Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich Recipe

This is by far one of my all time favorite sandwiches. In fact, I would say it is one of my top five favorite meals. Which is exactly why I took this recipe very very seriously. Not that I don't take all of my recipe's seriously...but this Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich Recipe is near and dear to my heart.

I wish I could say that it's because I've been to Philadelphia a whole bunch of times to eat a whole bunch of Cheezers, but it's not. In fact, dare I say, I have never been at all!.

Im sure you're asking yourself,

"Then how do YOU know how to make a Philly Cheesesteak Recipe?"

Research my friends, lots and lots of research.

At the risk of being a cliche food blogger, my love for this incredible sandwich started when I was about 6 or 7 years old. I would go spend the weekend at my Grandma's apartment on 10th and G St. in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Right, not even close to Philly, I get it.

However, these weekends were very special and memorable for us. We would first got to the local movie rental joint. Not Blockbuster by any means! We would hit the Horror section, rent about 3-4 movies, and then head over to DaVinci's where she had already placed our order for pickup. Most times we walked because DaVinci's was right across the street from her apartment.

Unless it was a typical winter in Nebraska, then she would have them deliver.

I'm not sure that they even offered delivery, but they knew her and I. We were getting our cheesesteaks and 2 liter of Pepsi one way or another. I remember one time specifically, we ate our Philly, watched a movie, and wanted another sandwich so we ordered another one! Ate that one too!

There was something about those Cheesesteak Sandwiches...

I absolutely loved them! The soft bread, gooey cheese, and paper thin slices of cooked steak. They were truly amazing.

SO, when I started my "Sandwich Saturday" Project on the Chicken Fried Kitchen Youtube channel, I got super excited when this sandwich came up on my list of to-do's.

I set out to research the sandwiches, what makes them great (when they are) and how I was going to make my Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich Recipe hold it's own.

I had tried my hand at a Homemade Philly Before...

That was a total fail!

At that point I didn't do any research. What I learned from that experience was that Mayo doesn't belong nor is it what gives the creamy texture found on an authentic Philly.

Also, I was using swiss cheese, mushrooms, and I added Worcestershire Sauce. Bassically, I ruined the sandwich and it didn't taste anything like I remembered.

This go around, I dug deeper and must say, I made an amazing Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich Recipe.

What's on an Authentic Philly?

So, I am not going drag on and on about the history of this sandwich. We know where it comes from and why it's so popular around the country.

While Mushrooms can be an addition, mayo is not. The bread is an Italian loaf and while some shops put cheese whiz on theirs, other do not. Provolone is the go to cheese, but I actually prefer White American.

Some will say that Onions are a must and others leave them off. As you can see there are slight variations to the sandwich but one things for sure, most people I have talked to had NO IDEA what the secret ingredient to making this so amazing is.

BEEF TALLOW!

Thats right, Beef Lard. Every time I saw them making that sandwich at DaVinci's I thought for sure they were spraying it with oil or possibly even water to create steam.

Come to find out, this is Warmed Beef Tallow that is put on the meat and Onions, if you ordered 'Wit', during the cooking process that adds that extra flavor. Which I gotta tell ya, makes this recipe a whole hell of a lot easier than my first attempt!

Well now that the cat's outta the bag, I figure Ill show you how to make this awesome sandwich!

Let's Get to Cookin'!

Italian Bread Loaf

You can of course purchase your own bread if you like from any local Grocery store or Bakery.

BUT...If you want to make your own, this is how you do it!

For the Starter

Start by combining yeast, sugar, water, milk, and Diastatic Dry Malt Powder together and allow the mixture to bloom for about 30 minutes. Be sure to place this mixture in a large enough bowl as the level will rise.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the Salt and Flour together.

Add your wet ingredients to the dry and mix on low using your stand mixer for about 2 minutes.

Let that dough rest for about 15 minutes and then begin to knead with the stand mixer on low for 15 minutes.

The dough should be nice and smooth now. Remove from the stand mixer, form into a ball, and add it to a well oiled bowl.

Place that bowl in the refrigerator overnight to rise and ferment.

For the Italian Bread Loaf

Remove the dough from the fridge, cut it in half, and begin to shape your loaves.

Once the loaves have shaped up, allow them to proof for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425° f.

Place a pan full of ice cubes on the bottom shelf of the oven to create steam with the loaves on the shelf right above.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown on the outside.

For the Meat

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! Soo...

While the bread loaves are baking 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 obviously one 12 inch. Depending on how hungry you are, I suppose.

Next, dice your onion. I used 1 large yellow onion for two steaks.

Now, the breads out of the oven, rib-eye is all chopped, as is the onion. If you don't have a flattop grill, which I do not..YET, then I recommend using a cast iron griddle or skillet. I opted for the skillet this go around just because I felt that clean up 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 are cooking and you have stirred, to cover them with the tallow, I add a lid to begin steaming them. I find that 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 2 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 like charred pieces in your Philly then cook it longer.

Assembling the Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich

In the meantime, slice your bread loaf to be prepared.

Now, using a long spatula, separate out half of the meat and onions in the pan and shape it out 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.

At this point 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 all 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 over onto a plate.

There you have it!

An amazing Authentic Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich.

SERVE AND ENJOY!

📖 Recipe

In Conclusion

I have finally learned how to make one of my most favorite sandwiches ever and that feels pretty darn good!

I truly believe that with the right direction we can make anything we want in the kitchen! If you've been struggling to make a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich just how you like it, I certainly hope this helps!

Thank you so much for visiting Chicken Fried Kitchen!

Let me know in the comments how your Sandwich turned out!

Happy Cooking,

-Jeremy