Sandwiches For Supper

I needed an easy supper for a busy day last week. Daddy-O was in the hay field until dark, while I was still at work at the piano. (My days as pianist are done. At least for now.) I dug deep into my own recipe index here—yes, sometimes I forget to use what is at my fingertips—to find something I could pop into the slow cooker in the morning and have ready in the evening. Pepperoncini Beef sounded good.

BUT before I got started, I remembered watching Pioneer Woman make a similar recipe while I was babysitting a few weeks ago. The little grandchildren love watching Pioneer Woman.  And now Trisha Yearwood's cooking show is a new favorite. "What's Trisha cooking today, Mom?" asks five -year-old Little Sister many days. (Their television viewing is very limited, so these cooking shows are a real treat.)

My original plan was to make Pepperoncini Beef Sandwiches that I posted here ages ago. But I changed my plan when I found the recipe from the Pioneer Woman TV show. Oh, the powers of Google! 

I made a variation of Pioneer Woman's Drip Beef, which is a cousin to my own recipe. The changes I made to her recipe were simply to use what I had in my pantry. It was too far to run to the store for a jar of whole pepperoncini when I could make do with sliced ones. It's that kind of recipe. Pioneer Woman's Drip Beef was a variation of someone else's recipe. So feel free to tweak it if you need to. I'm not even sure I'll make it exactly the same way next time either.

DRIP BEEF SANDWICHES

1 (3-lb) chuck roast, trimmed of fat

1 (10-oz) can beef consomme

1/2 (16-oz) jar whole pepperoncini, with the juice (I only had sliced)

3 tablespoons Italian seasoning

salt & pepper to taste

crusty sandwich rolls (I used sandwich thins)
Provolone cheese slices

Cook in slow cooker on LOW for 8-10 hours, or until fork tender. Use two forks to shred the beef. Serve on toasted buns. Top with cheese, if you want. And you can dip out some of the juice and serve in little bowls on the side to make this "French Dip" style. 


Here is my original recipe, just like I've made it several times. It's good, too. This one is a little spicier because it uses the whole jar of pepperoncinis. They are both good. And check out Pioneer Woman's post for another no-pepper version. I'll try that one, too. It looked tasty in a different kind of way.

PEPPERONCINI BEEF SANDWICHES

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 lb beef roast, trimmed of excess fat

4-5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 16-oz. jar sliced pepperoncinis, undrained

crusty sandwich rolls

sliced Provolone cheese

Heat oil in a pot or high-sided skillet over high heat. While the oil is heating, combine the salt and pepper and rub it into the meat. Add more if necessary.


When the oil is hot, sear the roast on all sides so the outsides of it is browned and a little crispy.


Transfer the roast to a slow cooker and add the minced garlic and the entire jar of pepperoncinis (along with juice.)

Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or until the beef is 

fork tender.
 Drain and shred. Keep the peppers!

Toast buns. Pile drained, shredded meat on bottom bun and top with cheese. Put back under broiler just long enough to melt the cheese. 

Now...let me advise you. If you don't like "hot" you might want to use less pepperoncini in BOTH recipes. Or, make something else entirely. Daddy-O thought the Drip Beef was a little on the spicy side. I liked it just like it was. I am convinced that the hotness of pepperoncinis vary from jar to jar. Wikipedia says "its hotness depends on the maturity of the pepper, with the most ripe being sweeter than younger ones." So, you use the amount that suits you. Also, if you use the whole peppers, it's easy to leave them off the sandwiches if that suits you better.

And because there are only two of us here, I put two ziploc bags of drip beef in the freezer for other busy days. There will be a day coming soon when I'll be so glad I did this.