green peppers, some more spice like chipotle powder, cumin, and white pepper to the recipe and everyone loved it. As is, this recipes is lacking, though.

 

[michael blender]

You can tell he or she has never worked as a chef. Just because you come from philly doesn't make you an expert

 

[CHRISSYG]

This is it! This is the best and closest recipe that I could find to replicating Pat's or Gino's.. If you don't know what Pat's or Gino's are, then you just don't get it and may not like this... it's a Philly Thing. The only thing that was forgotten was the salt... it goes on the meat when it's cooking.

 

[dmsoper]

I have made this twice now and it has been a big hit with my husband both times. It is filling and delish! We like it with sauteed mushrooms and onions with Cheez Whiz on top. YUM!