We were flipping through the channels the other day, which means mostly looking at the Food Network, Comedy Central, and wishing there was a Booze Network. We came across this show hosted by the Sandwich King, as he styles himself, Jeff Mauro.
He was doing two sandwiches on this show, the Greek Taco, which I have yet to try, and what he called a Chicago Steakhouse Sandwich. This sandwich turned out to be awesome. The first time I made it, I used his exact recipe, but did three things wrong, or weakly. First, I forgot the bleu cheese in the dressing, I used too little red pepper in the spinach (and I had thought I used a lot) and I did not get the garlic chips as crispy as I needed to.
The second time I made the recipe I used LOTS of red pepper, remembered the bleu cheese, but I used a nice grilled, lightly marinated tri-tip. This was less greasy, but still had great flavor and the sandwich was AWESOME. The only thing I would have done differently is maybe cooked up the spinach just a little closer to serving the sandwich, instead of 10 minutes before. It was just a bit too done. Should have done it closer to the serving time and also just a little less.
So, here is just a great sandwich recipe. Easy, quick and super tasty. Try it, you will not be disappointed. Kudo’s to the Sandwich King. And here is the link to his recipe, while below is almost exactly the same with just the recommendation of the tri-tip and a couple of small things like a much more generous amount of mustard.
CHICAGO STEAKHOUSE SANDWICH
What you need:
Meat:
2-1/2 to 3 lb. tri-tip, trimmed. Marinate for about 2 hours in a plastic bag with 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup good soy sauce (not low sodium) and some crushed garlic)
Garlic Spinach:
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
2 lbs. baby spinach
Salt and Pepper
Buttermilk Bleu Cheese Dressing:
1 tablespoon crumbled bleu cheese
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
black pepper as desired.
Bread:
2 French baguettes, cut in 10 inch lengths, buttered and grilled.
Directions
Get grill very hot. Sear meat 5 minutes per side, then cook at medium heat turning often until it reaches desired doneness. I prefer medium well, but many would like it much rarer. Let meat rest for 5 minutes, tented in foil, before slicing in quarter inch slices.
For the sauteed spinach: Heat the oil and sliced garlic in a Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the garlic is golden brown and crispy. Remove the garlic put in paper towel. Add the crushed red pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the spinach and stir to combine. Cook over medium-high heat until the spinach is wilted but still bright in color, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper.
For the buttermilk blue cheese dressing: Mix the mayonnaise, buttermilk, blue cheese, dill, mustard and pepper together in a bowl and set aside. This can be mixed well in advance for flavors to mix. If you do it well in advance, keep it refrigerated.
To make the sandwich, layer meat, followed by spinach. Place garlic chips evenly about the sandwich and pour dressing on the sandwich. Eat and marvel at how tasty it is.
Finally, I encourage you to follow Jeff Mauro, Sandwich King on the Food Network. His show is great. Check your local listings for times.
