Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Mini Philly Cheesesteaks – Winning the Super Bowl Snack Table

Miniaturized sandwiches don’t usually float my boat, or submarine, as they’re almost always not as good as the full-sized versions, but these mini Philly cheesesteaks really captured everything I love about the classic.

Thinly sliced rib eye is traditionally used, and it’s fried and chopped on the grill, before meeting cheese and bread. Since we’re going to “grill” these in the oven, we’ll use a nice, juicy skirt steak instead, which has a big beefy flavor, and great marbling.

It will brown up around the edges, yet stay moist and tender because of the fat and connective tissue. I also really enjoyed the double shot of the sliced provolone and provolone “cheez whiz,” which provided a great creamy, richness. The peppers and onions brought everything together, and long story short, I ate the whole tray.

This was great hot, warm, and cold, and that alone makes it a perfect choice for your Super Bowl snack spread. Also, stay tuned for the quick and easy pickled pepper and onion relish recipe I mentioned in the clip. I hope you give these mini Philly cheesesteaks a try soon. Enjoy!


Enough for about 48 mini Philly cheesesteaks:

12 ounce skirt steak, or flap meat, or rib eye, or NY Strip
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup of pickled pepper and onion relish (stay tuned for video), OR 1/2 cup of sautéed onions and sweet peppers
*once mixed, be sure to taste and salt the final diced steak mixture!

For the “cheez whiz” sauce:
2 generous tablespoons flour
2 generous tablespoons butter
1 cup cold milk
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cayenne
salt to taste
2 thick slices provolone cheese (about 2 to 3 ounces), torn up

48 slices of baguette
sliced or grated provolone to top the cheesesteaks

Once assembled, bake at 400 for 12 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is browned

14 comments:

Anita said...

Oh Chef John, that Packer rimshot hurt. :( haha

Love your videos and smile every time the cayenne gets whipped out!

FSB said...

"I ate the whole tray" ... reminds me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFKifpMtlNs

Unknown said...

If you just sealed the meat in a hot pan for a minute each side, there's a risk the meat still raw after the 15min in the oven?

Yardog59 said...

The Packers comment was as awesome as these look. Well done, John!

inchrisin said...

Nice! I'm thinking about using a sleeve of bagels on this project. Yum.

Anonymous said...

This looks like something I could 40 or 50 of 'em! thanks chef!

Unknown said...

Looks good Chef, but if I take make this for my Superbowl party (Philadelphia), I may wind up at the bottom of the Schuylkill (schoo kill) River (not a place you want to be).

The beauty of the cheesesteak is it is so simple...thinly sliced rib eye cooked quickly on a flat top, placed into a fresh steak roll, slathered with cheese wiz and fried onions (wiz wit) with a couple of hot cherry peppers on the side...heaven.

As simple as this sandwich is, other parts of the country never get it right.

Now if you want to try something really different, try making a cheesesteak egg roll...wow!!!

Thanks Chef John...If the crew likes the cheesesteak bruschetta, I will send you a box of Tastycakes. Or Roast Pork sandwich with brocolli rabe...there's anther one for you...better than a cheesesteak. :)

Rozae said...

Funny you posted this now, because I made Philly Cheese steak this past weekend!

Cherry Bomb said...

I want to do this but I can't tolerate provolone cheese. Would this be good with cheddar too?

PhillyBear said...

being from Philly, I have strong feelings about cheese steaks. Always been a provolone person myself, but provolone whiz sounds even better! thanks, Chef!

Snowman said...

Made these last night for a tabletop game night. While I don't think they taste exactly like a Philly cheesesteak they are good and disappeared really fast. Though admittedly I didn't follow your technic exactly. I ended up needing almost 2 lbs of flank steak, 12 oz of provolone cheese and almost a whole batch of pickled relish to cover the sliced baguette that I picked up from Kneaders. I seared the steak 1 min on each side then cooked it sous vide at 130 degrees for 90 minutes with a tablespoon of butter and olive oil.

Logista said...

Tried this last night for my family for the Super Bowl. I pulled them out of the oven just as the halftime show was about to start and my family was singing praises. They were delicious!!!!!! I plan to make them again for Oscars night. :)

Unknown said...

Made this, but used cheddar cheese
on top. Very good, and taste good the day(s) after cold or warmed in microwave.

It is quicker to make than I thought. Use the baguette bread, you really need something made with bread flour for this!

I think the olive oil on the bottom of the bread is important too.
Flavor all the way around.

Sapphire said...

I just made these for a pre-dinner snack for everyone on Thanksgiving! I prepped everything the night before (cut the bread the day of, of course) and used sauteed baby bell peppers and onions instead of pickled.

I should have made a double batch because these DISAPPEARED. Thank you Chef John!