Growing up in the Chicago area, Italian Beef was a familiar food on many restaurant menus. My favorite Italian Beef was made by a chain of restaurants called Beef Villa. At the time I didn’t know that Italian Beef was only found in Chicago and its suburbs. Whenever I’m back in Elgin I have at least one meal of Italian Beef.
A few years ago my aunt sent me an Italian Beef recipe she’d tried and liked. I think it was published in one of the local papers. If I find out, I’ll give them credit.
I posted this on BigOven.com where folks have rated it highly. It tastes as close to Beef Villa as it can — in fact I like it more than Beef Villa these days.
We make sure to have lots of extra dipping juices — and when we’ve eaten most of the beef, we make a soup out of the leftover broth and some vegetables and diced potatoes.
So, without further delay, I give you
Aunt Ginny’s Italian Beef
- 1 teaspoon Red pepper flakes crushed
- 2 teaspoons Garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons Onion powder
- 2 teaspoons Basil dried
- 2 teaspoons Oregano dried
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning dried
- 1 teaspoon Garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Fennel seeds
- 3 Beef bouillon cubes
- 3 Bay leaf
- 1 4 lb Rump roast
- 1 1/2 cups Water
- 8 Italian Rolls
- Sport peppers
Heat oven to 450F
Combine in a small bowl:
-pepper flakes
-garlic powder
-onion powder
-basil
-oregano
-Italian seasoning
-garlic salt
-black pepper
Rub half of the seasoning over all surfaces of the roast. Put meat in a shallow pan just large enough to hold it. Roast 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350F and roast an additional 20 – 30 minutes. Remove from oven and add cold water to bottom of pan. Let stand until fat has solidified. Remove and discard fat. Add remaining seasoning mixture to pan juices. Return meat to oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 20 minutes. Slice in paper-thin slices. Put sliced meat in a large sauce pan with juices, bouillon cubes, fennel seed and bay leaves. Let simmer 1 – 2 hours until cooked as desired. Spoon over split rolls. Add sport peppers if desired.
