A French Dip Sandwich with a Philly Cheesesteak twist! These juicy, instant pot/slow cooker Philadelphia-style French Dip sandwiches offer so much satisfying goodness for both the meat eaters and the pile-on-the-toppings lovers.
First, the meat is cooked with onions and peppers in the Instant Pot or slow cooker with beef broth, worcestershire, soy, garlic and seasonings, then it’s sliced thin and given a second bath in the delicious juices. Finally it’s smothered with more caramelized onions, sauteed peppers, mushrooms and melted cheese. What’s not to love about that?
Watching Philadelphia suddenly highlighted in the midst of the 2020 election got my food-oriented brain thinking about Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. My kids and I were all on board with this: so much so that we actually ordered takeout from our local Philly Cheesesteak restaurant (yes, we actually have one here in SD and it’s really good!) My daughter and I split a sandwich because I can never eat one of those big sammies all on my own. My son ordered his own sandwich and then the two of them split an order of chicken strips. Since we had takeout, I had the opportunity to top my half a sandwich just the way I like it, loaded with sauteed onions and peppers, with extra melty cheese on top. Mmmmm it was SO good.
But my craving wasn’t quite satisfied with that little half sandwich. My thoughts kept returning to all things Philly Cheesesteak … I dreamed of Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches, Philly Cheesesteak stuffed potatoes, and Philly Cheesesteak pizza. My mind travelled back to my early bloggy days when I made a Philly Cheesesteak style French Dip sandwich. I felt a STRONG urge to re-make that beauty of a recipe, oh so many years later. I changed it up a bit, made it in my Instant Pot (which was not even a thing back when I started this blog) from a mostly-frozen roast. (I did do a tiny bit of thawing, just to help get it out of the package.) If you’re using an Instant Pot for this recipe, you can start from frozen, but if you’re using a crockpot/slow cooker, you definitely want to thaw the meat before you begin cooking.
Now I know for some of you, a good sandwich is all about the meat, and that’s cool. For me, I want LOTS of veggies on my sandwiches, especially when it involves caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and peppers. Fortunately, this recipe works for both the meat lovers AND the veggie lovers. Simply adjust your sandwich fillings accordingly! (Oh if only our political differences could be solved that easily! But humans are complex and the issues we face are complex … and social media is messy, but let’s focus on sandwich.) Yes, Sandwich. Because we all love a good sandwich, right?
What type of meat to use for these French Dips?
You can use just about any cut of venison or beef for this recipe. This is a great budget recipe because you can stick to the lower-cost cuts. It works well with venison (or antelope or elk) too! I used a 2-lb. venison roast (I am not sure if it was a shoulder or rump roast, but either works fine.)
Soaking the thin-sliced meat in the juices after slicing makes it super flavorful and juicy, just what you want in a sandwich. And then offering the lovely seasoned broth on the side for dipping, that’s just an extra juicy bonus that makes it all taste just a little bit better.
I know you’re going to love these flavorful sandwiches. If you need a gluten free option, simply use gluten free buns.
For those of you that want low-carb options, I have ideas for you!
- Wrap the filling into a low-carb wrap
- Make a Philly cheesesteak lettuce wrap, bowl or salad (which, honestly, is what happened to most of this sandwich … after a couple bites of the bread I was near full but still wanting to continue eating the good filling, so I scooped out the filling onto the salad and ate it that way)
- Stuff the cheesesteak filling onto portabella mushroom halves and roast, topped with cheese
- Make Philly cheesesteak stuffed peppers in a similar fashion
- Turn it into a Philly cheesesteak soup or casserole
Philly Cheesesteak Style French Dips
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 1 hour (for Instant Pot method)
- Total Time: 1 hr 15 min
- Yield: 4 – 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker, Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the meat:
- 1 Tablespoon grass-fed butter
- 2 lb. beef or venison roast (if pressure cooking, it’s ok to use frozen)
- 1 head garlic, all cloves peeled
- 1 large onion, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
- (optional) 1 jalapeno or green chile, seeded and cut into chunks
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped fine
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth (or 1 1/2 cups water plus 1 1/2 teaspoons better than beef boullion)
- Fresh ground pepper
For the sandwiches:
- Sauteed/caramelized onions, mushrooms and/or bell pepper strips
- Toasted hoagie buns or French rolls
- Swiss, provolone or American cheese
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a frying pan, then add the roast and sear until brown on all sides. (If using IP, can use the “saute” setting.)
- Put the garlic cloves, onion and pepper chunks in a mini food processor and pulse to chop into small bits. Sprinkle them on the bottom of your slow cooker or Instant Pot. Add the seasonings, sauces and broth, then set the roast on top. Add fresh ground pepper.
- Cover and pressure cook for 50 minutes or slow cook for 8 hours. Release pressure, unplug and let the meat sit in the juices to soak it back up for at least 30 minutes. Slice the meat as thinly as you can and put it back in the juices.
- Saute thin-sliced onion in a bit of butter until very tender and starting to brown, then add mushrooms and a splash of juices from the meat and cover until the mushrooms are tender. Season to taste and add the bell pepper strips. Cook and stir just briefly until the peppers are tender. Toast the buns.
- Move the veggies to the side of the pan and add some of the meat (with cooked peppers/onions and juices) to the pan. Top the veggies or meat with cheese, cover, reduce heat and let cook until the cheese is melted. Strain some of the juices from the crockpot/instant pot for the “au jus” dipping sauce, warming it briefly in the microwave if needed. Fill your buns with your desired amount of meat, veggies and/or cheese, serve with the au jus for dipping and enjoy!
Notes
Store any leftover meat in the juices in a covered container in the fridge, or freeze for later.
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