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Italian beef, as served
in Chicago |
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An Italian beef is a sandwich of thin slices of
seasoned
roast beef, dripping with meat juices, on a dense, long
Italian-style roll, believed to have originated in Chicago, where
its history dates back at least to the 1930s. |
The bread itself is
often dipped (or double-dipped) into the juices the meat is cooked
in, and the sandwich is typically topped off with Chicago-style
giardiniera (called "hot") or sauteed, green Italian sweet peppers
(called "sweet").
Italian beef sandwiches can be found at most hot dog stands and
small Italian-American restaurants throughout the city of Chicago
and its suburbs.
Italian beef is made using cuts of beef from the sirloin butt
(Scala's) or the top/bottom round wet-roasted in broth with garlic, oregano and
spices until medium rare or medium. The roast is then cooled, shaved using a
deli slicer, and then served dripping wet after a reintroduction to its reheated
beef broth; hence the need to use a chewy bread, as a softer bread would
disintegrate.
Many retailers purchase pre-seasoned, pre-cooked, and pre-sliced Italian beef
with separate cooking broth ("au jus"), and then heat and serve, while the most
acclaimed Chicago beef places typically prepare the beef on their own premises
according to their own recipes. Some produce their own homemade giardiniera
(an Italian or Italian-American relish of pickled vegetables in vinegar or oil),
too.
