Italian Beef History and Recipe

Italian Beef is made up of roasted beef that is tender, lean, low in fat and spiced with a special seasoning. Italian beef is served with its own natural gravy on Italian bread. The original Italian beef sandwich comes from Chicago but the inventor of the sandwich is not as clear. Al Ferreri stands by a clam that the sandwich was invented back in 1938 when he needed a way to stretch a roast to be able to serve 150 at weddings.

One lb of Italian beef is estimated to make about 4-5 large sandwiches or 7-8 large sandwiches. If there are two entrees at the meal figure that around 3 lbs of Italian Beef will serve about 20 people.

1 (5-lb) rump roast
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano
1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
Gravy:
2 cups boiling water
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
kosher salt

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Sprinkle rump roast with garlic powder, dried oregano and black pepper. Cook roast in a shallow roasting pan for about 30 minutes per pound. Make sure the pan is uncovered. Allow roast to cool when it is done cooking and then slice into thin portions.

Add boiling water, beef bouillon cubes, dried oregano, dried thyme, black pepper, hot sauce, garlic and Worcestershire sauce to pan that had the roast. Let the gravy mixture simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt if necessary. Add sliced beef, cover and allow it to marinate overnight. Reheat the next day. Place beef inside Italian sandwich rolls and serve.