Recipe: Italian Beef

This recipe is so good that I've made it twice in the past three weeks! The funny thing is, I've had this recipe for a long time, but never made it myself. My aunt Bonnie makes it, and so I already knew it was wonderful. My husband is from the Chicago area, and a huge Italian beef fan, and yet in the 7 years we've lived together I had never made it for him. No reason, I just hadn't thought to. It wasn't until shortly before Thanksgiving, when I was thumbing through my recipe binders looking for things to make while Marty's parents were visiting, that I stumbled across it. Since they were driving halfway across the country, we weren't sure when they were arriving, so it would be the perfect thing to cook for their first night, ready to eat whenever we wanted. As a former vegetarian, I'm not generally a huge beef fan, but this was amazing. You must make it!

I forgot to take any pictures as I was making it, but I stole borrowed this one online. It looked exactly like this, I swear. Not that Italian beef is pretty anyway, it just is what it is.

Bonnie's Italian Beef

3-5 lbs. rump roast

1 can beef broth

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

salt

1 Tbsp. crushed red pepper

 1 Tbsp. Oregano

3-4 bay leaves

1 clove garlic, crushed

5 pepperoncinis

Place meat in slow cooker, salt the outside. In bowl, mix remaining ingredients, pour over meat. Cook on low 6-8 hours. {I was short on time the 2nd time I made it, and did high for 4 hours, low for 1.5 and it was still great}. Remove meat from slow cooker and place on cutting board to rest 15 minutes. Slice as thinly as possible, cutting across the grain. An electric knife works great for this. Place slices back in the juice in the slow cooker for 15 minutes to heat through. Serve on toasted rolls. Optional topping for Chicago folk (as pictured above): giardiniera.

Note: Bonnie's recipe adds 1/2 quart of water when roasting it in the oven, 3-4 hours at 325.

I made it again last weekend, at Marty's request. I have a feeling it's going to become a regular part of the rotation around here! Full disclosure: Oliver wouldn't touch it. But that's not saying much, since he rarely eats anything other than cheese and grapes these days.