Italian Beef Sandwiches, West-Sider Style

These are the greatest -- and since most of my family no longer lives in or near the West Side of Chicago or its next-door neighbor suburbs, we need something to get our fix. Imagine, right after we moved, we bought "Beefs" at a stand, and to our horror, found little bitty onion chunks and CARROTS mixed in the shreds of roast beef. This was definitely NOT like "back inda naybuhhood" !! Personally, we like slices, others like shreds, but still -- the only veggies allowed to be seen are the peppers tucked in once you load your sandwich. Make sure to get a good firm Italian bread loaf or crusty, full-bodied sandwich rolls. Wimpy, airy bread and rolls won't hold the "gravy", as we call it, and it's just not a Beef without that. And speaking of the gravy, yes, you really do want to add that many spices, as they'll cook down some. Cooking/prep times do not include cooling time. Another side note -- this is a great recipe to prepare and then leave on low in a crock pot for parties.

• Ready In: 19 mins
• Yields: 4 pounds

Ingredients

• 4  lbs eye of round roast
• 2  tablespoons  peeled chopped garlic
• 2  tablespoons dried oregano
• 2  tablespoons dried basil
• 1  tablespoon dried red pepper flakes
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1  teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2  cups water
• 2  bouillon cubes
• 2  bay leaves
•  olive oil (optional)
• 3  green bell peppers (optional)
•  sandwich buns or   bread

Directions

1. Score the roast in a cross/diamond pattern about an inch apart, just barely into the surface of the roast. The eye of round roast is my choice for ease of prep and for thin slicing, but you may substitute another cut if you like, just be sure to score the most even surface.
2. Rub prepared garlic (I like the already-chopped kind you find in a jar) into the scores you've cut in the roast.
3. Combine all the other spices, not including bay and bouillon, and cover the roast, pressing into the scores as well.
4. Place roast in a pan with at least 2-inch sides. Drizzle with olive oil at this point if desired. This is a nice addition if the roast is exceptionally lean. Add the 2 cups of water and the bay leaves, and cover completely with aluminum foil.
5. Roast at 275°F for 45 minutes per pound, or 3 hours for a 4-pound cut of beef.
6. Remove from oven, and turn beef several times over in the pan juices. Remove from pan, wrap in the foil, and chill overnight. Reserve all pan juices and spices in a separate container and chill as well.
7. The next day, slice the beef very thin and set aside.
8. In a large, heavy cooking pot or Dutch oven, put all the reserved juices and the bouillon cubes. Remove bay leaves. Heat just to boiling, then add the sliced beef. At this point, you may want to adjust spices to the gravy, as often the heat from the red pepper flakes cooks out a bit, as well as the saltiness. Add just enough water to cover beef slices, if necessary. Cover and simmer until heated through.
9. While heating, clean and core the bell peppers, and slice thickly lengthwise.
10. Gently rest on top of the heating beef until softened to your taste. Alternately, you may steam them in the microwave or gently simmer in an olive oil/water bath in a separate pan on the stovetop.
11. Slice the bread into your preferred sandwich size. Many times when we're having a party, we cut sandwich rolls in half so people can sample a bit of everything. For family dinners, we leave the bun whole, or cut the bread loaves in a size similar.
12. Gently dip (or go ahead and dunk the whole thing, if that's your deal) the bread in the gravy, and then stuff with as much beef as you care to. Top with a slice or two of sweet peppers, and enjoy!