Down here in Fort Myers we had a Philly Cheesesteak joint that was just a window on a plaza. It was run by a real son of Philly, so we got pretty authentic stuff as far as methods. I doubt he could get the same ingredients. The cheesesteaks were absolutely phenomenal.
What I’m posting about is that he would put a sheet of aluminum foil over the steaks as they were cooking. What difference does this make for the steaks?
For some reason, much like pizza (although even more widespread), only a very small percentage of places that make a cheesesteak do a good one. Most don’t use a roll of the right consistency, and their steak just sucks. At times, you come across one made with the abomination that is Steak-Um. People – its not that difficult to make this, the king of all sandwiches; why do so many places mess it up?
Anyway:
Real steak (generally ribeye), keep it in the freezer for a little while so its easy to slice up. Cook it up on a griddle (or pan, if at home). Use a spatula or one of those “pressers” (for lack of a better word) with a handle on top and a flat surface. Cook steak to desired consistency (you don’t really want it red on the inside, but these are small pieces of steak, so that generally doesn’t happen). Place onion slices on the griddle, and move 'em around frequently. Once the steak is nearly done, place either American cheese (the real stuff, NOT Kraft Singles), or provolone on top. (The only other acceptable “cheese” is Cheez-Wiz, and you don’t cook this – you spread it on the roll as the last step.)
You can either toast the roll or not, depending on personal preference. Finally, scoop up the cheese/steak mixture, and slap it on the roll. If it’s to your liking, garnish with sweet peppers and/or mushrooms. Slice roll in half, if its long.
That’s it. Enjoy your steak. (Oh, and it helps if you’ve just come from barhopping. This makes it extra-good.)
-occ
[QUOTE=twickster]
YIKES!! :eek: Don’t tell the outsiders! That’s how you ID them easily. 
Like the folks who come out to central PA and talk about LANG-CAST-er. No, you n00b, it’s LANg-ca-stir. These same folks think Inner Harbor is in BAL-ti-more. It’s in BAWL-mer. 
Hey Madd Maxx-mark your calendar for the 29th of January, and get over to this thread cuz we be going to Philly-town!
We need to get Airman Doors in on this thread-he cooked up some righteous cheesesteaks at a Dopefest summer before last.
Nah – you can ferret out the outsiders by their failure to acknowlege the beauty of City Hall – or, if necessary, ask them to perform a Mummer Strut.
Well, I’m not from Philly, but I make a pretty damn good cheesesteak, if I do say so myself.
I always use flank steak, cut very thin across the grain. Salt and pepper the steak and then stick it in a lightly greased (spritz of Pam), hot skillet. Let the steak sizzle until almost all the pink is gone (this will be quick because it is so thin), and then turn down the heat a bit and add enough Worcestershire Sauce to soak the steak. Allow it to cook for another minute or so until most of the sauce is absorbed. Remove from pan.
Add some oil to the same skillet and heat it up again. Throw in some thinly sliced onions and peppers and saute until the onions are soft and starting to carmelize.
Distribute the steak, onions, and peppers into crusty rolls. I like to dig out some of the bread from the inside of the rolls so I have a nice deep pocket. Top with a couple slices of provolone cheese and pop the sandwiches into a 350 degree oven for a minutes so the cheese melts.
Bon apetit!
Meat and bread have been pretty well covered, though I’d go with a nice fresh local roll rather than something shipped a long distance. On cheese, there should be no taste difference between white and yellow american, it’s all coloring. And don’t for Og’s sake buy individually wrapped “pasturized process cheese food” get proper American cheese sliced at the deli counter. I prefer Whiz anyway, it is a very different experience from regular cheese, but worth trying if you haven’t.
Listen to this (Wo?)Man! He/She knows of which we speak!
Having made them for 10 years, on this question I AM an expert.
First thing you need is a good roll. Amoroso’s is the gold standard in this regard, although it is possible to get a close approximation. It must be no older than one day so you have that characteristic fresh staleness (anyone who’s had one knows exactly what I mean).
