Ultimate Cheesesteak Recipe

Fourth of July week. Smaller cookout this year — twenty-two people. Mai didn't come (still recovering), so I scaled down. James cooked the brisket. Tyler and Jessica drove in for the long weekend. Marcus and Jade fell asleep in the same bumper chair at one point — Marcus on Jade, Jade not seeming to mind, both of them out cold while the adults laughed quietly and Tyler took a photograph that will be on his phone for the rest of his life.

Bill — my old AA sponsor, eighty-three years old — came to the cookout this year for the first time. His wife Helen drove him. He had a cold beer (non-alcoholic, the kind he's drunk for forty-six years) and ate a plate of brisket and sat in a lawn chair next to my father's old folding chair (which I had brought out of the garage in his memory) and held court. Bill is the elder of my AA life. He sponsored me from 2009 to 2017, when he stepped back from active sponsoring. He still attends every Tuesday meeting. He still calls me on March 14 every year. He has been a constant in seventeen years of my life. He is older now. He is slowing down. I sat with him in the cookout chair for an hour at one point and we just watched the kids run around. He said, "Bobby. This is what we get." I said, "Yes, Bill. This is what we get." We get the kids. We get the food. We get to still be here.

Made banh mi with the leftover brisket Monday. Three sandwiches. Ate one for lunch, one for dinner, saved one for Smokey-adjacent breakfast Tuesday (which means I ate it standing in the kitchen at 6 AM with Smokey watching me). The brisket banh mi continues to be the best application of leftover brisket in any cuisine. Vietnamese-Texas fusion in a baguette. Twenty years of refinement. Should be in the cookbook. Will be in the cookbook.

The brisket banh mi will always be the move for Monday leftovers — twenty years of refinement, and I stand by it — but when people ask me what beef sandwich I’d make if I were starting from scratch, no leftovers, just a clean kitchen and a hungry room, the answer is the cheesesteak every time. Watching Bill eat that plate of brisket in the lawn chair, watching the kids run in circles while the adults laughed quietly, I kept thinking about the particular dignity of a great beef sandwich: simple, generous, no performance required. This is that sandwich. You don’t need a holiday to justify it. You just need people you want to feed.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ribeye steak, trimmed and sliced paper-thin (freeze for 30 minutes first for easier slicing)
4 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise
1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
8 slices provolone cheese (or 1/2 cup Cheez Whiz, warmed)
2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 tbsp neutral oil (canola or vegetable)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper, plus more to taste
Optional: sliced mushrooms, hot cherry peppers, mayo for the rolls

Instructions

Freeze and slice the steak. Place ribeye in the freezer for 25—30 minutes until firm but not fully frozen. Using a sharp knife, slice as thin as possible against the grain. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and set aside.
Toast the rolls. Heat a large cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium heat. Melt 1 tbsp butter and place rolls cut-side down in the pan. Toast until golden, about 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Cook the vegetables. In the same skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil and remaining 1 tbsp butter. Add the onion and bell pepper with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly caramelized, 8—10 minutes. Push to the side of the pan or transfer to a plate.
Cook the steak. Increase heat to high. Add the sliced ribeye in a single layer — work in batches if needed to avoid steaming. Let it sear undisturbed for 1 minute, then chop and fold with a spatula, breaking it into rough pieces. Cook another 1—2 minutes until just cooked through with some caramelized edges. Season to taste.
Combine and melt the cheese. Stir the onions and peppers back into the steak. Divide the mixture into 4 portions in the pan. Lay 2 slices of provolone over each portion. Cover the pan with a lid or foil for 1 minute to melt the cheese completely.
Assemble. Using a spatula, scoop each cheesy portion directly into a toasted hoagie roll. Serve immediately — cheesesteaks do not wait.

Nutrition (per serving)

Ultimate Cheesesteak Recipe — The Beef Sandwich That Carries a Crowd