Dan's "Windy City" Italian Beef

A beef rump roast is studded & rubbed with seasonings, then roasted, sliced, marinated in a seasoned "gravy," and reheated to serve on bread or rolls.

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Ingredients:

• Da Beef:
• 1 5 lb. rump roast
• 3 tbsp. Italian seasoning (oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, basil; you may need more.)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
• Garlic cloves, sliced
• Sliced fresh "sport peppers" (hot peppers)
• Olive Oil non-stick cooking spray
• Da Gravy:
• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 beef bouillon cubes or beef stock paste
• 3 tsp. Italian seasoning (oregano, thyme, basil, etc.)
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper, coarsely ground
• 1 tsp. hot pepper sauce (Tabasco) or more (to taste)
• 8 cloves garlic, minced or 4 tsp. of bottled minced garlic
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Slices of crusty Italian bread or rolls
• Sliced banana peppers

Method

Make incisions all over the roast and insert slices of peppers and garlic. Mix the first amounts of Italian seasonings, garlic powder, and pepper, and rub the roast all over, coating it. Cover roast with plastic wrap, and let it sit for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator, longer if possible. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray the pan with the cooking spray, and cook the roast, uncovered, in a roasting pan, for approx 30 minutes/lb. (5 lbs. = 2 1/2 hrs.) It will be Rare--do NOT keep cooking it and thus overcook it! The meat will cook more later! Let the roast cool and slice THINLY. Put the roast's pan drippings in a pan and add the boiling water, beef bouillon cubes, herbs, pepper, hot sauce, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. You will probably not need to add salt as the beef bouillon cubes are salty. Simmer Da Gravy for 20 minutes, stirring and mixing in the browned bits from the pan drippings. Taste, and adjust the seasonings if needed. Add the thinly sliced beef to Da Gravy and mix it in, being sure all the meat is totally covered by gravy. Cover, and let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator--this is KEY! The next day, gently reheat Da Beef in Da Gravy. (Yes, you can microwave it, if you must). Lightly toast Italian bread slices or rolls for a few minutes on both sides under the broiler - this is KEY! Serve Da Beef on Da Bread, covered with Da Gravy, and topped with sliced banana peppers. (You can also serve Da Beef topped with sauteed, sliced green peppers and onions). Sigh deeply and wish you were from Chicago!

Notes: I had listened to tales of "unbelievably good" Italian Beef from my Chicago-born husband Dan for 5 years, and as a New Yorker (a polite one), I smiled sweetly, but internally rolled my eyes, thinking: "Roast beef with sauce--what's the big deal??," and chalked it up to misty, good-old-days-nostalgia for a Chi-town childhood. But after much research and a little advice from his Chicago-born-&-bred sister Pat, we made it--and it IS a big deal! Yes, it takes time--most good things do--but this stuff makes sandwiches "what to die for," as we say in NYC, and the longer Da Beef sits in Da Gravy, the better it gets.

Number of servings: 10

Submitted By: elisse
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