I (David) don’t remember when I made the first version of my cheese steak sandwiches, I’m going with about 20 years ago and I’m not going to say what year that was. Okay, I’ll just call it late 90’s. I’ve always loved Philly’s, although growing up in Bountiful there was a joint by our house called The Italian Place that made what they called Pepper Steak Sandwiches that were to die for, although pretty much the same idea as a Philly. Robin and our children love my Philly’s, so I’m sharing my take on the iconic sandwich from the city of brotherly love. I’m going to provide the ingredients as though you’re making 4 large sandwiches, and you can leave out the stuff that you don’t like (except for the steak and cheese).
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds steak (I used sirloin in the photos and the sandwiches were great)
½ pound sliced provolone
1 bell pepper, green or red, whichever you prefer
1 yellow onion
1 small can sliced mushrooms
4 soft hoagie rolls
2 tablespoons Lowry’s seasoned salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Preparation and Cooking
Place the packaged steak into the freezer for one hour prior to beginning food preparation. This will allow for easier slicing and chopping later.
Slice the bell pepper and the onion into ¼ inch wide strips about 2-3 inches long. Add the olive oil to a large skillet and heat to medium high. Drain the juice from the mushrooms and add them with the peppers and onions to the skillet. Lightly salt and pepper all of the vegetables and sauté for approximately 10 minutes. Don’t overcook the peppers and onions, the goal is to soften them slightly and then to set aside in a foil covered bowl until ready to add to the cooked steak.
Remove the steak from the freezer and trim away excess fat and gristle. Slice the steak against the grain into the thinnest slices possible, I shoot for about 1/8 inch wide slices max. Form a loaf with the sliced steak on the cutting board and go from end to end of the loaf chopping with a sharp butcher knife and then repeat the process at least one more time. The end product should resemble very rough-chopped ground beef. Add the chopped steak to the skillet on medium high heat, dust the steak with the Lowry’s seasoned salt and fresh ground pepper, and cook until browned. Add the vegetables to the steak and cook the steak and veggie mixture for approximately 10 minutes while tossing frequently, then turn heat to lowest setting available.
Heat a separate skillet with a lid available (preferably see through) to medium high, add ¼ of the veggie and steak mixture and top with 3 slices of provolone. Add ¼ cup water to the bottom of the skillet and cover. Cook covered until the cheese becomes melted goodness (about 1-2 minutes) and then transfer to a hoagie roll, then repeat the process for 3 more delicious sandwiches. I prefer my sandwich with mayonnaise on the hoagie roll (DP Cheese Steaks serves a jalapeno mayo that adds an extra kick, that if you’re ambitious you could try to duplicate), Robin prefers to dip her sandwich in A-1 steak sauce, and our boys eat theirs as-is with no condiments, so at this point it is just personal preference. I hope that this all made sense and please let me know if you find anything confusing. Enjoy your Ivins Cheese Steaks!