Next, the beef. What we used to do was get rib blade meat, line up the grain, freeze it solid overnight in 25 pound blocks, then let it defrost so it could be cut on a deli slicer. In a pinch we used a round roast, but that made the beef shave off in solid sheets rather than fragments, and therefore a bit tougher to break up and a bit tougher to cook. Have it cut just a bit thicker than your average prosciutto, maybe about as thick as turkey. If you pull on it it should come apart with ease.
Onions. Get some big onions and dice them. They don’t have to be fine, but you do want them small. Sweet peppers (bulk out of a jar in sweet brine), hot peppers (crushed cherry peppers), mushrooms (they must be fresh, not canned), and sauce (Don Pepino’s is the gold standard for sauce) are optional, but some prefer them. I do not.
So what you do is get a stovetop griddle (cast iron, like $25 at Wal-Mart), put down some 10% olive oil, saute the onions, then push them aside. You want them to burn on the bottom, because the ones on top will caramelize. Next, put the beef on the grill. Take a spatula (like a burger spatula, not that cheeseball plastic one you have in your drawer) and, take my word for it, a wide putty knife. Break the beef up until it gets really small. Just before the beef is finished add the onions off the top of your onion pile (and any of the other stuff minus the sauce).
Now here’s where it gets tricky, if you want to do it right. It took me years to perfect my technique, and I do it with some flair. Anyway, what you have to do is cut the roll along its length with the curved side being the side to cut. Squeeze the ends to break them just a little bit (don’t butterfly it when you cut it). Spread it out, place it and your spatula at a 45 degree angle to each other with the beef and onions lined up 90 degrees in front of you (think of an arrow pointing directly away from you and that’s about the relative positions of the stuff.
Drag the roll over the beef, at the same time forcing the spatula underneath. If you’ve done it right you’ll only have to do it once and everything will fit perfectly.
Now, flip it over and you have a steak. What’s missing? Cheese. If you want “authenticity”, use Cheez Whiz. There is no substitute. Melt it up and apply it with a cake frosting knife. If you want American use White American (purely an aesthetic touch) , or use Provolone if you prefer. Put three pieces of cheese on top, then place it back down on the grill. After it starts to melt, just pick it back up as you did before. If you want sauce, add it now.
Voila! In addition to an absolutely awesome cheesesteak, you will also have a monster mess. Good luck with that. I’ve done my share of cleaning, the rest is up to you.
Or you could just come to Harrisburg PA and I’ll do it for you. The ones you actually get in Philly are overrated, it’s the ambience of it that’s the novelty. Once you learn how to make it you can make them good anywhere, no matter how much people try to claim that nobody beats Pat’s or Jim’s. I dog them both in my not so humble opinion, and anyone who’s ever tried one that I made has raved about it.
So for those of us who live outside of Philly (like, say, Orlando), are we just S.O.L. for getting Amoroso’s rolls? What is readily available that comes close?
Here is a list of distributors for Amoroso’s rolls in Florida. They’re frozen, thus not quite as good as fresh, but it beats almost everything else you’ll find.
Ribeye
Onion
Sweet peppers
Lots of provolone
Mayo
on a good roll
Mayo?!??!?!
Escort this “person” out, please.
(U.S. Census population data for Philadelphia)
1960: 2,002,512
1970: 1,949,996
1980: 1,688,210
1990: 1,585,577
2000: 1,517,550
2003: 1,479,339 (est.)
So that’s where they’ve all gone… :eek:
Does no one use pepper jack cheese? I love that on cheesesteak sandwiches. 
Oh, and what is Steak-um?
Indeed. Come on folks, it’s right there in the Good Book.
“Mayo, being the Jelly of Satan, shalt not defile thine sammich.”
Steak-Umm is an abomination before man. Don’t believe any of the hype on that page. If you have a craving that just won’t go away they will do in a pinch, but, and I warn you, you’ll regret it later.
Once you’ve had the real stuff you’ll never, ever want a Steak-Umm again. If you ever wanted one to begin with, that is.
I tried to make Steak-Umm once, back many years ago, and it was a disturbing experience. I don’t know if the package I got was spoiled or what, but the cooking Steak-Umm gave off an overpowering stench of ripe roadkill. We ended up throwing the whole kit-and-kaboodle, frying pan and all, into the Dumpster and opening the windows in our apartment despite the fact that it was January.