One of our favorite things to do here is make Philly cheesesteak
sandwiches - we don't do it often enough.

While you can buy "chip" steak frozen at the grocery store, which seems
to be a pretty close duplicate of what you get in the authentic thing in
Philly, we have found an alternative we far prefer: buy roast beef from
the deli counter, which is almost always cooked very rare, and ask for
it to be sliced very thin.

Fry the rare roast beef in the oil of your choice to get rid of most or
all of the pink in it. (There is no such thing as a rare Philly
cheesesteak, but you can keep your roast beef rare if you wish, but it
needs to be grilled or fried for sure, IMHO.) Here, as we take the
beef out of the frying pan, we put a little sea salt and fresh black
pepper on it.

Buy yourself some soft, long rolls, add the cheese of your choice and
whatever else you like, and you're good to go. Here we do it this way:

Open the long rolls, add extra sharp cheddar, sprinkle a bit of garlic
powder and fresh ground black pepper, put in the toaster oven or broiler
until golden brown.

Put the meat on the cheesed rolls and you can be done, or you can add
carmelized onions, peppers, or whatever other fried or fresh veggie you
like, add ketchup or tomatoe sauce.

Fairway's had their house roast beef on sale for $6.99 per pound, which
was the inspiration for this.

-S-

On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:24:36 -0500, "Steve Freides" >
wrote:

> One of our favorite things to do here is make Philly cheesesteak
> sandwiches - we don't do it often enough.
>
> While you can buy "chip" steak frozen at the grocery store, which seems
> to be a pretty close duplicate of what you get in the authentic thing in
> Philly, we have found an alternative we far prefer: buy roast beef from
> the deli counter, which is almost always cooked very rare, and ask for
> it to be sliced very thin.
>
> Fry the rare roast beef in the oil of your choice to get rid of most or
> all of the pink in it. (There is no such thing as a rare Philly
> cheesesteak, but you can keep your roast beef rare if you wish, but it
> needs to be grilled or fried for sure, IMHO.) Here, as we take the
> beef out of the frying pan, we put a little sea salt and fresh black
> pepper on it.
>
> Buy yourself some soft, long rolls, add the cheese of your choice and
> whatever else you like, and you're good to go. Here we do it this way:
>
> Open the long rolls, add extra sharp cheddar, sprinkle a bit of garlic
> powder and fresh ground black pepper, put in the toaster oven or broiler
> until golden brown.
>
> Put the meat on the cheesed rolls and you can be done, or you can add
> carmelized onions, peppers, or whatever other fried or fresh veggie you
> like, add ketchup or tomatoe sauce.
>
> Fairway's had their house roast beef on sale for $6.99 per pound, which
> was the inspiration for this.
>
I use deli sliced roast beef, which is salty enough for me, steak
rolls and provolone cheese. Other than that, what I do is almost
exactly what you do (minus the peppers - just onion for us). Never
thought about using garlic, which I love. Do they put garlic on
cheese steaks in Philly?

--

Carrot cake counts as a serving of vegetables.

On Jan 12, 12:17*pm, Andy > wrote:
> Steve,
>
> If it isn't made in Philly, it's just called a cheesesteak.
>
> Since it's not going into my stomach, I'll leave it at that.
>
> Best,
>
> Andy

We'd prefer that you just leave.

On Jan 12, 2:24*pm, "Steve Freides" > wrote:
> One of our favorite things to do here is make Philly cheesesteak
> sandwiches - we don't do it often enough.
>
> While you can buy "chip" steak frozen at the grocery store, which seems
> to be a pretty close duplicate of what you get in the authentic thing in
> Philly, we have found an alternative we far prefer: buy roast beef from
> the deli counter, which is almost always cooked very rare, and ask for
> it to be sliced very thin.
>
> Fry the rare roast beef in the oil of your choice to get rid of most or
> all of the pink in it. *(There is no such thing as a rare Philly
> cheesesteak, but you can keep your roast beef rare if you wish, but it
> needs to be grilled or fried for sure, IMHO.) * Here, as we take the
> beef out of the frying pan, we put a little sea salt and fresh black
> pepper on it.
>
> Buy yourself some soft, long rolls, add the cheese of your choice and
> whatever else you like, and you're good to go. *Here we do it this way:
>
> Open the long rolls, add extra sharp cheddar, sprinkle a bit of garlic
> powder and fresh ground black pepper, put in the toaster oven or broiler
> until golden brown.
>
> Put the meat on the cheesed rolls and you can be done, or you can add
> carmelized onions, peppers, or whatever other fried or fresh veggie you
> like, add ketchup or tomatoe sauce.
>
> Fairway's had their house roast beef on sale for $6.99 per pound, which
> was the inspiration for this.
>
> -S-

that's a hot roast beef and cheese sandwich. I'm sure it's tasty, but
it's not a cheesesteak unless prepared with steak.

