Hello Pitmasters! I have had a few folks reach out to me recently asking me how I do my steak sandwiches. That being said, I thought I would put together a recipe with my techniques, what to buy and how I prepare my sandwiches. I know, I know, what the heck does a guy from MN know about steak sandwiches? Well, here is what I know. 
What to buy
1) The Meat: I always buy 4.5 lbs of ribeye at my local butcher (Von Hansen's Meats) I tell them to slice the meat really thin, as thin as they can make it. Usually telling them to slice it like they would deli meat gets the point across. Having it shaved thin makes it easy to chop and break down on the flat top. Why Ribeye? It is not cheap, I know....however it is great for this recipe because it is tender and has plenty of fat. These are both key for the chopping and breaking down on the flat top. (More on that below)
2) Two large white onions. I like to get the largest onions I can because I love onions. If you are not a fan of them, you can skip them, but I recommend you give them a shot in these sandwiches.
3) Baby Bella Mushrooms. I simply buy the packs of these at the store. Nothing special here.
4) The bread: I might get some flak for this, but I like to go to Jimmy John's or Milio's and buy four loaves of bread from them. The bread is perfect for these sandwiches. And it is cheap at about $1 a loaf. (You get two big sandwiches out of each loaf) You can buy any bread you like.
5) Last but not least....The CHEESE! I have found my favorite combo is White American cheese and Gouda. Both of these cheeses melt really well and they add creaminess to the whole mix. You can use any cheese you like, but I would encourage you to use a cheese that melts easily.
Procedure:
1) Unpack the sliced ribeye and spread it all out evenly on the butcher paper. Give the meat a good seasoning. I like to use a local favorite, but anything will do. Once you have the meat all seasoned up, pack it back together and place it in the fridge until you are ready to cook. Here is my niece, Sara, helping me. You can see how thin the meat is sliced.
2) Preheat your griddle for the magic that is about to happen. I always set my 36" Blackstone to high on all the burners. You want to chase the heat while you are making these to make sure you get excellent browning on the meat. We will turn the heat down on the flat top, once we add the cheese to the mix.
3) While the flat top is preheating. Cut up the onions and mushrooms. I like to cut the onions into strips, but that is all personal preference.
4) Once the flat top is heated up, add some oil. I like to use Avocado oil because it has a high smoking point.
5) Add the onions to one end of the flat top and then add mushrooms next to them. I like to keep them separate for now as they cook a little bit differently. You want to make sure they are browning over high heat to get a lot of the moisture cooked out of them.
6) After letting the mushrooms and onions cook for about 10 mins, it is time to add the meat. I add the meat to one side of the griddle for now. Leave the middle of the griddle open, if you can. We want to make sure we have a hot surface to flip the meat too.. (Forgive the steam, it was about -10 F when I was taking these pics) We want to spread the meat out as much as possible, into a thin layer, across the flat top. And let it cook for a few minutes. This will help us break the meat down once we flip it all together.
7) Once you see the meat start to brown, begin to fold the meat onto itself. Making a pile over the same section of the griddle you started on, while keeping the heat on HIGH. This is where the chopping begins. Try to keep the side edge of the spatula flat to the griddle surface as you chop through the meat. I simply use the Blackstone spatula to chop, but you can use whatever you want. You want to vigorously chop through the meat pile. At this point, the idea is not really to chop the meat on the surface of the griddle, but rather, chop through the piled meat which will break it up faster. You will start to hit the griddle once it is really chopped up. Continually fold the meat over itself and chop, over and over again until it is all chopped up. (This is where the thinly sliced meat really makes it easy) It should look like this when it is ready for the next step.
8) Now we head over to the other side of the griddle and we move the onions and mushrooms to the center of the griddle. Then we pull the meat over to the middle as well. Now, we mix it all together! Go back and fourth across the flat top making sure to spread the mixture out thinly, then bringing it all back together numerous times until everything is well mixed. Chasing the heat on the flat top.
9) Once the meat, onions and mushrooms are all mixed well, let the mixture sit on the flat top and cook for a few minutes. This allows some of the grease to drain away from the pile and it gets you some additional browning.
10) Now for the cheese! Spread the meat out so it is about an inch thick and add the cheese. I add enough to completely cover the meat mixture. You can add more if you'd like, I find the more the better!
Let that cheese melt for a little bit, lower the heat to low and then start to flip the whole mixture together, just like we did before. Once everything is really well mixed up, allow the mixture to sit on the flat top for a little while. A few mins should do it. This, again, allows a lot of the grease to drain away. I will push the grease away from the pile to allow for more of the grease to drain. (Don't worry, there will be plenty of fat left in there)
11) Once you give it a few minutes on the flat top with the grease draining, we are ready to unload it from the flat top. Pile the mixture into a bowl and get ready to build your sandwich.
12) Now it is time to build your sandwich. I like to remove some of the bread from the inside of the loaf in order to fit more of the meat mixture in the loaf. I add a generous helping of mayo to the bread and then add the meat mixture. Some people like to add banana pepper to the top of the sandwich before they serve them. I know it does not look like there is much cheese in there, but believe me, these are plenty cheesy!
