Johnny’s More Complicated Philly Cheese Steak

            I don’t know why I am in love as I am with the idea of the Philly Cheese steak, maybe I have seen the Rocky movies too many times or perhaps it just combines two things that I love in a sandwich. I just know that I love them so very much. I have been playing with the recipe for years and I still have not gotten it 100% right yet. I have made good sandwiches and utter failures but I have never gotten it perfect. Perhaps it is due to the fact that I am a west coast guy screwing around with an east coast staple. I feel as though I am getting close though so here I go sharing it with you. A few things that you should know about the Cheese Steak: They are much simpler than the one that I am showing you how to make. Basically it is steak on an Italian roll with onion or without, wit or wit out if you are in Philly, and some form of cheese. As I have been lead to believe Cheez Whiz is the tradition. I have also come to understand that rib eye is the preferred cut of meat for this sandwich. I have made it with other cuts and it has worked out well. Just be sure there is some marbling in the meat because you want some fat in it. In this recipe I used prime rib but you can use less costly cuts. Talk to your butcher and he will move you in the right direction. I would go skirt steak personally, but that is just me. Let’s get to it.

Johnny’s More Complicated Philly Cheese Steak to the tune of “Lucky Man” by the Verve

Okay, so three parts to this recipe: the cheese, the veggies and the meat. My advice is to do the prep on the meat first, then hit the cheese sauce and veggies, then finish up the meat and bring everything together.

The cheese:

Trying to stay at least a little bit true to the original I did this with a homemade cheese sauce that is more like the whiz than just putting shredded cheese on the thing. I also added a little bit of jalapeño to cut through the richness of the sauce. I also make this sauce by sight so I am not sure about the proportions so this is a pretty rough outline. If it looks too thick to you add more milk. If it looks too thin cook it down more or add more cheese, whatever you like.

Equal parts butter and flour

Milk

Cheese, smoked cheddar works great, make it as cheesy as you want or can afford

1 jalapeño finely diced

Salt and pepper

-melt your butter in a sauce pan over medium heat and then add your flour whisk like crazy to get your roux.

-add your milk and keep whisking until there are no lumps. Add in your peppers and cheese and let it melt in while you keep whisking. Reduce heat to low to keep warm.

The Veggies:

1 onion diced

2 cloves minced garlic

A handful each of brown mushrooms, shitake mushrooms and oyster mushrooms cut into smallish chunks, make sure you can still tell that they are mushrooms.

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Red and green bell peppers cut into strips

-pre heat your oven to 350

-toss all of your ingredients into a bowl and mix them together, transfer them to a baking pan and pop them into the oven to roast about 15 minutes or so. Taste to check for doneness. Remove and put aside

The meat:

2ish lbs of prime rib sliced as thin as you can, it is easier to do this when the meat is really cold.

5 strips of bacon diced

4 cloves of crushed garlic

½ an onion finely diced

Salt and Pepper

A good glug of olive oil

-shove all of your ingredients into a big zip lock bag, seal it, and give it a little massage to mix everything together. Stick it into the fridge for a couple of hours to let it work. Remove from the fridge about ten minutes before you start cooking to allow the meat to temper.

-heat up a cast iron skillet with some oil in it. Put you meat in and cook, constantly turning and flipping it. Taste often to ensure it gets to the point of doneness that you like.

Bring it all together:

Good rolls or Italian Bread

-add your veggies to the meat that is still working on your stove cook them together for a couple of minutes to let the flavors mingle and get comfy with each other.

Getting Comfy

-assemble. It is your sandwich so add as much of what you like as you like. Serve them hot. Eat them fast and enjoy.