I have never eaten a Philly cheesesteak in my life. But somehow, I feel like I have known this sandwich since I was a kid.
So I tried to create one for Cheat Day Ericeira.
As usual, I didn’t stay on the path towards the original recipe—which probably doesn’t really exist anyway. Everyone seems to have their own idea of what a Philly cheesesteak should be.
I started with the thinly sliced beef normally used for Portuguese pregos. That was also how the name for our version was born: the Philly Cheese Prego.
Unfortunately, the beef didn’t work as well as I had hoped. It was too chewy, and I was missing that deep beef flavour I wanted from the sandwich.
So I turned to an old friend: short rib, or costela as it is called here in Portugal.
I made a simple stock with a few spices and left the beef in the oven for ten hours. It came out exactly how I wanted it. The beef flavour was strong, the texture was right, and everyone in the kitchen loved it.
Some Philly cheesesteaks come with fried peppers, so I started experimenting with those next. First, I roasted them and made something like an Italian salad with capers and walnuts.
That was a dead end.
It was far too complex, and the texture didn’t work with the meat. So I went in the opposite direction and pickled the peppers instead. The crunch and vinegar gave the rich beef exactly what it needed.
We put the Philly Cheese Prego on as a Sunday Special.
Three hours later, it was sold out.