Grant County Gourmet: Cheesesteaks are better with a little sauce

I’ve not had an official cheesesteak, those being rather rare in the Basin. Simply put, a cheesesteak is a sandwich made from thinly sliced pieces of steak and melted cheese in a long hoagie roll. Supposedly they originated in the Philadelphia area.

I was asked to make up a meal the other day, and was presented with a package of thin sliced chuck steaks, and another package of skirt steak. I thinly sliced the chuck, then cut the strips in half. The skirt steak cut into longs strips across the grain, then sliced them into smaller pieces, so someone would not get a mouthful of something chewy.

I didn’t have the large pan to brown the meat in, so I set up to cook in batches. I put a tablespoon of butter in the pan and then got it really hot before placing a double handful of meat in it. I then seasoned it lightly with a seasoned salt blend and a little Worcestershire sauce. A minute or so later I noticed that the meat was putting out a lot of liquid and the meat was starting to steam instead of brown. I got a bowl out and carefully poured out the water and returned the pan to high heat to brown properly. I did the same with the next batch of meat, getting both batches browned nicely with crispy bits of meat all over.

I wound up with about a cup and a half of juice from the meat, plus the pan had a really nice fond across the bottom. I didn’t want to toss out all that flavor, so here is where I departed from the traditional cheesesteak and made up a sauce to pour over the meat when done.

I poured the juice back in the pan over medium heat and carefully scraped the fond back into the juice, which really darkened it. The flavor was good, but it needed more punch, so I added a teaspoon of cumin and a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, then 2 cups heavy cream to make up a sauce. After letting it reduce to thicken, I tasted the sauce to see if it needed any final adjustments before removing from the heat.

The last thing I need was real cheese. I won’t use American, but I did want something that would still melt a bit. I picked up a mild cheddar and sliced it thinly.

To assemble, I had placed a hoagie roll on a plate, placed on some of the meat with the sauce, and then topped with the cheese.

SAUCY CHEESESTEAK

1 tablespoon butter, optional

1 lb thin sliced beef

Seasoned salt, to taste

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon cumin

Hoagie rolls

Mild cheddar cheese, sliced thinly

In a large pan, melt half the butter until hot. Place in half of the meat and brown until crispy. Pour off any juices and reserve. Finish the rest of the beef in a second batch. Place beef in a bowl and cover to retain heat. In the pan, place back over high heat and add reserved juices and seasonings. Add cream and bring to a boil to heat through, then reduce the heat to a simmer to thicken. To serve, put a hoagie on a plate, place on a serving of beef, spoon over with the sauce, then top with cheese.