In article >,
"Steve Freides" > wrote:

> we have found an alternative we far prefer: buy roast beef from
> the deli counter, which is almost always cooked very rare, and ask for
> it to be sliced very thin.
>
> Fry the rare roast beef in the oil of your choice to get rid of most or
> all of the pink in it. (There is no such thing as a rare Philly
> cheesesteak, but you can keep your roast beef rare if you wish, but it
> needs to be grilled or fried for sure, IMHO.) Here, as we take the
> beef out of the frying pan, we put a little sea salt and fresh black
> pepper on it.

We do something similar for french dip sandwiches. We either just let
the meat come up to room temperature, or if we are in a hurry, briefly
put it in the dipping liquid to warm it. We broil the plain buns in the
oven.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

"Steve Freides" > wrote in message
...
> One of our favorite things to do here is make Philly cheesesteak
> sandwiches - we don't do it often enough.
>
> While you can buy "chip" steak frozen at the grocery store, which seems to
> be a pretty close duplicate of what you get in the authentic thing in
> Philly, we have found an alternative we far prefer: buy roast beef from
> the deli counter, which is almost always cooked very rare, and ask for it
> to be sliced very thin.
>
> Fry the rare roast beef in the oil of your choice to get rid of most or
> all of the pink in it. (There is no such thing as a rare Philly
> cheesesteak, but you can keep your roast beef rare if you wish, but it
> needs to be grilled or fried for sure, IMHO.) Here, as we take the beef
> out of the frying pan, we put a little sea salt and fresh black pepper on
> it.
>
> Buy yourself some soft, long rolls, add the cheese of your choice and
> whatever else you like, and you're good to go. Here we do it this way:
>
> Open the long rolls, add extra sharp cheddar, sprinkle a bit of garlic
> powder and fresh ground black pepper, put in the toaster oven or broiler
> until golden brown.
>
> Put the meat on the cheesed rolls and you can be done, or you can add
> carmelized onions, peppers, or whatever other fried or fresh veggie you
> like, add ketchup or tomatoe sauce.
>
> Fairway's had their house roast beef on sale for $6.99 per pound, which
> was the inspiration for this.
>
> -S-
>Sounds fairly tasty, but don't ever call it a Philly cheesesteak. Even if
you prefer it, it's faux.
Philly steaks are made from fresh meat, ribeye is the best. Frozen chip
steak tastes a lot more like a cheesesteak. Deli roast beef ? Not a Philly
cheesesteak. Not even close.
The cheese, which can be American or Provolone, or even CheezWhiz ( never
Cheddar) is melted onto the steak in the pan , never put on the roll alone.
As for the rolls, they have to be hard rolls. Long rolls with a hard crust,
which is what you get from Italian bakeries in Philadelphia which use hard
water to make their dough. Not soft rolls.
You have to have that hard bite of roll, fresh hot steak, and conglomerated
cheese. Onions, if added , are not cooked long enough to caramelize, but
merely until soft.
Frying deli roast beef is just ....wrong.

On Jan 12, 6:58*pm, Sqwertz > wrote:
> On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:23:28 -0800 (PST), none of your business wrote:
>
> > that's a hot roast beef and cheese sandwich. I'm sure it's tasty, but
> > it's not a cheesesteak unless prepared with steak.
>
> So you actually have to cut a "steak" off of that top sirloin roast
> and then shave it rather than shaving off pieces of the whole top
> sirloin?
>
> Get real.
>
> -sw

you get real. the idea is you grill thinly sliced raw beef to desired
doneness, then melt the cheese on top of it. Add onions if desired. If
the meat is precooked, it's not a cheesesteak sandwich. It's roast
beef with melted cheese. Tasty. But don't call it a cheesesteak.

?
"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:23:28 -0800 (PST), none of your business wrote:
>
>> that's a hot roast beef and cheese sandwich. I'm sure it's tasty, but
>> it's not a cheesesteak unless prepared with steak.
>
> So you actually have to cut a "steak" off of that top sirloin roast
> and then shave it rather than shaving off pieces of the whole top
> sirloin?
>
> Get real.
>
> -sw

No, it does not have to be steak, but is should not be processed luncheon
meat either.


