There’s no dish that reminds me of my hometown more than juicy, sloppy Chicago style Italian beef sandwiches. Chi-cahhh-go. Daaaaa Bears. Daaaa beef.
If I had to think of the perfect tailgating food to it’d be those same Italian Beef sandwiches. I’ve been a Chicago Bears fan all my life, they started their 1985 Super Bowl run shortly after I was born, and I can remember Sundays devoted to hanging out with family, watching the game, and getting scared when everyone would start cheering at a good play. When I moved to Indiana to go to school, I especially felt homesick when watching the game and missing a good Italian meal.
The recipe is from my mother-in-law (who also has a great homemade giardiera recipe). While the traditional recipe calls for sliced beef, this uses a pulled beef roast that’s been cooked for hours and hours and hours. And hours. The recipe is perfect for tailgating or noon games: you start it the night before and it’s ready when you wake up. You can easily grab the whole crock pot and bring it with you to the game.
When it’s done, you’ll have meat that is so tender it falls right apart, and if you do it the right way, a sandwich that falls right apart. Soak your bread with the juices to really make it Chicago style – the wetter the better!
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs beef roast, rump or chuck
- 2 cups broth
- 16 oz (1 jar) giardiniera
- 3-4 red bell peppers, sliced
- 6-8 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 T oregano
- 1 packet Italian salad dressing mix
- sliced mozzarella
- rolls or loaf of Italian bread, sliced
Instructions
- Combine broth, giardiniera, sliced red peppers, crushed garlic, oregano, and salad dressing mix into a crock pot and mix well.
- Slice beef roast into 3-4 thick slices to reduce cook time.
- Add beef roast to crock pot and cover with the mixture.
- Cook for 10-14 hours on low.
- Take beef out, shred it with two forks, and add it back to the crock pot for 1-2 more hours.
- Serve on rolls or Italian bread.
- Spoon juices over the bread, add beef, top with mozzarella, and serve.
- Grab some napkins!
I had three sandwiches the day after I made this: breakfast Italian beef, lunch Italian beef, and dinner Italian beef. They’re that good.
If you’ve ever lived in or been to Chicago, this recipe will take you and your tailgating crew right back. GO BEARS!
Funny, I have an Italian beef in the crock pot right now! My version is a little different (jar of pepperocinis instead of bell peppers/giardinera and a whole bunch of garlic thrown in near the end so you can put the squishy cloves on the sandwich).
Totally understand eating it for multiple meals. So so good!
Small dinner world. :) I will have to try out the pepperocinis and garlic, thanks for the tip!
Looks delicious…can’t wait to try!! GO BEARS!!!! :)
and boo Packers ;) Let me know how you like it!
I’m sure that this is delicious, and I can’t wait to try it, but why is the beef shredded?
I’m definitely going to skip that step, it just wouldn’t be the same to me. I lived in Chicago for the first 21 years of my life (I moved to Texas 2 years ago), and I’ve never seen an Italian beef made that way.
Hi Violet! I hear ya, I’d never had it like this either. I wanted to slow cook the meat, used a large roast and it practically fell apart, hence the shredding. I’m guessing that the other places slice it up all nice because they have a deli-like meat slicer. You could easily get a few pounds of sliced roast beef at the deli counter and cook that with the rest of the ingredients! I would recommend lowering the cook time.
I was a little skeptical of the shredding for the same reasons, but surprisingly, I liked it better than the sliced meat texture. It seemed a little more juicy. Let me know if you try it and what works for you. I’m glad you commented and brought that up!
Those sandwiches look so delicious! My husband would love those. But you’ll have to fill me in on what giardiniera is? I’ve never heard of it, is it is a Chicago thing too?
I’m trying to think of how to describe it, haha! Think pickled green, red, hot peppers, carrots, cauliflower, and onions, mixed with italian dressing and seasonings. They sell it hot or mild, we prefer the mild. It’s usually by the Italian or ethnic foods aisle! Now I’m wondering if they sell it across the country, or if it’s just a Chicago thing? You’ll have to check and let me know! :)
Walmart carries it so it’s all over :)
Walmart for the win! Thanks, Kendra. :)
I had never heard it referred to as giardiniera before I started talking food with non-Italians. To me, growing up, it was grandma’s pickled veggies. Gimmie more! Red peppers are mine, called it! When dad opened up a jar, my sister and I fought for every bite. Dad would then tell us there was no more, we’d leave, then he’d open another jar for himself.
Each lady on the street had her own style. I ate ’em all.
I moved to Jacksonville, FL about 4 years ago and haven’t seen it in any of the stores here OR sport peppers so I can’t even make a true Chicago dog :( sigh….
You can order all that online at vienna beef,the true Chicago hot dog and Italian beef of Chi-town.
Mmmm. Vienna beef. Stop making us hungry, Haha!
I now live in TX after 46 years in Chicago and can’t find good Giardinera or sport peppers down here. It really surprised me. I think I looked at Walmart and Target and couldn’t find it at either of them, but will check again.
