Chicago roast is slow cooker shredded beef. It’s a mash-up combining the popular Crock Pot Italian Beef, itself a homestyle ode to the Chicago style sandwich, with the butter bomb of an “internet sensation” known as Mississippi Roast.
When the Mississippi Roast showed up on my radar in 2016 via New York Times, it echoed my sister’s Crock Pot Italian Beef from our 2004 family cookbook: 4# beef roast, 1# giardiniera (drained), 1# peperoncini, 1 packet Good Seasons Zesty Italian dressing mix, and 1 can beef broth, all braised in a slow cooker for a long time. Shredded and served on French rolls with the jus, it evokes a Chicago style Italian Beef sandwich, without the onerous need for a meat slicer.
The Mississippi Roast also calls for peperoncini, but diverges with ranch dressing and most notably, a generous amount of butter. When I tried the NYT version, butter was the standout flavor. Deliciously so.
Moving back to Chicago caused a bit of a resurgence in my giardiniera exposure. It shows up everywhere here — on Italian beef sandwiches, pizza, sub sandwiches. And there’s always a jar hanging out in my refrigerator.
So I revisited my family recipe, added my own spin, and blessed it with butter. A chuck roast cooked until it’s falling apart and easily shredded generates a fair amount of fat. So I use only a small chunk of butter, just enough for a hint of sweet buttery richness.
Still, Chicago Roast is incredibly rich, ready to pair with potatoes, pasta, or egg noodles. If I’m boiling a pot of noodles, I like to throw in some carrots and/or broccoli for an easy way to add vegetables. Of course slow cooker shredded beef is also right at home as a sandwich, no embellishment needed. Though if you want more please, add sautéed green peppers and/or pickled jalapeños. Maybe melt some mozzarella or provolone on top.
My spins include onions and red wine, obvious really, because it tastes and smells like home. In lieu of wine, you could use water or stock with a splash of red wine vinegar. I like to throw in a small piece of parmesan rind, but consider it optional or just a reminder to keep a stash in the freezer. Go spicy or mild with the giardiniera.
Chicago Roast: Slow Cooker Italian Beef
EQUIPMENT
- medium size slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 3-pound beef chuck roast
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ large onion sliced
- ½ cup mild giardiniera mostly solids
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- pinch crushed red pepper flakes omit if using hot giardiniera
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 inch parmesan rind (optional)
Instructions
- Rub salt and pepper all over the roast, then rub on the flour. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Brown the roast about 3 minutes per side over medium-high heat.
- Put sliced onions in the slow cooker pot. Set the roast over the onions in slow cooker.
- Use a slotted spoon to scoop giardiniera from jar, measuring out mostly vegetables with just a small amount of the oil. Pour 1/2 cup of giardiniera on top of roast.
- Sprinkle oregano, basil, fennel seeds, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper flakes over the roast.
- Add chunk of butter on top of the roast.
- Pour red wine into slow cooker pot with roast. Tuck the bay leaf and parmesan rind (if using) between roast and side of slow cooker pot.
- Put the cover of the slow cooker in place.
- Set to low heat and cook for 7 – 8 hours or until roast is very falling-apart tender and shreds easily with little to no resistance.
- Remove bay leaf and parmesan rind. (Though I prefer to leave all the drippings, if you like, now would be the time to skim out a little of the accumulated fat, though some is needed to provide succulence to the meat.)
- Use two forks to pull apart or shred the roast, stirring gently to coat the beef with fat and juices released during cooking.
Notes
- As a substitute for red wine, use an equal amount of water or stock, in which case I would also add a tablespoon of red wine vinegar.
- Use hot giardiniera in place of mild for more heat/spicy flavor.
- Using a parmesan rind to flavor the jus is optional. Omit if you don’t have one. But consider this a suggestion to keep rinds from Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese that you’ve used up. They are useful for adding flavor to stocks and sauces. I keep a stash in the freezer.
- When the chuck roast is done, it will be falling-apart tender. The internal temperature of the meat will be about 200 degrees F. At this point, connective tissues have dissolved into gelatin. The meat fibers, though well done, have a perceived tenderness – “the delightful texture of slow-cooked meats” – that comes from shredding the meat and coating it with the accumulated juices from cooking. (reference: On Food and Cooking, 2004, by Harold McGee, p 150-152).
- Serving Suggestions: Serve with egg noodles or elbow pasta. Cook some sliced carrots or broccoli in the boiling water along with the noodles for an easy way to add vegetables. Or pile the shredded beef on rolls for a sandwich. Add some sautéed green peppers, maybe some pickled jalapeños, or melt some mozzarella on top.
