Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich

Let me start with a disclaimer.  This is not an authentic Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich.  In my opinion it is better.  It tastes just as good but you don't have to take Tums chased with Pepto Bismol after eating it.


Back several years ago my best friend Stephanie and I went to Philadelphia for adventurin'.  We have always traveled really well together, sitting down before the trip with a list of what each of us wants to do, and mapping out our entire trip before ever leaving Alabama.  During the pre-trip research phase I put myself in charge of finding the ultimate Philly Cheese Steak place, finally settling on Pat's King of Steaks. I was also in charge of locating good cannoli, where we encountered Rocky and Paulie look-alikes in line (insert obvious Rocky movie reference here), but that is another story for another day.

We ordered a Philly to split and sat down immediately to eat it fresh.  It was delicious for sure.  But when I went to pick up the sandwich fat dripped all over the wax paper.  Massive, messy drops of fat every where.  But we ate it because we had walked forever to get there and we were bound and determined to have the "Philly" experience.  Less than 10 minutes after we left there we were both sick to our stomachs.  Thank goodness I don't have large intestines, because I was better much sooner than poor Stephanie.  Who would have thought that a terrible chronic disease would ever come in handy?

Here is my version, less the indigestion and heartburn from the more authentic Philly.  The major players are:

Ingredients:

2 New York Strip Steaks
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Gravy Master
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Sliced green and red pepper
Sliced onion
Provolone cheese slices
sub sandwich rolls

Directions:

1.  To avoid the nasty dripping fat, I use a New York Strip steak with the fat trimmed.  The key to making it tender is the cut.  I do not marinate or do anything fancy.  Simply freeze a fresh steak for about 45 minutes making it easier to slice.  Slice it at a 45 degree angle on the grain.

2.  Slice it as thinly as possible.  Having the steak partially frozen helps in getting that super thin cut.

3.  Once the steaks are sliced throw them in the pan of your choice along with the onions and peppers and seasoning and cook it all on medium high heat stirring every few minutes.  In this version I used pre-sliced veggies from the produce section because all of the peppers from my garden had diced jalapenos mixed in and our guests preferred milder food.

4.  Once the meat starts to brown turn down the heat to low and cover to finish out cooking.

5.  Once the meat is fully cooked add the cheese on top and let it melt.  I prefer to melt the cheese directly in the pan so that all of the meat has cheese coverage rather than just adding a slice on top of the sandwich.  When you do that the entire layer on the bottom of the sandwich is cheeseless and that is just plain sad.

6.  Place the sliced sub rolls on top of the meat and cover for a few minutes to allow the buns to steam slightly.  This makes it easier to get the meat stuffed into the bread without the bread tearing.

7.  Plate the Philly Cheese Steaks and enjoy!  I served these with oven baked crispy french fries.