Cooking Tips & Hints
                  Week 86 Featured Recipe
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CHICAGO ITALIAN BEEF (Pot Roast Style)
(click for printable version of this recipe)
This week we pay tribute to the Chicago Bears by featuring this popular version of the French Dip Sandwich. The exact origin of these sandwiches (pronounced sangwitch) is not known but the recipe was popularized by a South Side Chicago butcher and sausage maker. In the late 1920's when food was scarce in America, these sangwitches made with thinly sliced roast beef and peppers gained popularity and today are a staple at Italian weddings, parties and political fundraisers in Chicago. Enjoy.
TOOLS:
• Cutting Board
• Knife
• Tongs
• Large Spoon
• Small Baking Dish
• Dutch Oven
INGREDIENTS:

Pot Roast:
• 1 boneless beef chuck eye roast (appx
  3 ½ pounds)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black
  pepper
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp dried Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• ½ cup dry red wine
• 3 cups beef stock
• 1 tsp thyme
• Sweet Peppers:
• 4 green bell peppers, seeded and cut
  into strips
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

• 1 jar Hot Giardiniera
• 4 hoagie rolls
(CLICK ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE)
PREPARATION: 

Preheat oven to 300 deg F and position rack in the middle position. Liberally sprinkle the entire roast with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the roast on all sides until golden and caramelized; reduce the heat if the fat begins to smoke. Transfer the roast to a plate and reduce the heat to medium. Add in onions and saute, stirring occasionally until just beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper and saute until fragrant. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Deglaze with the red wine and cook until the alcohol smell is diminished. Add in the stock and thyme and bring to a simmer. Adjust the seasoning of the jus. Place the roast back into the pot with any accumulated juices and place in the oven. Cook the roast, turning every 30 minutes, until very tender, appx 3 ½ hours. Remove the roast from the oven and increase the oven heat to 350 deg F. Transfer the roast to a cutting board and tent with foil. Strain the jus through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl and return back to the pot. Bring to a simmer. Once the meat has cooled a bit, pull the meat into smaller chunks and reserve for sandwiches.

For the sweet peppers: Toss the pepper strips with the oil, garlic, salt & pepper in a small baking dish. Bake, stirring halfway through, until lighter in color and soft, appx 20 minutes.

To make the sandwich: Simmer the jus until very flavorful and hot. Place some beef on a roll, then some sweet peppers and some Hot Giardiniera. Dip the sandwich in the hot au jus and use two hands to eat it!

HINTS: I didn’t want to put the large chunks of the Giardiniera on my sandwiches so I used my food processor to chop the veggies into small chunks, adding a little of the juice from the jar to make a thick paste.
(CLICK ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE)