Italian Beef
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Cook time: 
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Serves: 6-10
 
Ingredients
The Meat
  • 3-4 lb beef roast, with the majority of the fat trimmed off
  • Vegetable oil
The Rub
  • 1½ teaspoons black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon of dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • A pinch of crushed red pepper
The Au jus
  • 10 beef bouillon cubes
  • 12 cups of water
  • 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce (optional, you may not need this)
The Bread
  • French Rolls (the bag I bought also said "Italian Beef Rolls"
The toppings
  • 1 Organic green pepper, cut into big strips (*see note)
  • ½ tablespoon of olive or coconut oil
  • Your favorite store bought or homemade giardiniera
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees
  2. In a stove-top safe 9x13 baking pan, bring the 12 cups of water to a boil, then add the 10 beef bouillon cubes. Stir the water until the cubes dissolve, then turn off the heat and set aside. (I didn't have a stove-top safe baking pan, so I boiled the water in a large pot, and poured the mixture into the pan after the cubes had dissolved.)
  3. Combine all of your rub ingredients in a little bowl, mixing it together with your fingers to break apart any lumps.
  4. Smear the meat with vegetable oil, so the rub sticks to it. Massage the rub into all sides of the meat. Pour the reaming rub into the 9x13 pan with the beef water, don't throw it away!
  5. Place an oven safe rack on top of the 9x13 pan, and put the meat on top of rack, and place it in the oven (this way, while the meat is roasting, it's dripping will fall into the water, making a more fabulous, robust Au Jus!).
  6. Cook the roast until it registers 130 degrees internally. It will take approx 30 minutes per pound to cook, so for a 4 lb roast it should take approx 2 hours. Important: The cut of meat, it's thickness, and oven temperatures differ so make sure to check the roast an hour before you think it should be done to ensure you're not overcooking it. Remember, you'll continue to cook the roast in the Au Jus at a later time, so you don't want to overcook the roast in the oven!
  7. When the roast is 130 degrees, take it out of the oven, and take it off the rack. Pour the Au Jus into a bowl, and put the roast BACK into the 9/13 pan. Refrigerate both the meat and the juice for at least 4 hours (this will chill the meat to make it easier to slice).
  8. While your meat is roasting, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add ½ tablespoon of olive oil and cook the green peppers until they are very soft, and the skins start turning brown, it will take approx 10-15 minutes. Once they are done, remove from heat and set aside (no refrigeration needed, they can sit at room temperature).
  9. After the meat and Au Jus have chilled out in the fridge, pull them out.
  10. You'll want to slice the beef as thin as possible If you have a meat slicer or electric knife, utilize them to get uniformed, thin slices. If you don't have a slicer like me, you can use a very sharp knife with a thin blade. Very carefully and slowly, draw the knife along the meat. I angled my knife a little bit away from me while cutting, to ensure I was getting thin slices.
  11. Pour the Au Jus in a large pan or skillet and taste it (before turning on the heat). If it needs to be thinned out, add water to it. If you add more water, it may lose a little flavor, you can always add 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce to richen the broth. However, if the flavor is not as rich as you like, and you have time, you can simmer and cook the sauce down for a richer, deeper flavor. Just be careful not to cook the sauce down too much, or it will be become over concentrated and really salty. Keep checking it until you've reached the flavor you like best.
  12. Once the Au Jus is to our liking, turn down the heat to a simmer. I added enough beef for 2 sandwiches, since I was only making 2 sandwiches. Cook the beef in the Au Jus for just 1-2 minutes. You can go up to 10 minutes if someone does not like medium rare meat, but any longer than 10 minutes can make the beef curl up, lose it's moisture, and get tough!
  13. When your meat is ready, it's time to assemble! I personally like my bread dipped in the Au Jus, so I took a roll and dunked it on both sides. Then I poured a little more sauce into the roll, filled it up with meat, topped it with green peppers, poured on a little more Au Jus, and topped it with giardiniera.
  14. Get ready for your mouth to be happy as you bite into this sandwich and all it's Italian beefiness glory!
Notes
This recipe makes approx 6-10 sandwiches, depending on how much meat you put in your roll.

The meat and au jus is freezable! I made two sandwiches for dinner, and froze the rest of the meat for another dinner!

*I have 1 organic green pepper in the ingredient list because I made two sandwiches. If you are making this recipe for a bigger crowd you'll want to buy approx 1 green pepper for every two people.
Recipe by Shock Munch at http://www.shockmunch.com/italian-beef/