Cheesesteak Bar -Help Please

[DTro]

Has anyone ever done a cheesesteak sandwich bar for a small party?

My daughter would like me to have one for her party, so I am looking for ideas, techniques, and advice. I would like to have everything cooked before hand, so that means holding the beef some way so it still tastes fresh when making the sandwich. I was thinking of holding the beef in it in a savory au jus, similar to Meathead's Chicago beef sandwich recipe. Next to the beef I will have melted cheddar, Cheese Wiz, caramelized onions, and sautéed mushrooms. Guests will grab a roll and assemble their own sandwich.

I am thinking to use a steak cut, ribeye or strip, but I am worried about that drying out while holding. I am open for all options as long as it tastes ”Philly”. