Italian Beef Hoagies
This recipe guides you through preparing Italian Beef Hoagies by slow-cooking a boneless sirloin tip roast with Italian salad dressing mix and mild pepper rings. The result is succulent, flavorful beef served on hoagie buns, perfect for feeding a crowd with minimal active effort.
Equipment
- 1 Large Dutch Oven or Slow Cooker For slow-cooking the sirloin roast to tenderness.
- 1 Sharp Carving Knife Essential for thinly slicing the cooked beef.
- 1 Cutting Board For preparing and slicing the roast.
- 1 Liquid Measuring Cup For accurate measurement of water.
- 1 Serving Tongs For easily transferring beef and peppers to buns.
Ingredients
Main
- 1 4 pound boneless sirloin tip roast, halved
- 2 .7 ounce packages Italian salad dressing mix
- 2 cups water
- 1 16 ounce jar mild pepper rings, undrained
- 18 hoagie buns split
Instructions
- Halve the boneless sirloin tip roast and place it into a large Dutch oven or slow cooker.
- Sprinkle both packages of Italian salad dressing mix evenly over the beef halves.
- Add 2 cups of water and the entire jar of undrained mild pepper rings to the pot.
- Cover the pot and cook on low heat for approximately 8-9 hours, or until the beef is incredibly tender and easily pulls apart.
- Once cooked, carefully remove the beef from the cooking liquid and allow it to rest for about 10-15 minutes.
- Using a sharp carving knife, thinly slice the beef against the grain for maximum tenderness.
- Return the thinly sliced beef to the hot cooking liquid to keep it warm and infused with flavor.
- Split the hoagie buns lengthwise and, if desired, lightly toast them for added texture.
- Generously fill each toasted hoagie bun with the sliced Italian beef and some of the mild pepper rings from the pot.
- Serve the Italian beef hoagies hot, offering extra cooking liquid ('au jus') on the side for dipping.
Notes
For exceptionally tender beef, slice it thinly against the grain after cooking. A slow cooker is ideal for the extended cooking time (over 8 hours) to allow the sirloin to become fall-apart tender and absorb the flavors fully. To enhance the sandwich, lightly toast the hoagie buns before filling and consider adding a spoonful of hot giardiniera for an authentic Chicago-style kick. Don't discard the cooking liquid; it's essential for dipping the finished sandwiches, known as 'au jus'.