Description
Hearty Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches promise a flavor-packed journey through Italian-American culinary traditions. Tender, slow-cooked beef nestled in crusty rolls delivers comforting deliciousness you’ll crave again and again.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Protein:
- 3 to 4 pounds (1.36 to 1.81 kilograms) boneless beef chuck roast
Seasoning and Liquid:
- 2 cups (473 milliliters) low-sodium beef broth
- 1 packet (0.7 ounces or 19.8 grams) Italian salad dressing mix
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 jar (16 ounces or 454 grams) sliced pepperoncini peppers, with juice
Serving Components:
- 12 hoagie rolls
- 12 slices provolone cheese
- Optional: spicy giardiniera or pickled vegetables for serving
Instructions
- Meticulously trim excess fat from chuck roast and segment into substantial chunks, ensuring uniform sizing for consistent cooking.
- Transfer meat chunks into a spacious slow cooker, creating an even base layer for optimal flavor distribution.
- Generously sprinkle Italian salad dressing mix and seasoning across the meat, ensuring comprehensive coverage.
- Pour entire jar of pepperoncini peppers with its tangy liquid, complementing the beef broth to create a robust braising liquid.
- Secure slow cooker lid and allow meat to simmer on low temperature for 8-10 hours, enabling gradual tenderization and flavor development.
- Carefully extract meat from cooking liquid and utilize two forks to meticulously shred into delicate, succulent strands.
- Reintroduce shredded beef into its original cooking liquid, stirring gently to reabsorb surrounding aromatics.
- Activate oven’s broiler function while preparing hoagie rolls, slicing them open with precision.
- Strategically arrange rolls on baking sheet and generously pile shredded beef using tongs for controlled portioning.
- Crown each sandwich with a pristine slice of provolone cheese, positioning under broiler for 1-2 minutes until cheese becomes gloriously melted and slightly golden.
- Optional: Embellish with spicy giardiniera or pickled vegetables for additional zesty complexity.
- Serve immediately while maintaining peak temperature and textural integrity.
Notes
- Choose chuck roast with good marbling for maximum tenderness and rich flavor that melts in your mouth during slow cooking.
- Trim excess fat carefully to reduce greasiness while maintaining juicy meat texture throughout the cooking process.
- Provolone cheese adds creamy richness, but swap with mozzarella or pepper jack for different flavor profiles and dietary preferences.
- Prevent dry meat by ensuring consistent low and slow cooking, which breaks down tough connective tissues and creates ultra-tender beef.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 to 10 hours
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Snacks
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 12
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 34g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 24g
- Cholesterol: 80mg