Philly Cheesesteaks

Wafer thin roast beef, caramelized onions, and sauteed bell peppers are piled into a hoagie roll and topped with melted provolone cheese. There's good reason why Philly is famous for these - they are delicious!

Over the summer, I hosted another round of chef camps for children and this year opted to cook from various regions of the country. For the north east, I sought recipes that I knew 5-7 year olds would be willing to try :) Since I'd never really made Philly Cheesesteaks (or, admittedly, been to Philly and tried an authentic one!), I went in search of one online that claimed to be authentic. I put it on our personal menu weeks out to try it and both me and my husband devoured them.

Oh. my. gosh. Perhaps one of the BEST sandwiches ever!! Plus, it's done in just one skillet in a few short minutes!

I knew the kids would love them, and they are incredibly easy to make, so I threw it on our chef camp menu. We opted on an onion and pepper free version for them and most scarfed it down. 

This recipe comes together amazingly fast because your deli does the hard work. You want to look for the rarest roast beef they have - ask the deli employee for help finding it. Because you're cooking the meat, you need it rare so you don't have dry, tough, overcooked beef on your sandwich. I also let the deli counter slice my provolone thin so that it would melt down easier. Pre-packaged would be fine but tends to be thicker.

Be sure and have all your ingredients ready as this comes together in 15 minutes or less!
 

Philly Cheesesteaks
4 large hoagie rolls
1 lb very rare deli roast beef, sliced wafer thin
1 white onion, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced (optional)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 lb provolone cheese, thinly sliced

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, drizzle in olive oil until the bottom is thinly coated. Add the onions and bell peppers, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized. This will take 6-8 minutes. Once caramelized, add the minced garlic, salt, and pepper to the pan. Stir and cook for 30 seconds.

Push the onion/pepper mix to the side of the skillet and add the sliced meat to the remainder of the pan. Cook, flipping the meat and chopped it into smaller pieces with a spatula, until the beef is no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Mix the meat, peppers, and onions together and taste for proper seasoning. Lower the heat to low.

Divide the mixture into four piles in your pan - one for each hoagie roll. Take a look at the shape of your roll and try to replicate it as much as possible with your meat. This will make flipping it easier.

Top all 4 portions with equal amounts of provolone and allow to melt.


Gently hollow out some of the top half of a roll and place on top of the melted cheese. Repeat with the remaining 3 piles of beef. Once the roll adheres to the cheese, quickly flip it over and add the bottom half of the roll. Flip back over, so the top half is back on top, and serve immediately.


Source: adapted from Food.com