Philly Cheese-Steak

Since 1930, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, you can order a "cheese wit or wit-out " and enjoy Pat's famous Philly Cheese-Steak Sandwich. To make your own cheesesteak:

• Start with good beef; this is key. Pat's uses sliced rib-eye. Jim's uses USDA choice top round western steer beef, but any thin pre-sliced beef that has some well marbled fat in it will work well in this recipe.
• Shave the beef as thin you can against the grain so it cooks quickly and remains tender. You can partially freeze the beef for about one hour to firm it up, which will make slicing it thinly much easier.
• With professionally made cheesesteaks, once the sliced steak hits the flattop, you can hear the harmonious “clang clang clang” of big metal spatulas chopping up beef on the flattop. To recreate this chopped effect at home without a flattop, simply run your knife a few times through the sliced beef to break it up before it hits the hot skillet.

• Use a fresh high quality Italian roll - Amoroso's is a favorite. (or try this recipe for homemade hoagie rolls: Super Soft 'n Chewy Hoagie Rolls). The roll must be long and thin, not fluffy or soft, but also not too hard. A good cheesesteak roll will be slightly crackly on the outside and pillow-y soft on the inside.
• Decide if you want your steak wit or wit-out fried onions.
• Decide if you want a steak or a cheesesteak. If you elect a cheesesteak you need to decide on American cheese, provolone or the Philly favorite "cheez whiz." The cheese should be sliced thin and melt easily. Ultimately, the melted cheese should coat the steak to form a cohesive meat mixture, without being gloppy. This adds mechanical value to the sandwich, keeping the thin pieces of meat together so the mixture holds once flipped into the roll. And the melted layer of cheese that started on top of the steak serves as a protective barrier once flipped, to become the bottom of the sandwich. This layer of cheese prevents the bread from immediately turning soggy from the drippy beef filling.
• Any add-ons? Mushrooms, peppers? You decide. It's your sandwich.

Philly Cheesesteak Recipe
from https://www.seriouseats.com/

This recipe can easily be cut in half to make 1 serving. Alternatively, it may also be doubled and cooked through in 2 separate batches to serve 4.

1 pound (454g) boneless rib eye steak or skirt steak or store-bought pre-sliced rib eye
1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable or other neutral oil
1/2 medium yellow onion (4 ounces; 114g), cut into 1/4-inch dice
[canned mushrooms]
8 thin slices provolone cheese (about 6 ounces; 160g), 4 slices torn into 1-inch pieces and 4 slices left whole
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt use half as much by volume
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Two 7- to 8-inch-long Italian hoagie/sub rolls, split lengthwise, but left attached on 1 side to create a hinge

If using a whole steak, trim and cut steak crosswise with grain into roughly 3-inch wide sections, then set on large plate and freeze until firm but not frozen solid, about 1 hour. If using pre-sliced steak, skip to chopping instructions in Step 2.

Using a sharp knife, shave steak as thin as possible on a biased angle against the grain. Mound shaved meat on cutting board and chop coarse with knife, about 5 times for store-bought sliced meat or 10 times for hand-sliced.

Heat an empty 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add oil to skillet and heat until just smoking. Add meat and onion [mushrooms] in an even layer and cook, without stirring, until well browned on one side, 4 to 6 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring frequently to move and pull apart the meat slices until meat and onions are browned and meat is no longer pink, 2 to 4 minutes.

Stir in torn provolone cheese, Parmesan cheese (if using), salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until cheese is melted and well combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat. Divide mixture into 2 individual portions the length of the rolls. Shingle 2 slices of Provolone cheese over each portion. Cover and let cheese melt, about 1 minute.

Center rolls, cut sides down, over each portion of meat. Working with one at a time, use a large spatula to scoop under each portion of meat and flip meat into roll to create a filled sandwich. Serve immediately.

Serves 2