Good Italian beef is juicy and full of flavor; if you don't make a mess eating it, chances are something went wrong (or you are a very neat eater). The easiest way to make Italian beef is in a slow cooker. You can put all the ingredients in, turn the machine on, and walk away. When you come back a few hours later, you'll have delicious Italian beef, ready to load onto bread and scarf down.
Ingredients
- Beef roast (see Tips below)
- Italian dressing
- Spices (listed below for the second method)
Steps
Method 1
Method 1 of 2:
Just beef and Italian dressing
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Place the beef in the slow cooker. Add only enough dressing so that it comes about 3/4 of the way up the side of the beef.
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Turn the slow cooker on low for 10-12 hours, depending on the size of your meat. Cook until the meat can be separated with a spoon. There should be enough liquid in the cooker to avoid drying out the meat, so leaving the meat in for too long shouldn't be a problem.Advertisement
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Remove when cooked. When the meat is done, remove it from the slow cooker, leaving the juices in the cooker. Shred the meat, then return it to the slow cooker. With the lid off, turn the slow cooker to high for about 30 minutes to reduce the juices, which will concentrate and maximize the flavor.
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Serve when ready. Enjoy!Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 2:
A few more ingredients - a world of difference
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If you are willing to put in a little bit more effort, it wold be very worthwhile to add the spices suggested here:
- Pepper
- Dried oregano
- Dried rosemary
- Dried thyme
- Dried basil
- Garlic (roughly chopped).
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Season the meat liberally on all sides with the pepper and dried herbs. It's useful to pour equal amounts of each into a small bowl, mix them together, and then rub the spice mix onto the meat
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Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat in a pan large enough to fit the beef. If you have to, you can cut the beef into 2 or 3 pieces so that it will fit in your pan
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When the oil is shimmering, place the beef into the pan. Do this carefully, laying the beef away from you. You should hear a lovely sizzling sound. When the beef pulls away from the pan easily (4 to 5 minutes), turn it over. If you have to pull hard to separate the beef from the pan, it's not ready to turn. Brown the meat on all sides, working in batches if you must. This step will add flavor and some texture to your final dish.
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When the beef is browned on all sides, remove it from the pan (you can put it in the slow cooker at this point) and turn the heat down to medium. You should see some lovely brown bits (called fond) stuck to the bottom of the pan.
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Pour enough Italian dressing into the pan to coat the bottom of the pan, then take a wooden spoon and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Once the dressing comes to a boil, turn off the heat and carefully pour the contents of the pan into the slow cooker. In this way, you maximize the flavor of your final dish.
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Turn the slow cooker on low for 10-12 hours, depending on the size of your meat, until the meat can be separated with a spoon. There should be enough liquid in the cooker to avoid drying out the meat, so leaving the meat in for too long shouldn't be a problem.
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When the meat is done, remove it from the slow cooker, leaving the juices in the cooker. Shred the meat, then return it to the slow cooker. With the lid off, turn the slow cooker to high for about 30 minutes to reduce the juices, which will concentrate and maximize the flavor.
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Serve and enjoy!Advertisement
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Tips
- With respect to getting the roast beef, note that different grocery stores label their cuts differently, but as long what you buy has the word "roast" in its name, it should work. You're looking for a rather large, single piece, and it should be very, very cheap per pound.Thanks
- Italian beef is best served on toasted Italian bread, with sautéed onions and peppers and some melted cheese.Thanks
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Things You'll Need
- Cutting board
- Kitchen knife
- Slow cooker
- Mixing implement
About this article
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