INGREDIENTS: Beef, Water, Contains Less Than 1% Of Salt, Sodium Phosphate,
Dextrose, Maltodextrin, Dried Beef Stock, Caramel Color, Soluble Black
Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Grill Flavor (From Vegetable Oil) ,
Corn Syrup Solids, Modified Corn Starch, Lemon Juice, Spice Extractives,
Lemon Oil. Coated With Salt, Dextrose, Garlic & Onion Powder, Dried Beef
Stock, Natural

sf wrote:
> On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:24:36 -0500, "Steve Freides" >
> wrote:
>
>> One of our favorite things to do here is make Philly cheesesteak
>> sandwiches - we don't do it often enough.
>>
>> While you can buy "chip" steak frozen at the grocery store, which
>> seems to be a pretty close duplicate of what you get in the
>> authentic thing in Philly, we have found an alternative we far
>> prefer: buy roast beef from the deli counter, which is almost always
>> cooked very rare, and ask for it to be sliced very thin.
>>
>> Fry the rare roast beef in the oil of your choice to get rid of most
>> or all of the pink in it. (There is no such thing as a rare Philly
>> cheesesteak, but you can keep your roast beef rare if you wish, but
>> it needs to be grilled or fried for sure, IMHO.) Here, as we take
>> the beef out of the frying pan, we put a little sea salt and fresh
>> black pepper on it.
>>
>> Buy yourself some soft, long rolls, add the cheese of your choice and
>> whatever else you like, and you're good to go. Here we do it this
>> way:
>>
>> Open the long rolls, add extra sharp cheddar, sprinkle a bit of
>> garlic powder and fresh ground black pepper, put in the toaster oven
>> or broiler until golden brown.
>>
>> Put the meat on the cheesed rolls and you can be done, or you can add
>> carmelized onions, peppers, or whatever other fried or fresh veggie
>> you like, add ketchup or tomatoe sauce.
>>
>> Fairway's had their house roast beef on sale for $6.99 per pound,
>> which was the inspiration for this.
>>
> I use deli sliced roast beef, which is salty enough for me, steak
> rolls and provolone cheese. Other than that, what I do is almost
> exactly what you do (minus the peppers - just onion for us). Never
> thought about using garlic, which I love. Do they put garlic on
> cheese steaks in Philly?

No, we just like garlic at every reasonable opportunity here.
Provolone is good, too. Mozarella and tomatoe sauce makes a "pizza
steak", also good eating, IMHO.

-S-

none of your business wrote:
> On Jan 12, 6:58 pm, Sqwertz > wrote:
>> On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:23:28 -0800 (PST), none of your business
>> wrote:
>>
>>> that's a hot roast beef and cheese sandwich. I'm sure it's tasty,
>>> but it's not a cheesesteak unless prepared with steak.
>>
>> So you actually have to cut a "steak" off of that top sirloin roast
>> and then shave it rather than shaving off pieces of the whole top
>> sirloin?
>>
>> Get real.
>>
>> -sw
>
> you get real. the idea is you grill thinly sliced raw beef to desired
> doneness, then melt the cheese on top of it. Add onions if desired. If
> the meat is precooked, it's not a cheesesteak sandwich. It's roast
> beef with melted cheese. Tasty. But don't call it a cheesesteak.

No, you get real. Those of us who grew up on cheesesteaks in Philly
know that there's quite a bit of variety in how they're made. To me, a
long roll, well-cooked, thin-sliced beef, and melted cheese satisfies
the requirement for a cheesesteak. Rare roast beef of any sort doesn't
taste like a Philly cheesesteak, the fact that it was partially
precooked not withstanding - I've never had deli roast before that
dripped blood when I opened the package at home - now that's rare roast
beef, and I'm happy to eat it that way, but for this purpose, I cooked
it more.

And for me, a cheesesteak isn't a cheesesteak without fried onions, but
I know there are some who don't like onions, even in Philly. Peppers
and anything else should be considered optional.

One variation I get in and around Philly that I like is a cheesesteak
hoagie, basically a cheesesteak sandwich but with mayo on the roll and
lettuce and tomatoe. It's a great way to have your cheesesteak and your
vegetables, too.

It's worth noting that, although you can find these outside of the
Philly area, I've never had a decent one except in metro Philadelphia or
the Jersey shore (where lots of Philly pholks vacation).

-S-

On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:26:09 -0500, "Steve Freides" >
wrote:

> It's worth noting that, although you can find these outside of the
> Philly area, I've never had a decent one except in metro Philadelphia or
> the Jersey shore (where lots of Philly pholks vacation).

