Italian Beef

Mrs J suggested this and dug the beef out of the freezer this morning.  We hurried the thawing along with a hot water bath and then a turn or two in the microwave.  It was still pretty firm in the middle when I cut some slits and stuffed them with fresh garlic slices.  I fired the burner under the Dutch oven and got some oil hot and plopped the beef in there to brown.  While that was happening I mixed a cup or so of beef broth from the soup base I use.  To this is added a packet of Italian dressing seasoning, some oregano, basil, onion powder, parsley, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper.  With the meat browned on both sides I dumped the broth mixture into the pot and covered it.  I had bread in the oven so I simmered it on the stove top until the bread was done,  then took off the lid and stuck the pot in there.  Gave it about another 45 minutes or so then removed the beef to a cooling rack.  When cool the meat shredded easily.  I returned the meat to the pot and stirred.  Now is the time to dump in a jar of pepperoncinis, liquid and all.  Trust me on this.  Good stuff.

I mentioned something in an earlier post about the sourdough buns we used for this.  They were an attempt at hot dog buns.  They turned out in varying sizes and shapes, and they were tough and chewy-not the best thing for hot dogs.  Great for this Italian beef recipe, though!  There is plenty of juice that comes with the meat, and the practice is to dunk the sammiches into the juice.  It takes some tough buns to hold up to it.  These were just perfect for it.

Enjoy!

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