I have a link to Amazon just below the recipe and above the comments section here, they weren’t as cheap as our stores but not too bad!
The 3 packs seemed to have the best price, and then you have more for future meals!! ?
Question re: giardiniera
What size jar? I keep seeing jars from tiny to 28oz.
I used 16oz of the mild! Thanks for reminding me to add that to the post, I forgot. Let me know if you try it and how your family likes it!
I’m from Green Bay, but I’d still eat these sandwiches. In fact, I will make them this week! Thanks for the recipe! When I make it, I am going to post it on my blog, but will put a link to yours as the source of the recipe.
Thanks!
Trevor
Made it today with chuck roast and it’s great! I threw some red potatoes in at the end and they were killer too..Thanks!
ohhhh, YUM! I will have to try that, thanks for the suggestion! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Do you drain the giardiniera?
I’m so sorry, Tania! I meant to reply much sooner. Nope! I keep the juices in there. :)
Made these last night but just used a standard braising method in a 6Q cast dutch oven with the meat first, then onions and green peppers, then added the rest of the ingredients. Brought it to a boil on the stovetop and put it in a 300* oven for 3 hours. A 3-4 pound roast was “shreddable” in just that amount of time. The beef tastes amazing, I had to add salt to the broth to get it to brighten up but it did. I put the juice in two halves – “mild” for my wife and added diced cayenne and serano peppers from the garden to my half :) So far I’ve just snacked on the beef but will be doing sandwiches here in a few minutes. Great recipe!
Ohh, yum! I will add that in about the salt. We normally salt a bit on the heavier side and I forgot to add that in. I’m so glad you liked it (even though it was back in August when you wrote this). Thanks for coming back to let us know!!
I’ve tried so many recipes for Italian Beef and my husband still insists on getting the “real thing” for the holidays. I’m going to give this a try. It sounds great and who knows, maybe this will be the year I won’t have to order it to be delivered to Virginia. Thanks for sharing.
Best of luck! He might not be happy that it is shredded/pulled beef, but this makes it SO much more tender, kinda like how they have it at the places. If he doesn’t care for this one, try making it with roast beef from the deli counter. Not as good (in my humble opinion, haha!), but more similar to how it’s served. Let me know how it goes! ;)
I’m from Chicago but haven’t lived there for many years! I have missed these sandwiches for a long time! Can’t wait to try this! I think my souther husband may even like it! Thanks so much!
we moved to Minneapolis 4 years ago from Chicago and haven’t had a good Itilain beef since. Will definitely try this.
Do you think a bottom round roast would work?
Yes, absolutely! I’ve used one a couple of times with the same results.
I love love love this recipe!! I am going to make it for a large crowd this weekend. Just wanted to know if you have ever doubled the recipe and if it came out the same. I think it would but some recipes don’t double well.
Oh that makes me SO happy to hear! I actually just doubled it a few weeks ago and it worked perfectly. :) Have a great weekend!
What kind of broth do you recommend using? Go Bears!
I’ve used homemade chicken broth or beef broth out of the box (I like Trader Joe’s, Aldi, or Pacific brand). Go Bears is right!! Although we might be the only two cheering these days, haha!
This looks great! How many servings would you say this makes?
Crock pot is officially on! Can’t wait for tomorrow. Going to be a great nfl championship football Sunday. Go Pack Go!!!
OMG! Was just telling my wife ( a native Texan) who has never been to Chi-town, about he Italian beef sandwich that I miss so much. I am going to make some tonight. I’ve introduced her to Chicago style pan pizza , White Castle, and Gonnolla Bread, and da Bears…now for some hot, wet, running down your arms Italian Beef. Thanks for the recipe.
This does look good. I would consider making it if you could guesstimate the number of servings from this recipe. I usually cook for 4.
Sorry for the delayed response, I hadn’t seen your comment. I suppose it all depends on the size of the roast you use! If you use a smaller roast or cut the roast in half, use maybe half the peppers, keep the other dimensions the same/similar.
We have a family of 7, with most our kids on the small size. I usually grab one of the largest roasts I can find and I find that it lasts us 1-2 meals plus a few lunches worth of leftovers. But we really, really like the recipe. :) I will try to pay attention next time I make this and amend the post with roast weight/serving size.
Sharing on Facebook now!!
Definitely trying this, YUM!
It’s been in the crockpot for about 5 hours now. Absolutely love the smell. Mmmmmmm! I’ll leave a review later, but it’s almost worth it just to enjoy the aroma!!
This Chicago Style Italian Beef was a major hit! No one could eat just one sandwich! We all went back for more! Thanks so much for posting this recipe, Ann!
This made my day, Susan! I’m so glad you all liked it!!
This looks amazing! My whole family’s from Chicago but my parents moved to the south about a decade ago. Last year I thought it might not be a bad idea to relocate closer to them, at least for a little while, and it’s definitely impossible to find Italian beef. I think I’m going to make this and bring it over for them – I know they miss it!