Italian Beef Sandwiches

In my last post, I said that my crock pot and I have become friends. Two days ago, I used my crock pot to create something that made us so much more than just friends. It really solidified the kitchen bond that we have together. Crock pot + Jessica, forever.

I'd seen a few recipes for Italian beef on a few different websites. They were all a little varied, but more or less the same. So I made and executive decision on ingredients and technique as cobbled together from the various recipes I'd seen. This is what I used:

• 3lb bottom round roast
• 2 packets zesty Italian dressing mix
• 1 cup of water
• 1 16oz jar of banana peppers

I poured everything together and let it go all day while I was at work. It was on a low heat setting for 10 hours. By the time I came home with the rolls to serve it on, it was pretty much falling apart. I used a few forks to flake it apart into uniform pieces, and then we served the beef as sandwiches.

Tony was apprehensive about the peppers. I, on the other hand, completely love banana peppers. I used to get them on pizza and on sandwiches. We discovered that with all of the time and heat, the banana peppers more or less just disintegrated into the meat. Tony was initially really upset because he had just intended to pick the peppers out. This was not to be. But true to his word to try new things, he persisted and tried it. 

Even for all his protestations about the peppers, Tony really loved the sandwiches. When I asked him if we should make this again, he said, "If we don't have this again, I'll be pissed." The only thing I would do differently is to serve the Italian beef on a hard roll. I had intended to buy a crustier bread, but there was only softer bread left at the store. I'm completely certain that this would be awesome with a crusty bread. We served it with chips and dip because I didn't feel like making sides or salads. And, really, the best way to have an Italian beef sandwich is with chips. 

The flavor of this beef was incredible. It was tangy because of the vinegar in the banana pepper brine. The seasonings coupled with the pepper flavor and meshed really well. The meat was tender and having the extra juice to put on the sandwich was really great. This is easily the greatest creation my crock pot has ever given me.