This recipe is for my friend, Korin, who helped me serve this to a small crowd several weeks ago. Thanks Korin! It’s too bad that I did not think to take a picture… Just trust us, it looked as delicious as it tasted.
I had made the beef in advance (in a crock pot) due to schedule demands, and at mealtime just had to heat it up in the oven. To carry out the Philly Cheese Steak theme, Korin sliced mushrooms (into the most perfectly thin slices I’ve ever seen!), cut up some sweet Vidalia onions, and sauteed them both in a skillet. We topped the hot beef with the mushrooms, onions and some provolone cheese and popped it back into the oven so the cheese could melt. The hungry lunch guests ate this beef on slider rolls with steak sauce and hot pickled peppers (pepperoncini) on the side.
This recipe is so easy, it’s like cheating. Starting with the good piece of beef helps, and slow cooking in the crock pot allows the flavors to blend and ensures the meat is tender and juicy. Once it is in the crock pot, it demands nothing of your time until you do the mushrooms and onions. So it’s great for any party when you want something you can keep warm in the crock pot or something you can do in advance (like we did).
Ingredients:
Sirloin Roast – approximately 3 to 5 pounds
Good Seasons Dry Italian Salad Dressing Mix – 1 to 2 packets, depending on the size of your sirloin roast
Water – about 1 cup – the meat will make some broth as it slow cooks, the water is just giving it a head start and preventing it from sticking.
1 to 2 pounds whole mushrooms, thin sliced
1 to 2 large sweet onions, such as Vidalia onions, thin sliced
Olive Oil
Provolone Cheese – slices or shredded
Directions:
Place the meat in a crock pot, sprinkle the Italian seasoning on top and add the water. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. As the meat begins to break up, use a fork to coarsely shred it. Do not over shred! Taste to see if you want to add more Italian seasoning mix. If you add more, let it cook a bit longer to blend the flavors.
To Serve from the Crock Pot:
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the onion slices. Saute until they are nicely browned and transfer to a bowl. Add a little more olive oil to the skillet and saute the mushrooms until they are browned. Add the onions back to the skillet and saute another minute or so to heat through and combine the flavors. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the mushrooms and onions to the crock pot and top with provolone cheese. Put the lid back on and let the cheese melt.
To Make In Advance:
Follow the directions to make the beef in the crock pot. When it is tender, shredded and seasoned to your taste, transfer to a storage container and refrigerate. To serve, heat the beef in a covered pan in a 250 degree oven until heated through (add a little water if necessary) and follow the directions to saute the onions and mushrooms like Korin and I did in the introductory story. Top with the mushrooms, onions and provolone cheese and return to the oven until the cheese melts.
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