The Greatest Roast Beef Sandwich Ever (Italian Beef)

This might be the greatest sandwich I've ever made and eaten. Shoutout to The Bear.

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[fvckingvibe]

The fact that he helped that customer even when he stated he was closed, speaks volumes about his character.

[josepht]

I love talking to and meeting people like Chris. His energy is so genuine and u can hear his passion when it comes to his restaurant. These are the type of people that deserve roads named after them because they spread love everyday just with their presence, and he also does it with amazing food 🤤

[tompadfoot]

Tip for those of us without a deli slicer: once you take the beef out of the braise, let it rest until warm but not hot. Wrap it *tightly* in several layers of plastic wrap or vacuum seal it, and place it in the fridge with something heavy on top. Take out the next day and it will be compact enough to get thin slices with any decent filet knife or good slicing knife. Been doing my corned beef like this for years to make deli meat

[assbetterthanboobs]

Love how respectable you were in all the restaurants. No low noises or over exaggerated reactions.

[legoshi]

Chris seems like an awesome person, great character, charming and hilarious

[tamartaylor]

as a chicagoan the onlyyyy critique i would have to say is the giardiniera 😭 you pickle it then you put the veggies in the jar with the oil. the oil then gets the spice and all the flavors! my favorite part 😅

[patrickbrinkman]

Portillos is the Pinot Noir of Italian Beef. It is an approachable entry point with subtle notes that one doesn't appreciate until one realizes (usually years later) just how complex and delicious it is.

[BobDoesReviews]

As a Chicagoan, I'm happy Josh baptized that sandwich. Good job sir

[SarahAnn]

As a Chicagoan, I was super excited to see this! Very pleased you hit the actual good beef places here. You missed checking out Johnny’s Beef. Maybe next time! Hope you enjoyed some cheese fries with your beef from Portillos!

[iKariSosa]

i wanna take a moment to really appreciate the editing team, it doesn't matter if josh's videos (where great content is ALWAYS assured) are either 2, 6, 12, 32 minutes long, there's not a single bit i'd skip; from amazing intros, the speed of the recipe, the way you've done certain part of the recipe (let's say, fries, buns, even cutting tomatoes and adding that salt) you're never skipping it nor sending me to watch how is done in another video, all the way to the amazing reactions, honest veredict and a sublime B roll. just thank you! you're really inspiring me to persue my dream of cooking professionally more than any paying tutor would :)

[legendavey]

years ago when i was a line cook a couple of us were talking about what to make for family meal and i pitched italian beef, and while the only other chicago native was stoked by the idea everyone us looked at us all confused, and that's the moment when I learned at 22 years old that italian beef was a chicago regional specialty. growing up i thought everyone ate beef sandwiches this way. now that im older and seen some of the word i can no longer call it my favorite sandwich, but i think italian beef is unquestionably the best beef sandwich that exists. thanks josh for doing the lords work and spreading knowledge about one of the best things chicago does

[colina]

The Bear is probably my favourite show to come out in recent years. It captures the chaos of working in a kitchen better than any other restaurant-themed show I've ever seen. I didn't know most of it was filmed in an actual Italian beef sandwich shop. That's awesome.

[doughnutfingers]

One of my favorite episodes to date. Was actually mouth-watering when I saw how that sandwhich turned out.

[frog_enthusiast]

Joshua singlehandedly helps me jump out of my comfort zone and makes me want to try all sorts of different cuisines😭

[matthewtaylor]

Love all of Josh's videos, but these ones where he's on location trying food in the city of origin are the BEST!!! Thanks Josh and all the team for great videos and food!

[Oneofone]

Hope you enjoyed your time in Chicago, Josh!! Glad to see Portillo's getting the love it deserves. :)

[Skyfire]

I'm so happy you not only made but finally got to experience the Italian Beef sandwich. One thing I always tell people when visiting Chicago is that "if you leave hungry, that's your own fault." Hope you come back and try some other stuff around the area.

[SBdnb]

@Joshua Weissman As someone who's had their own Italian Beef stand, this is pretty spot on. The only real difference in preparation is that at my restaurant instead of making the jus separately, I slowly roasted about 20 lbs of inside round denuded (cut into quarters so it would cook more evenly and not be as rare in the center) slathered in minced garlic, in hotel pans with water and a slurry of my family's seasoning blend. Low and slow, seal the pans in foil so the pan jus doesn't evaporate in the oven, and you're left with an insanely rich, spicy Italian seasoned Au Jus you can keep in a cambro or quart out and freeze for whenever you want to make a pot of Italian Beef. Every family has a different recipe but I would love to try this one out!

[LiterateDuck]

My man making the sandwich after closing time was the most wholesome thing. That’s someone who truly cares.

[marcusx]

I know this comment is late to the game. I used to make this at one of the best beef joints on the south side in the 80's called Andy's (the family up and sold in the 90's so it's gone). We used to make giardiniera 110 gallons at a time and it would last 2 weeks at most. We'd chop 50 lbs of onions per shift.

Your take is all spot on, with the understanding that some degree of distinctive touch is always warranted. For the au jus though, we would fill up a four-gallon kitchen pan (2-3 roasts per) add the spices and veggies, and cook at a lower heat, but for much longer, basting every 30-45 minutes. This saved time and $$$ on separate broth preparation (and ingredients).

For perspective, like 'The Bear', we prepared hundreds of pounds of beef at a time.