For those of you cooking Philly Cheeseteaks

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catinthebox

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jan 26, 2009
Messages
7
Location
DC
Hello! Newbie here. I've grown up in Philly but never once attempted to make my own cheesesteak. Of course, once I left it became necessary to begin making them on my own! (to show my dorm mates what Philly really tastes like, haha)

So, my question is: For those of you who've cooked a cheesesteak before, what kind of beef do you use? I've heard top round roast beef works well, but I'm suspicious of that. Can anyone help?

Thanks!
 
You can use almost any beef.... I do think they usually use top round but of course there is endless debate and legend around the cheese steak and what goes into it.

basically you want to use cheap beef and slice it thin and cook it on a griddle... or like you would on a griddle in a frying pan.

If you watch the cart guys they usually lay the steaks flat and fry em then sort of push em together and chop em up with a thick spatula then they push the meat to the side and cook onions in the grease... push them aside and toast the hoagie roll for a minute.... I have watched this a million times but still not sure I could replicate the art.

It is always a matter of mystery to me that you can get a sublime cheesesteak at almost any food cart in town but can't get a passable one outside of Philly.

more importantly do you want it "wit" "wit-whiz" or provolone? sweet or hot peppers?

a real hoagie roll is key

my personal preference is provolone and hot peppers w ketchup orthodox or not.
 
Don't they use thinly sliced rib roasts at the 2 famous

places in Philly? Pat's and I don't remember the name of the other one.
 
a real hoagie roll is key



There was just a special on the FN the other day on the 2 from Phily, Pats and I believe the other is Geno's, I may be wrong but the type of cheese is as important as the type of meat also, the hoagie bun makes it! :chef:
 
You really need the juices too. The juice soaks into the bun, any extra runs off onto the plate as your "jus" dipping sauce. lol
 
LOL

Pancho, I'm pretty good at those home. I do the ketchup mixed in with the beef routine. You?

I don't bother... I can get an excellent steak within a few blocks of my house no matter which direction I walk in... my hood sucks for food in general but steaks :chef:

There is one cart guy in Town who does a Vietnamese style steak it is awesome

And yes... the meat not all that important most places use the frozen pre sliced steaks and thow em on the griddle still frozen... it's the method that makes a steak
 
Wow! Thanks for the responses, everyone! I didn't expect my first thread to get to 2 pages so quickly.
You can use almost any beef.... I do think they usually use top round but of course there is endless debate and legend around the cheese steak and what goes into it.

basically you want to use cheap beef and slice it thin and cook it on a griddle... or like you would on a griddle in a frying pan.

If you watch the cart guys they usually lay the steaks flat and fry em then sort of push em together and chop em up with a thick spatula then they push the meat to the side and cook onions in the grease... push them aside and toast the hoagie roll for a minute.... I have watched this a million times but still not sure I could replicate the art.

It is always a matter of mystery to me that you can get a sublime cheesesteak at almost any food cart in town but can't get a passable one outside of Philly.

more importantly do you want it "wit" "wit-whiz" or provolone? sweet or hot peppers?

a real hoagie roll is key

my personal preference is provolone and hot peppers w ketchup orthodox or not.
You know, it IS the weirdest thing. I've never once had an actual cheesesteak outside of the city/burbs. For some reason all the rest of the country can muster is an actual sandwich with green peppers, grilled steak, and some sort of sauce. It's just bizarre...

And of course, it'll have whiz. :)I've always loved that the most!

My biggest problem will be the rolls. There is a small specialty shop down the road from me that sells italian rolls, but I doubt they will work as well as amorosos. Who knows. Hopefully that won't be my downfall.

And as a side note: personally, I've never even had ketchup on a cheesesteak. I'm scared it will take away from the awesome greasy flavor of it. Maybe I'll try it sometime.

And to everyone else, thanks for your help!
 
Hey all! Sorry to double post, but I wanted to say:
I bought the beef. It's top sirloin, but that's because it was pre-thinly sliced.(I am a lazy cook.) I also bought the roll and the whiz, so tomorrow I'm going to attempt it!

I also bought some knives, which, unbelievably, I don't own. About time for me!

I'll report back tomorrow to let you know how it went. I know you'll all be waiting in suspense for my cheesesteak story!
 
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