Homemade Cheesesteaks!
Here’s a Philly Cheese Steak Recipe, just like the steak sandwiches I grew up on in Philadelphia and South Jersey. The original South Philly cheesesteaks were made with thin sliced rib eye steak, topped with cheez whiz or provolone cheese and served on a crusty hoagie roll. There has been a long-going rivalry between Pat’s King of Steaks and Geno’s Steaks, but Tony Luke’s is another competitor for the best Philly cheese steak recipe. The truth is delicious cheesesteaks can be found all over Philadelphia and South Jersey. Cooking methods, quality and quantities vary.
You need good quality meat or it will be stringy and you have to have at least 1/3 pound, in my opinion. It’s a big roll (12″) and my experience is that 1/4 pound just gets lost in it. I purchase my meats from a Philadelphia meat distributor, who serves the best restaurants and best cheese steak shops, so I’m very happy with the quality, which does vary in local eateries. As far as cooking the meat, some keep the steak whole, cooking it quickly on each side, while others either chop the meat slightly or shred it into small bits, with the later being the most popular method and the one I demonstrate in this recipe video. I’ve eaten my share of cheesesteaks and made more than most, as I worked in small Italian restaurants, that served this popular sandwich, so I’ve seen and tasted many made with different methods. Cheese steaks with fried onions, mushrooms, extra cheese and ketchup are popular requests. Using American cheese is quite popular as well, but many enjoy the processed cheese (Cheez Whiz), my husband being one of them. Besides the meat, the roll is extremely important and can make or break this sandwich. Rolls should be a little crusty on the outside, but tender not chewy on the inside and are not usually toasted, but normally delivered fresh daily.
The most popular way to eat one of these babies is with ketchup and fried onions, which are not fried in the traditional sense, but are usually cooked on a large griddle, with some oil and the steak rather quickly or cooked ahead in large batches, using a slower cooking method, which I prefer. In busier places you’ll see a huge pile of cooked onions sitting on a cool part of the griddle or in a giant bowl waiting to be slapped onto that cooked steak. Restaurants either slice the onions or chop them, but the later is most common and my preference.
Different varieties of cheesesteaks have sprung up since the original. There’s the cheese steak hoagie, with lettuce, tomato and either raw or fried onions and the pizza steak, which is served topped with pizza sauce and melted provolone cheese, which are the two most popular. There’s also the chicken cheese steak, which is made with chicken meat instead of steak, but I think it’s a bit bland. I like the classic cheesesteak with fried onions, melted American cheese and ketchup, but a cheesesteak hoagie with fried onions is my next favorite. I like the different textures you get, as well as the fact that the onions, meat and cheese are hot, while the tomatoes and lettuce are cold. That one gets a little mayo and ketchup on it! It’s a great combo!
So now you don’t have to take a trip to Philly to get a real cheesesteak! Have a homemade fast food night! Get yourself some rib eye steak sliced nice and paper thin, a nice sweet onion, a crusty roll and make some of the best cheesesteaks at home, in your own kitchen! Don’t forget the ketchup!! Check out my Cheesesteak Stromboli Recipe! It’s another winner!
National Cheesesteak Day is March, 24
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Learn How To Make Philly Cheesesteaks At Home! Recipe by: Diane Kometa
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