Page 156 - My Cookbook

INGREDIENTS
The beef:
1 boneless beef roast (sirloin or round), about 3 pounds with most of the fat trimmed off
The rub
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
The juice:
6 cups of hot water
4 cubes of beef bouillon (yes, bouillon, see the explanation below) *
The sandwich:
10 soft, fluffy, high gluten rolls, sliced lengthwise but hinged on one side or Italian bread loaves cut widthwise into 10 portions (Gonnella, Turano, and D'Amato are the bakers of choice in Chicago)
3 medium sized green bell peppers
1 tablespoon olive oil, approximately
1 cup hot giardiniera
Chicago Italian Beef Sandwiches
Meat
Prep 20 minutes ∙ Cook for a 3 pound roast allow about 2 hours to cook and another 3 hours to firm the meat for slicing in the refrigerator if you don't have a meat slicer ∙ Makes About 10 sandwiches with about 1/4 pounds of meat each ∙ Source Amazingribs.com
DIRECTIONS
About the garlic. If you wish, omit the garlic powder and stud the roast with fresh garlic.
Serve with. A green salad with Italian dressing and French fries or tater tots. Kelson says "better to skip this and eat another sandwich."
Drinks. The traditional drink is diet cola because most beef stands don't have liquor licenses. Too bad, because this sandwich goes great with beer or red wine.
1) If you wish, you can cut stab the surface of the meat every inch or so and stick slivers of fresh garlic into the meat as does my brother-in-law. If you do this, leave the garlic out of the rub. Otherwise, mix the rub in a bowl. Coat the meat lightly with water to help the rub stick, sprinkle it generously on the meat, and massage it in. There will be some left over. Do not discard it, we will use it in the juice. If you are cooking indoors, put a rack just below the center of the oven. If you are cooking outdoors use a 2-zone setup or a smoker and get it the oven or the indirect side up to about 325°F. Normally we tell you to cook roasts at a much lower temperature to make them tender, but this is a tough cut to begin with and slicing it thin effectively makes it easier to chew. Then it is dunked in hot gravy, which takes it up to the well-done range, so it doesn't matter much what temp you cook it at to begin with.
2) Pour the water into a 9 x 13" baking pan and heat it to a boil on the direct heat side of the grill, on the side burner, or on the stove top. Dissolve the bouillon in the water. It may look thin, but it will cook down and concentrate during the roasting. Pour the remaining rub into the pan. Place a rack on top of the pan and pla ce them both on the indirect side of the grill or in the oven indoors. Place the roast on top of the rack above the juice. Roast at 325°F until interior temperature is about 130°F for medium rare, about 40 minutes per pound (exact time will depend on the cut of meat, its thickness, and how well calibrated your cooker is). This may seem long, but you are cooking over water and that slows things down. Don't worry if there are people who won't eat medium-rare meat. The meat will cook further in step 5, and you can just leave theirs in the juice until it turns to leather if that's what they want.
Beware. This recipe is designed for a 9 x 13" baking pan. If you use a larger pan, the water may evaporate and the juice will burn. If you have to use a larger pan, add more water. Regardless of pan size, keep an eye on the pan to make sure it doesn't dry out during cooking. Add more water if necessary.
Quick and easy shortcut. My wife makes a darn tasty Italian Beef Sangwitch by simply dusting the meat with unmeasured herbs, garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano, and then she browns it on all sides in a frying pan with some olive oil. She then deglazes the pan and that's her gravy.