Copy Cat Portillo's Italian Beef

The city of Chicago is known for many things. When it comes to food I feel there are 4 foods the city is well known for. The first up is deep dish pizza. If you are not familiar with deep dish pizza it is a pizza that is baked in pan similar to a cake pan, creating a deep crust that resembles more of a pie than a pizza. The pizza is stuffed with tons of cheese, a chunky tomato sauce and typically pepperoni or one giant sausage patty. Due to the thickness of this pizza it will take at least 45 to prepare and bake, so there is some wait time before you can enjoy this yummy pizza. Here is a homemade version that I made a few years ago.

Next we have the Chicago style hot dog. This is an all beef frankfurter served on a poppy seed bun topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices, a pickled sport pepper and a dash of celery salt. You may have noticed that there is no ketchup on this hot dog, well don't even think about adding ketchup to this hot dog. People in Chicago are very serious about ketchup on their Chicago style hot dogs, it does not belong and you better not do it. If you have never heard of a pickled sport pepper the best comparison I can give you is it is similar in heat to a serrano pepper, about 9 times hotter than a jalapeño. No Chicago dog is complete with out a pickled sport pepper.

Next up is Chicago popcorn. There is only one store to go for Chicago popcorn and that is Garrett Popcorn Shops. They are famous for their Garrett mix (Chicago mix). It is a 50/50 combination of cheese popcorn, made with real cheese and caramel corn. It is an addicting and delicious popcorn mix and Garrett's makes it the best!

And lastly we have my favorite, Italian Beef. There are many restaurants that serve Italian beef and believe me I tried my fair share of them, but none of them ever compared to Portillo's. Portillo's was my go to restaurant for Italian Beef.

An Italian beef sandwich is made with thinly sliced roast beef that has been simmered in an au jus or as the locals call it gravy. The sandwich is served on an Italian sub roll and topped with either a spicy pepper mix, called giardiniera mix or sweet pepper mix. The sandwich is served either dry, meaning it is just the meat with very little gravy or "normal" in which the sandwich is splashed with the gravy or you can order it dipped in which the entire sandwich is dipped in the gravy. When I learned we were moving out of Illinois, I knew I was going to miss my Italian beef.

Recently I had a craving for one of those delicious sandwiches and decided there had to be a way I can create my own version at home. After much research I settled on a recipe that looked promising. I was extremely nervous to try this at home because I am really picky about my Italian beef. But I made and took a bite and was completely blown away! The flavor was almost exactly like Portillo's. I felt as if I was in Chicago eating one of their sandwiches.

Now just to be clear, a true Italian beef sandwich uses thinly sliced beef. Since I do not have a deli slicer in my home, shredded beef was the next best thing and it was pretty darn close in taste. It was so close in taste that I ate one of these sandwiches for lunch and then again for dinner. My husband ate one for lunch and dinner two days in a row. That is how good this Copy Cat Portillo's Italian Beef tastes.

Now lets talk about Giradiniera mix. Giradiniera is a mixture of bell peppers, celery, carrots, cauliflower, sweet pickles and sport peppers marinated in various oils and spices. Before we moved out of Illinois I picked up a giant jar of the mix at Costco, since I figured I would have a hard time finding it outside of Illinois. This pepper mix packs a spicy punch, a little bit goes a long way, but it is oh so good and oh so spicy. For me an Italian beef would not be the same without it.

Copy Cat Portillo's Italian Beef

Ingredients:

• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon dired oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 1- 0.6 ounce packet Zesty Italian Salad dressing mix
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 5 pounds rump roast OR bottom round roast
• Italian OR French sub rolls
• Giardiniera Mix (hot pepper mix)

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan combine the water and all of the seasonings. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Place the roast into the crock pot, fat side up. Once the water and seasoning mixture comes to a boil pour it over the roast. Cover the crock pot and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
3. Remove the roast and shred with a with a fork. Remove the bay leaf from the crock pot and return the shredded meat to the au jus in the crock pot.
4. Serve the meat on the Italian rolls. If desired drizzle with additional au jus or dunk the entire sandwich in au jus. Then top with Giardiniera mix if you like things spicy.

Enjoy!!!

Notes:
I have the servings set for 16. This is an estimate, it all depends on how much meat you put in the sandwiches.

Nutrition Facts
Serves: 16
Amount Per Serving
Calories 514
Total Fat		14.2g
Saturated Fat		3.6g
Polyunsaturated Fat		0.3g
Monounsaturated Fat		3.3g
Trans Fat		0g
Cholesterol		47.5mg
Sodium		991.2mg
Potassium		458.2mg
Total Carbohydrates		65g
Dietary Fiber		3.4g
Sugars		3.1g
Protein		30.9g
Vitamin A 0.17% Vitamin C 6.17%
Calcium 2.57% Iron 31.4%
*Nutritional information will vary depending on the brands you use.

*Adapted from What Would Jenna Cook.