Coming from a family of seven siblings, with 21 kids between them, my Ohio sister-in-law Michelle can feed a crowd like a boss. For New Year’s Eve in Columbus, we had 40 family and friends over to watch Ohio State play Clemson in the (disastrous for us) Fiesta Bowl playoff game. After Christmas, all I could manage were a couple giant salads, a sheet cake and a pizza order, but Michelle showed up, casually hauling in a few dozen Italian rolls and a seriously supersized electric roaster filled with 16 pounds of shredded beef. The girl is unflappable.
Italian beef is a Chicago specialty, created by some clever Italians in the early 1900s as a way to make cheap cuts of beef tender and flavorful. A rump roast or some lean but tough cut is roasted in beef broth with Italian spices, shaved thin on an electric deli slicer and piled back into warm cooking juices. Delicate sheets of beef are loaded into a crusty roll that’s sturdy enough to hold up to the jus-laden meat.
Because the industrial slicing is key to making the tough beef tender, it’s hard to get the same result at home. For home cooks, it’s more reliable to make a shredded version of Italian beef. If you patiently cook the beef long enough, low and slow, it will become fall-apart tender on its own, no slicer required.
This is made-for-Superbowl food. Meat, check. Crowd, check. Low effort, check. You can also keep it warm in a slow cooker for hours, and people can help themselves while you watch the game (or not). Easy.
East coasters can start their beef the morning of Superbowl Sunday and be done by game time. West coast folks should cook their beef the day before, or overnight, since Superbowl is an afternoon activity here.
If you’ve been sucked into the Instant Pot craze, or have another pressure cooker, you can take the express route and be done in an hour or so. read on…
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