Barbecue Cheesesteak

[MarketStEl]

Over in the Italian Beef vs. Philly Cheesesteak thread under General Food Topics, I proposed a sandwich that combines the signature foods of my native and adopted hometowns:

the barbecue cheesesteak.

I reported to the group that I would try a variant on my original version of this sandwich today and report back on the results.

Well, the results are in (my stomach), and I pronounce them satisfactory. Here's the recipe--try it yourself and let me know what you think.

For each sandwich, you will need:

1-3 slices thinly sliced steak for sandwiches (number of slices depends on thickness), thawed if frozen

1 teaspoon barbecue spice or barbecue rub

3 tablespoons barbecue sauce (see note)

1-2 slices American, Cheddar or Colby cheese

Fried onions (optional)

1 long sandwich roll

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Sprinkle barbecue spice on steak slices and rub into meat. Prepare a foil packet by arranging slices in a single layer on a sheet of aluminum foil, then covering them with sauce. Fold ends of foil sheet to enclose slices, then fold edges of foil inward and close packet.

Cook in packet at 450 degrees for 5-10 minutes. Open packet and place cheese slices on top. Return to oven for about 1 minute or until cheese just melts. Place filling into sandwich roll.

Note: I am partial to Gates Barbecue Sauce, widely available in the Kansas City area and by phone (info on web site). But there are plenty of other excellent Kansas City sauces you can try, including Arthur Bryant's (the place made famous by Calvin Trillin and Jimmy Carter, among others; Bryant's smoky, grainy sauce is like no other I've ever tasted) and Zarda Bar-B-Q (a newcomer relative to Bryant's and Gates', but right up there with those two in the sauce pantheon).

You can actually make your own version of Gates' sauce now that Ollie shared his recipe with Martha Stewart on her Food Network show this past spring. The recipe's no longer up on the Food Network web site, but if you'd like it, e-mail or PM me; I have a copy.

If you are lazy or short on time, you may use KC Masterpiece, the only Kansas City-style sauce that's widely available everywhere.

Again, let me know what you think of this concoction. Maybe AllRecipes will accept this submission!

Edited October 20, 2004 by MarketStEl (log)

[sladeums]

8<

You can actually make your own version of Gates' sauce now that Ollie shared his recipe with Martha Stewart on her Food Network show this past spring.  The recipe's no longer up on the Food Network web site, but if you'd like it, e-mail or PM me; I have a copy.

>8

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You can get the recipes from the show with Ollie Gates (sauce, rub and beans)

here:

click here for recipes from Martha Stewart cooking Barbecue with Ollie

[Andrew Fenton]

I dunno, Sandy. While I salute your commitment to the discipline of sandwichology, somehow the idea of combining barbecue with cheese gives me the willies; some pleasures are best left separate.

On the other hand, when I do have a cheesesteak, or a roast pork sandwich, I like to pimp it up with a little acid and spiciness (hot peppers are the way to go). So a really acid BBQ sauce (like Arthur Bryant's) might fill the same niche.

[MarketStEl]

Update, 23 December 2004:

On the above evening, I ventured over to the Letto Deli (208 S. 13th St.) for a cheesesteak and observed that the establishment had a "BBQ Cheese Steak" on the menu. Naturally, I ordered it.

What I got was Letto's standard issue cheesesteak -- which is pretty good as cheesesteaks go; the meat is very moist, fairly tender and not too chewy, and the cheese nicely melted -- doused with barbecue sauce from a ketchup dispenser (probably a foodservice brand). The sauce was a fairly typical tomato-ketchup-and-brown-sugar concoction.

This sandwich is okay, but the meat would have benefitted from a rub beforehand.

--Sandy, who suddenly wonders whether it would be (a) possible at all or (b) worthwhile to slow-smoke thinly sliced sirloin

[NulloModo]

Hmmm, not sure how sirloin would do being smoked, as it is fairly lean, but as soon as my smoker gets here I plan on doing a brisket, and possible trying a BBQ Cheesesteak from that.

[jschyun]

This does sound good, but I have to admit, at first I read the title as "Barbecue Cheesecake". Really need to check that vision soon.

[Rachel Perlow]

Me too! I checked the thread because, I thought, "what the hell is that?!"

[MarketStEl]

Me too! I checked the thread because, I thought, "what the hell is that?!"

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Well, now that it's been brought up, I'll wager that somewhere out there, some BBQ fiend is right now contemplating how one might go about creating such a thing.

[Rich Pawlak]

Me too! I checked the thread because, I thought, "what the hell is that?!"

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Well, now that it's been brought up, I'll wager that somewhere out there, some BBQ fiend is right now contemplating how one might go about creating such a thing.

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To me a BBQ cheesesteak is wrong; the taste componenets of the cheesesteak, onions, beef, grease, cheese, bread, augmented by either ketchup or hot sauce or mustard or peppers and such, are, to me, sacrosanct. To add barbeque sauce seems to kill all of the other basic flavors.

[herbacidal]

I'll agree with not really liking the idea of the BBQ cheesesteak.

