FOOD NEWS
The Distinction Between Roast Beef And Italian Beef Sandwiches
BY RYAN CASHMAN
While Boston and New York are home to the classic roast beef sandwich, Chicago has its own loaded Italian beef sandwich, and the two are not as similar as you’d think.
While leaner cuts, like top loin or round roast are most common for roast beef sandwiches, Italian beef is made with chuck roast, the classic pot roast cut full of rich fats.
Chuck requires slow cooking in beef broth to make it tender enough, and then it’s shredded together with some pepperoncini peppers and their brine to provide a mild, salty heat.
The toppings differ as well; a deli roast beef sandwich can be filled with almost anything, but Italian beef sandwiches are always topped with provolone cheese and Giardiniera.
The Italian beef sandwich is assembled by spreading tender chuck on a hoagie roll, adding the toppings, and then dipping the sandwich end in the broth, like a French dip.
Deli roast beef sandwiches, by contrast, are almost always served cold on several different types of bread with numerous toppings per a customer’s preference.