I hope some of you give this a try. They are really tasty and once you give it a go once, they are fun and easy to make. Thanks for reading and enjoy! Let me know what you think!
Keep the smoke rollin'
-John
What to buy
1) The Meat: I always buy 4.5 lbs of ribeye at my local butcher (Von Hansen's Meats) I tell them to slice the meat really thin, as thin as they can make it. Usually telling them to slice it like they would deli meat gets the point across. Having it shaved thin makes it easy to chop and break down on the flat top. Why Ribeye? It is not cheap, I know....however it is great for this recipe because it is tender and has plenty of fat. These are both key for the chopping and breaking down on the flat top. (More on that below)
2) Two large white onions. I like to get the largest onions I can because I love onions. If you are not a fan of them, you can skip them, but I recommend you give them a shot in these sandwiches.
3) Baby Bella Mushrooms. I simply buy the packs of these at the store. Nothing special here.
4) The bread: I might get some flak for this, but I like to go to Jimmy John's or Milio's and buy four loaves of bread from them. The bread is perfect for these sandwiches. And it is cheap at about $1 a loaf. (You get two big sandwiches out of each loaf) You can buy any bread you like.
5) Last but not least....The CHEESE! I have found my favorite combo is White American cheese and Gouda. Both of these cheeses melt really well and they add creaminess to the whole mix. You can use any cheese you like, but I would encourage you to use a cheese that melts easily.
Procedure:
1) Unpack the sliced ribeye and spread it all out evenly on the butcher paper. Give the meat a good seasoning. I like to use a local favorite, but anything will do. Once you have the meat all seasoned up, pack it back together and place it in the fridge until you are ready to cook. Here is my niece, Sara, helping me. You can see how thin the meat is sliced.
2) Preheat your griddle for the magic that is about to happen. I always set my 36" Blackstone to high on all the burners. You want to chase the heat while you are making these to make sure you get excellent browning on the meat. We will turn the heat down on the flat top, once we add the cheese to the mix.
3) While the flat top is preheating. Cut up the onions and mushrooms. I like to cut the onions into strips, but that is all personal preference.
4) Once the flat top is heated up, add some oil. I like to use Avocado oil because it has a high smoking point.
5) Add the onions to one end of the flat top and then add mushrooms next to them. I like to keep them separate for now as they cook a little bit differently. You want to make sure they are browning over high heat to get a lot of the moisture cooked out of them.
6) After letting the mushrooms and onions cook for about 10 mins, it is time to add the meat. I add the meat to one side of the griddle for now. Leave the middle of the griddle open, if you can. We want to make sure we have a hot surface to flip the meat too.. (Forgive the steam, it was about -10 F when I was taking these pics) We want to spread the meat out as much as possible, into a thin layer, across the flat top. And let it cook for a few minutes. This will help us break the meat down once we flip it all together.
7) Once you see the meat start to brown, begin to fold the meat onto itself. Making a pile over the same section of the griddle you started on, while keeping the heat on HIGH. This is where the chopping begins. Try to keep the side edge of the spatula flat to the griddle surface as you chop through the meat. I simply use the Blackstone spatula to chop, but you can use whatever you want. You want to vigorously chop through the meat pile. At this point, the idea is not really to chop the meat on the surface of the griddle, but rather, chop through the piled meat which will break it up faster. You will start to hit the griddle once it is really chopped up. Continually fold the meat over itself and chop, over and over again until it is all chopped up. (This is where the thinly sliced meat really makes it easy) It should look like this when it is ready for the next step.
8) Now we head over to the other side of the griddle and we move the onions and mushrooms to the center of the griddle. Then we pull the meat over to the middle as well. Now, we mix it all together! Go back and fourth across the flat top making sure to spread the mixture out thinly, then bringing it all back together numerous times until everything is well mixed. Chasing the heat on the flat top.
9) Once the meat, onions and mushrooms are all mixed well, let the mixture sit on the flat top and cook for a few minutes. This allows some of the grease to drain away from the pile and it gets you some additional browning.
10) Now for the cheese! Spread the meat out so it is about an inch thick and add the cheese. I add enough to completely cover the meat mixture. You can add more if you'd like, I find the more the better!
Let that cheese melt for a little bit, lower the heat to low and then start to flip the whole mixture together, just like we did before. Once everything is really well mixed up, allow the mixture to sit on the flat top for a little while. A few mins should do it. This, again, allows a lot of the grease to drain away. I will push the grease away from the pile to allow for more of the grease to drain. (Don't worry, there will be plenty of fat left in there)11) Once you give it a few minutes on the flat top with the grease draining, we are ready to unload it from the flat top. Pile the mixture into a bowl and get ready to build your sandwich.
12) Now it is time to build your sandwich. I like to remove some of the bread from the inside of the loaf in order to fit more of the meat mixture in the loaf. I add a generous helping of mayo to the bread and then add the meat mixture. Some people like to add banana pepper to the top of the sandwich before they serve them. I know it does not look like there is much cheese in there, but believe me, these are plenty cheesy!
I hope some of you give this a try. They are really tasty and once you give it a go once, they are fun and easy to make. Thanks for reading and enjoy! Let me know what you think!
Keep the smoke rollin'
-John
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