This Philly Cheesesteak Recipe is by far one of my favorite sandwich recipes out there. The thinly sliced ribeye steak is super flavorful and crispy on top, while the cheese gets perfectly melty and creamy in the Italian Bread loaf. Just like a well-made Philly should be!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
The soft, warm bread, gooey cheese, and paper-thin slices of cooked steak make this an absolute treat. These homemade cheesesteaks are truly amazing and much better than most restaurant Philly sandwiches. They may not be the fastest sandwich, but they are worth the time.
Ingredients
Meat: I prefer to use Rib Eye Steak for my Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. There's plenty of marbling, keeping the meat tender throughout the cook. (See Expert Tips)
Veggies: I prefer to use Onions and Sliced Mushrooms. But many others will also add red and green bell peppers. Onions are a very traditional ingredient, but this is all up to you and your personal preference.
Cheese: Provolone is a traditional cheese, and many of the original cheesesteak joints add Cheesewhiz. I prefer to use White American Cheese. (See Expert Tips)
Liquids: And here is my secret ingredient...Beef Tallow. While there is already plenty of marbling in the steak, cooking the vegetables in beef tallow first and then adding the sliced steak gives these sandwiches an incredible flavor.
Bread: A soft Italian Bread loaf is an absolute must. (See Expert Tips)
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step-by-Step Instructions
For this Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich Recipe, I am using Rib-Eye Steak. That may seem like an expensive choice, but it's also a delicious choice!
Take two frozen ribeye steaks, and using an extremely sharp knife or a meat slicer, slice the steaks as close to paper-thin as you can get them. Then dice those up as good as you can. Two medium-sized steaks easily make two 6-inch sandwiches or one 12-inch. Depending on how hungry you are, I suppose.
Next, dice your onion. I used one large yellow onion for two steaks.
If you don't have a flattop grill, I recommend using a cast iron griddle or skillet. I opted for the skillet this go around because I felt cleanup would be easier.
Heat the skillet on medium heat. Add about a tablespoon of Tallow, allowing it to melt down. Once it has, add the onions and begin to sauté. We are not caramelizing these onions, just allowing them to become translucent. As they cook, stir the onions to ensure they are covered completely in tallow. Then, add a lid to begin steaming them. I find this speeds up the process a bit.
As soon as the onions are translucent and beginning to slightly brown, add the sliced steak pieces and two more tablespoons of Tallow.
Increase the heat to Medium-High.
Stir the meat frequently for even cooking. Once the pieces are all browned, turn the heat to high and mix the onions with the steak. At this point, you're cooking to your own preference. If you like charred pieces in your Philly, then cook it longer.
In the meantime, slice your bread loaf to be prepared.
Now, using a long spatula, separate half of the meat and onions in the pan and shape it to fit your bread. Add 3-4 slices of Provolone cheese or whichever you choose, and place the lid back on the skillet to start melting that cheese.
You can turn the burner to low or possibly even off, depending on how long you've cooked the meat for your homemade Philly cheesesteak.
Allow the cheese to melt into the steak, and then place your bread open and face down on top of the meat and cheese. Allow the cheese to meld with the bread for a minute.
Slide the long spatula underneath the meat and flip the whole sandwich onto a plate.
Expert Tips
- When working with the Ribeye Steaks, freeze them before slicing the meat. This helps get those paper-thin slices you'll need to make this sandwich the best.
- The White American Cheese melts perfectly into the meat and the bread while being steamed. It's not stringy like some provolone could end up being. If you like to top them with cheese whiz, have at it. However, I think you'll find this has such great flavor that you won't even need it.
- If, for any reason, you aren't able to get a soft Italian bread loaf, then I would recommend a French loaf. But you may need to cut some of this inside out in that case.
- After steaming the bread with the meat and cheese mixture, I recommend wrapping the entire sandwich in foil and allowing it to steam even further for about 5-10 minutes. This melds the whole cheesesteak, and the bread gets super soft.
Recipe FAQS
The secret ingredient to an excellent Philly cheesesteak sandwich is the use of high-quality beef tallow. This is rendered beef fat and gives Philly cheesesteaks an excellent beefy flavor, unlike any other sandwich.
Each ingredient in a Philly Cheesesteak works together to provide the flavor. Thinly sliced rib eye steak, onions, salt, pepper, beef tallow, white American or provolone cheese, and French or Italian bread all work cohesively to give us the classic flavor of an authentic Philly cheesesteak.
Rib eye steak is the best for a Philly cheese steak sandwich due to its high-fat content and overall beefy flavor.
An authentic Philly Cheesesteak contains thinly sliced steak cooked with beef tallow on a flattop with or without onions, white American, provolone, and/or cheez whiz, served on sliced Italian bread.
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📖 Recipe
Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Rib-Eye Steaks-Frozen
- 1 Yellow Onion-Diced
- 3 tablespoon Tallow-Divided
- 12 Inch Italian Bread loaf
Instructions
- Slice the steaks paper thin.
- Then dice those slices.
- Dice the onion.
- Heat the skillet on medium heat, add about a tablespoon of Tallow allowing it to melt down.
- Add onions to the skillet and sauté. Cover and cook until translucent stirring frequently.
- Add sliced steak and 2 more tablespoons of Tallow.
- Increase heat to Medium-High.
- Stir the meat frequently for even cooking.
- Turn the heat to high and mix the onions with the steak.
- Cook until desired doneness.
Assemble and Serve
- Separate half of the meat and onions in the pan and shape it to fit your bread.
- Add 3-4 slices of Provolone cheese on top of the meat.
- Cover the skillet to steam melt the cheese.
- Place bread open face down on top of the meat and cheese.
- Allow the cheese to meld with the bread for a minute.
- Slide spatula underneath sandwich and flip it over onto a plate.
- SERVE HOT and ENJOY
Video
Notes
- Skip the bread-making steps if using purchased bread loaves. However, these bread loaves are also great for serving as an appetizer sliced with cream cheese dip
- When working with the Ribeye Steaks, freeze them before slicing the meat. This helps get those paper-thin slices you'll need to make this sandwich the best.
- The White American Cheese melts perfectly into the meat and the bread while being steamed. It's not stringy like some provolone could end up being. If you like to top them with cheese whiz, have at it. However, I think you'll find this has such great flavor that you won't even need it.
- If, for any reason, you can't get a soft Italian bread loaf, then I would recommend a French loaf. But you may need to cut some of this inside out.
- After steaming the bread with the meat and cheese mixture, I recommend wrapping the entire sandwich in foil and allowing it to steam for about 5-10 minutes. This melds the whole cheesesteak, and the bread gets super soft.
Mendota Heights Carpet Restretching says
Aw, this was an incredibly good post. Spending some time and actual
effort to generate a really good article… but what can I say… I hesitate a lot and never
seem to get anything done.
Brian Dickerson says
This was a lot easier to make than I thought it would be. I had never made my own philly, but I’ll definitely be doing it more often now!
Jeremy says
Theres nothing like a great Philly! So glad you like this recipe!