I'm starting to get the picture. The ideal Philly cheesesteak is like
the ideal NY bagel. It's in the eye of the beholder.

--

Carrot cake counts as a serving of vegetables.

On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:49:00 -0800 (PST), none of your business wrote:

> On Jan 12, 6:58*pm, Sqwertz > wrote:
>> On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:23:28 -0800 (PST), none of your business wrote:
>>
>>> that's a hot roast beef and cheese sandwich. I'm sure it's tasty, but
>>> it's not a cheesesteak unless prepared with steak.
>>
>> So you actually have to cut a "steak" off of that top sirloin roast
>> and then shave it rather than shaving off pieces of the whole top
>> sirloin?
>>
>> Get real.
>>
>> -sw
>
> you get real. the idea is you grill thinly sliced raw beef to desired
> doneness, then melt the cheese on top of it. Add onions if desired. If
> the meat is precooked, it's not a cheesesteak sandwich. It's roast
> beef with melted cheese. Tasty. But don't call it a cheesesteak.

with or without beans?

your pal,
blake

"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:26:09 -0500, "Steve Freides" >
> wrote:
>
>> It's worth noting that, although you can find these outside of the
>> Philly area, I've never had a decent one except in metro Philadelphia or
>> the Jersey shore (where lots of Philly pholks vacation).
>
> I'm starting to get the picture. The ideal Philly cheesesteak is like
> the ideal NY bagel. It's in the eye of the beholder.
>
> --
>
> Carrot cake counts as a serving of vegetables.


Just like the N.Y. bagel and the SF sourdough loaf, the Philly cheesesteak
relies on a Philly-made roll. It's in the water.

Jon

On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 15:22:02 -0500, "Zeppo" > wrote:
>
>
> "sf" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:26:09 -0500, "Steve Freides" >
> > wrote:
> >
> >> It's worth noting that, although you can find these outside of the
> >> Philly area, I've never had a decent one except in metro Philadelphia or
> >> the Jersey shore (where lots of Philly pholks vacation).
> >
> > I'm starting to get the picture. The ideal Philly cheesesteak is like
> > the ideal NY bagel. It's in the eye of the beholder.
> >
> > --
> >
> > Carrot cake counts as a serving of vegetables.
>
>
> Just like the N.Y. bagel and the SF sourdough loaf, the Philly cheesesteak
> relies on a Philly-made roll. It's in the water.
>
SF sourdough doesn't rely on local water. It's the local wild yeast
that makes it SF. Notbob says he can buy great SF style sourdough in
Colorado now.

--

Carrot cake counts as a serving of vegetables.

sf wrote:
>
> SF sourdough doesn't rely on local water. It's the local wild yeast
> that makes it SF. Notbob says he can buy great SF style sourdough in
> Colorado now.

Wild something makes the salami aged in SF rock as well. Gallo brand
Salame is wonderful.

So far no one advertises that they have isolated the yeasts from SF and
started using them in bakeries elsewhere. It would revolutionize the
baking industry.

sf wrote:
> On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:26:09 -0500, "Steve Freides" >
> wrote:
>
>> It's worth noting that, although you can find these outside of the
>> Philly area, I've never had a decent one except in metro
>> Philadelphia or the Jersey shore (where lots of Philly pholks
>> vacation).
>
> I'm starting to get the picture. The ideal Philly cheesesteak is like
> the ideal NY bagel. It's in the eye of the beholder.

Yes, that's right. When asked about my favorite steak sandwich place (a
question one gets if one is from Philly), I always answer that they're
all good, and I think they are. I'm rarely disappointed in a Philly
area steak sandwich.

-S-

Zeppo wrote:
> "sf" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:26:09 -0500, "Steve Freides" >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> It's worth noting that, although you can find these outside of the
>>> Philly area, I've never had a decent one except in metro
>>> Philadelphia or the Jersey shore (where lots of Philly pholks
>>> vacation).
>>
>> I'm starting to get the picture. The ideal Philly cheesesteak is
>> like the ideal NY bagel. It's in the eye of the beholder.
>>
>> --
>>
>> Carrot cake counts as a serving of vegetables.
>
>
> Just like the N.Y. bagel and the SF sourdough loaf, the Philly
> cheesesteak relies on a Philly-made roll. It's in the water.
>
> Jon

Those Amaroso rolls can be found elsewhere these days, but I agree
they're an important ingredient. Still, any soft, long roll will do in
a pinch. They sell something very good for these, might even be
Amaroso, in our local grocery store, Stop 'n' Shop.

-S-