Hot & Spicy Italian Beef

Jen's Version 

(Acworth, GA)

The Pioneer Woman. She may be one of my favorite people on the planet. I discovered her through random recipe google searching a couple of years back. This was before her show and super fame (I think). I assume this because I am very hip and it would be unusual for me NOT to know about something this great. I wish my memory was reliable, but I can't recall the first meal I cooked from her website. What I do know, is that every single thing I've cooked, inspired by her, has been delicious. I love her cooking style, her sense of humor and especially love that she uses real cream and butter. To parallel this story, last year I was looking for an easy Italian Beef recipe. Anything with pepperoncinis and minimal effort is a win for me. In my search, I stumbled across the Italian Drip Beef Recipe. I vividly remember this recipe because Ree talked about using beef broth versus beef consome and not knowing the real difference. I just love her brutal honesty. So I went out, got all the stuff, and made Italian beef. My. husband. died. and. went. to. heaven. I've never seen him so enthusiastic about one of my dinners. Long story short, this recipe is a Kenny favorite. I cook it a lot during football season. I cook it a lot during the winter when it's cold. I cook it a lot.

This past year, I found the modified "hot and spicy" version and was mad I didn't think to do this myself. I now I have my own modified version, after cooking it a hundred times, a hundred ways. The off chance, I'm feeling overzealous, I do it in the cast iron dutch oven. Normally, I throw it in the crock pot. Mostly, I throw it in the crock pot and don't even bother searing the meat first. It all comes out delicious!

I put my beautiful hunk of chuck roast in the crock pot and season with salt and pepper.

This is important. Beef stock is WAY better than beef broth. It may be a buck extra but totally worth it.

I cover the roast with the remaining ingredients and cook on high because it is possible I was out playing with my friends and did my shopping late and need this ready in time for dinner.

The aroma that this meal emits in your house, will make you melt. After about 4-5 hours, I pull the roast and shred so I can remove all the nasty fat bits and return to the sauce to simmer. I learned from the Pioneer Woman that if a chuck roast is not tender it is UNDERcooked. I always assumed I had overcooked my roast when it was tough. Not true. If you have a tough roast - keep it going!

I served mine on a buttered hoagie toasted just right to melt the cheese. I paired with spicy, roasted red potatoes. Divine!

Hot & Spicy Italian Drip Beef

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours+

Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes, plus
(Modified from The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:

2 lb. Chuck Roast

Salt And Pepper

Italian Seasoning

Red Chili Flakes

16 ounces, fluid Beef Stock
1 can 16 oz. Crushed Tomatoes
1/2 jar of Pepperoncinis (stem removed)

1 jar (4 oz.) Pimentos

Warmed Hoagie Rolls
Slices of Provolone Cheese

Directions:

Place your chuck roast in a crock pot and season with salt and pepper. Add remaining ingredients and cook on high for 4 hours. Once meat is tender, remove roast and shred. Return to pot and simmer until ready to serve. Best served on toasted hoagies. 

Val's Version 

(Denver, CO)

This .Was. AMAZING. Jen killed it on our recipe for the week. Speaking of week … is Sunday considered the first day or last day of the week? I believe it's the last day. If that's true, then we are in good shape with this entry counting for the week. 

I am still in need of a dutch oven AND a cast iron skillet, so it's a good thing this recipe can be done in multiple ways. My initial plan was to crockpot it. BUT, fait thought otherwise. 

Today was a sad day for the Sherer household. My crockpot has been a devoted, loyal, faithful and diversified friend to me. I've known her for 12 years. Today … today she has passed on. She just couldn't take the heat anymore and had to go. 

(RIP Susie) 

Truth is - I had her on high heat with the ingredients on the OUTSIDE and she cracked straight through. Dumb move.

I loved that you could really use whatever you wanted when it came to the peppers and seasonings. This recipe called for spice, but we took a milder approach since we were sharing with the kiddos. 

Season with some salt and peppa and pan fry for about 2 minutes on each side.

I had Mike sear the beef because I couldn't handle the oil splatting and burning me anymore, while I cut up the peppers that weren't pre-jarred. 

There's something so enticing about a freshly seared hunk of beef ;)

Being that we had a man down, I ended up using one of my induction oven safe pots and took a new route. Loaded the pot up with 16 oz. beef broth, small can of crushed tow-maters, half a jar of nana peppers, one whole organic red and yellow peppers, 4 oz. jar of pimentos and then seasoned with additional oregano, garlic salt and onion powder. 

I let it cook in the oven for about 4 1/2 hours at 300 degrees. I would check every hour or so and flip the chuck roast and stir the sauce. 

Once I noticed it was fork tender, I pulled the roast and shredded it into big chunks. This was a bit time consuming since I despise metal utensils and have to be extra careful not to rub them together. Yes - I eat with plasticware unless we are at a super fancy restaurant. 

I threw the meat back into the pot and let it simmer on low heat until the sweet potatoes were ready. I didn't mess with taking out the fat because I had trimmed the roast prior to searing it. There was very little fat left and let's face it … we didn't have time for all that. We were famished every time we came in from playing out back and could smell the amazingness.

We roasted some diced up sweet potatoes for about 25 minutes at 425 degrees. They were seasoned with paprika, salt, pepper, rosemary and tossed in olive oil.

And BAM! There you have it. A show stopping Sunday dinner!! The meat was incredibly tender and carried out-of-this-world flavor!

Everyone devoured their initial serving and Daddy and I went back for seconds :) 

Thank you Pioneer Woman … this was an A+!

Hot & Spicy Italian Drip Beef

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours, or more

Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes, plus

Cast of Characters:

2 T Olive Oil
2 lb. Chuck Roast
Salt And Pepper

Garlic Salt (1 tsp.)

Onion Powder (1 tsp.)

Oregano (1 tsp.)
16 ounces, fluid Beef Stock
1 can 16 oz. Crushed Tomatoes
1 Organic Red Pepper

1 Organic Yellow Pepper

1/2 jar Banana Peppers
1 jar (4 oz.) Pimentos
Warmed Hoagie Rolls
Slices of Provolone Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy, large dutch oven over high heat (or oven-safe pan). Salt and pepper the chuck roast on both sides, then sear the roast until deep golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove roast from pot and set aside on a plate.

Reduce heat to medium. Pour in beef stock, whisking to scrape the bottom of the pan. Pour in crushed tomatoes, peppers and seasonings to taste. Stir to combine, then add the roasts back to the pot.

Place the lid on the pot and place the pot in the oven. Cook for 4 hours, or until meat is fork tender. If it's not, return the pot to the oven for another 30 to 45 minutes, or until it's falling apart. If you have time, allow the pot to cool slightly, then place it in the fridge for several hours to allow fat to harden at the surface. Use a spoon to scoop out the hardened fat (some fat is okay!) then heat it up again on the stovetop.

When the meat is heated again, remove the roasts to a cutting board. Use two forks to shred it into big chunks, then return the meat to the cooking liquid. Serve on toasted deli rolls with cheese melted on top (with extra peppers over the cheese!) You can also serve it with mashed potatoes or noodles.