Slow cooked beef piled deep on a crusty roll with ooey gooey cheese and sautéed peppers and onions. This sandwich definitely satisfies my rule about sandwiches. The messier, the better. The tender juicy meat soaks up all sorts of great flavors from the broth to the seasonings to the pepperoncini and Giardiniera. There are a lot of variations on this approach to making Italian beef in a slow cooker. And I’ve definitely tried a number of them, but this is by far my favorite. Perfect on a cold fall or winter day.
One Great Sandwich
I would not hesitate to use spicier versions of pepperoncini and Giardiniera in this slow cooker Italian beef since I like a little kick. I used nacho cheese sauce instead of sliced provolone cheese because I wanted to up the messy factor (mission accomplished!). If you’re going the sliced cheese route also consider using pepper jack cheese instead of provolone.
Da Bread
It’d be sad to go through all the steps to make such a delicious sandwich topping and then fail with the bread. So don’t. Get a nice French bread. Or better yet, good po boy bread. Crusty on the outside. Soft and tender on the inside. Warm it up first. And pile the meat on high. And get some of the juices too. Or a lot.
You gotta do ‘the hunch’ when you take a bit of this sandwich. Lean over your plate. Elbows on the table (regardless of how your momma raised you). Let the juices drip down into the plate. Build a juice lake. We’re getting to that, hold on. Never set the sandwich down. Big rule here. Or guidance I should say. I don’t really have rules. Once you set a big, thick, loaded sandwich down bad things happen. It falls apart. You gotta stuff things back in.
So you’ve taken that last bite (almost). There’s a juice lake in your plate. It’s time for the ‘bread drag’. Yep, take that last corner piece of bread and slowly drag it through the juice. Sop it up. Man, that’s a great bite! What a way to end a sandwich!
- Generous Capacity: 7-quart slow cooker that…
- Cooking Flexibility: High or low slow cooking…
Also try my slow cooker Creole sausage sandwiches and my fantastic Italian subs.
Slow Cooker Italian Beef
Equipment
Ingredients
For the beef
- 3 pound chuck roast excess fat trimmed
- 3 cups beef broth
- 2 teaspoons beef bouillon
- 1 tablespoon beef base optional
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
- 1 cup peperoncini drained (use spicy for a nice kick)
- 1 cup Giardiniera drained (use spicy for a nice kick)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
For sandwiches
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 green bell pepper sliced
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 1 medium white onion sliced
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 French bread sliced horizontally
- mayonnaise optional
- 8 slices provolone cheese or substitute your favorite cheese product
Instructions
For the beef
- Add chuck roast to a large slow cooker.
- In a bowl mix the remaining ingredients then pour over the beef. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or until the meat begins to fall apart.
- Transfer the meat to a cutting board (I like to put my cutting board inside a rimmed baking sheet to catch any juices). Slice, chop or pull the meat as desired then return to the slow cooker to keep warm until ready to make sandwiches.
For sandwiches
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the peppers and onion. Saute until tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Toast the bread if desired.
- Slather the bread with mayonnaise if using.
- Add the meat and top with cheese. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
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