But I do eat cheesesteaks with mushrooms, peppers, and mayonnaise sometimes.

In fact, my standard preferred method is with:

cheese (Whiz preferably, if not then American), steak, warmed hoagie roll,

fried onions, ketchup, mayonnaise, hot peppers, sweet peppers, mushrooms.

Of course, I've never had a cheesesteak with all that from anyplace other than a food cart.

When I'm at a place that doesn't use the preformed steak slices (such as Pat's I can go for less of those toppings.

[NulloModo]

Me too! I checked the thread because, I thought, "what the hell is that?!"

←

Well, now that it's been brought up, I'll wager that somewhere out there, some BBQ fiend is right now contemplating how one might go about creating such a thing.

←

To me a BBQ cheesesteak is wrong; the taste componenets of the cheesesteak, onions, beef, grease, cheese, bread, augmented by either ketchup or hot sauce or mustard or peppers and such, are, to me, sacrosanct. To add barbeque sauce seems to kill all of the other basic flavors.

←

Perhaps the addition of a heavy thick BBQ sauce would be too much, but what about a more traditional BBQ approach: getting that Q flavor from simply using smoked meat/cheese and maybe, just maybe, a light vinegar mop ? (I confess to enjoying cheesesteaks with a good bit of malt vinegar poured over them...)

[mrbigjas]

Me too! I checked the thread because, I thought, "what the hell is that?!"

←

Well, now that it's been brought up, I'll wager that somewhere out there, some BBQ fiend is right now contemplating how one might go about creating such a thing.

←

To me a BBQ cheesesteak is wrong; the taste componenets of the cheesesteak, onions, beef, grease, cheese, bread, augmented by either ketchup or hot sauce or mustard or peppers and such, are, to me, sacrosanct. To add barbeque sauce seems to kill all of the other basic flavors.

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i don't even put ketchup on it. meat, cheese/cheez, onions, and that's it.

[MarketStEl]

To me a BBQ cheesesteak is wrong; the taste componenets of the cheesesteak, onions, beef, grease, cheese, bread, augmented by either ketchup or hot sauce or mustard or peppers  and such, are, to me, sacrosanct.  To add barbeque sauce seems to kill all of the other basic flavors.

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i don't even put ketchup on it. meat, cheese/cheez, onions, and that's it.

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This is no doubt the Kansas Citian in me speaking, but I am of the opinion that there is nothing that cannot be improved by the addition of the right barbecue sauce. Including a Bloody Mary (Virgin Mary, in my case).

But I should note that when I said, in response to Rachel's post:

Me too! I checked the thread because, I thought, "what the hell is that?!"

←

Well, now that it's been brought up, I'll wager that somewhere out there, some BBQ fiend is right now contemplating how one might go about creating such a thing.

←

the thing in question was barbecue cheesecake, arising from a misreading of the topic title.

Now that's a truly strange concept. But as I said above, I'm sure that someone will manage to make it work somehow.

[MarketStEl]

Perhaps the addition of a heavy thick BBQ sauce would be too much, but what about a more traditional BBQ approach: getting that Q flavor from simply using smoked meat/cheese and maybe, just maybe, a light vinegar mop ?  (I confess to enjoying cheesesteaks with a good bit of malt vinegar poured over them...)

←

I think you may be on to something here.

Given my upbringing, I tend to think of tomato-based sauces first, but a vinegar-based North Carolina-style sauce might well work better with the cheesesteak.

If you go ahead and try your brisket idea, please report back to us on how it turns out.

[Andrew Fenton]

the thing in question was barbecue cheesecake, arising from a misreading of the topic title.

Now that's a truly strange concept.  But as I said above, I'm sure that someone will manage to make it work somehow.

Sure; base it around some sort of smoked cheese. I've had Stilton cheesecake that was pretty good- this wouldn't be any stranger. Heck, if you made it a savory cheesecake, the only thing strange would be the name.

[MarketStEl]

Hmmm, not sure how sirloin would do being smoked, as it is fairly lean, but as soon as my smoker gets here I plan on doing a brisket, and possible trying a BBQ Cheesesteak from that.

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...um, check out the photo in this post on the long-running "What did you fix for dinner?" thread.

Looks like all that's missing is the cheese. Well, it's white bread and not a steak roll, but who's quibbling?

OTOH, Tony Roma's sauce?

New York poseur.

[NulloModo]

Hmmm, not sure how sirloin would do being smoked, as it is fairly lean, but as soon as my smoker gets here I plan on doing a brisket, and possible trying a BBQ Cheesesteak from that.

←

...um, check out the photo in this post on the long-running "What did you fix for dinner?" thread.

Looks like all that's missing is the cheese. Well, it's white bread and not a steak roll, but who's quibbling?

OTOH, Tony Roma's sauce?

New York poseur.

←

That does look delicious.

According to UPS my Smoker is in Laurel, MD at the moment, and should be delivered tomorrow, yay! I will have to pick up an extension cord and some meat tomorrow so that when it arrives I will be ready, not sure if it will be brisket or pork butt first, might depend on what exactly the grocery store has in stock.