P
American
Italian Beef
A beef roast (top round or sirloin) seasoned with Italian herbs (oregano, basil, garlic, black pepper) and slow-roasted at 150°C for 3-4 hours until tender. The roast is chilled and sliced paper-thin (a deli slicer is required — hand-slicing cannot achieve the necessary thinness). The sliced beef is reheated in the seasoned cooking jus (the pan drippings extended with beef stock and Italian seasoning). The wet, jus-soaked beef is piled on a long Italian roll — and the sandwich is then "dipped": the entire assembled sandwich is dunked briefly into the jus, soaking the bread. Topped with giardiniera (a hot, vinegar-pickled vegetable mix of celery, cauliflower, carrots, sport peppers, and olives in oil) or sweet roasted peppers.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
1.2 kg
top round or sirloin roast
tied if necessary to hold shape
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 tsp
dried oregano
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 tsp
dried basil
Origin · New ZealandPurely Artisan Foods · San Diego →
4 cloves
garlic
finely minced
Your own market
2 tsp
black pepper
coarsely ground
Your own market
For the jus
500 ml
beef stock
good quality, used to extend pan drippings
Your own market
1 tsp
dried oregano
added to jus
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
To serve
4
long Italian rolls
soft but sturdy crust, hinged
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
200 g
giardiniera
hot, vinegar-pickled mix of celery, cauliflower, carrots, sport peppers and olives in oil; or substitute sweet roasted peppers
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Heat the oven to 150 °C. Combine the oregano, basil, minced garlic and black pepper and rub the mixture thoroughly over all surfaces of the roast. Set the roast on a rack in a deep roasting pan. Roast uncovered for 3 to 4 hours until the meat is fully tender throughout and yields easily when probed with a skewer.
2
Remove the roast from the oven. Pour off all pan drippings and reserve them. Allow the roast to cool to room temperature, then wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight until completely cold and firm. This step is required: a warm or merely cool roast cannot be sliced to the necessary thinness.
3
This is where the dish lives or dies. Using a deli slicer, slice the cold roast paper-thin — each slice almost translucent. Thick slices produce a roast beef sandwich; only paper-thin slices, layered and softened in jus, produce Italian beef. Hand-slicing cannot achieve the necessary thinness.
4
Degrease the reserved pan drippings and combine them with the beef stock, additional oregano and basil in a wide saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer and taste for seasoning. Add the sliced beef to the jus and warm through, stirring gently to separate the slices and coat them entirely. The jus should be well seasoned, deeply savoury and aromatic with the herbs.
5
Open each Italian roll without fully separating it. Using tongs, pile the jus-soaked beef generously into each roll. For a "wet" sandwich, ladle jus over the filled roll. For a "dipped" sandwich — the canonical Chicago preparation — submerge the entire assembled sandwich briefly in the jus so that the bread is saturated and jus runs freely. The bread should be soaked through, not merely moistened.
6
Top with a generous spoonful of giardiniera — its vinegar heat and oil cut against the richness of the jus — or with sweet roasted peppers. Serve immediately, with napkins in quantity.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Prime-grade top round, sliced on a commercial deli slicer to near-translucence, reheated in house-made jus from the full roasting drippings, served dipped, topped with house-made giardiniera cured for at least one week.
02
Estate — Choice top round or sirloin, home deli slicer achieving consistent paper-thin slices, jus extended with a quality beef stock, quality commercial giardiniera in oil.
03
Market — Choice top round, slices as thin as the available equipment allows, jus from drippings and commercial stock, commercial giardiniera.
04
House — Any well-seasoned braising cut sliced as thin as possible, jus approximated with stock and Italian seasoning, commercial giardiniera or sweet roasted peppers from a jar.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. The roast yields easily to a skewer with no resistance at the centre — it is fully tender after 3 to 4 hours at 150 °C.
◇Touch. The chilled roast is completely cold and rigid before slicing — it will not yield to gentle thumb pressure.
◇Sight. Each slice on the slicer is nearly translucent when held to light.
◇Sight. The dipped sandwich drips jus freely when lifted — the bread is fully saturated, not merely damp on the surface.
◇Where it lives or dies. The roast must be sliced paper-thin on a deli slicer while cold — this single act separates Italian beef from any ordinary roast beef sandwich.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Buffalo Trace Distillery · Kentucky Bourbon Country
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Whisky
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
Sourced through Provenance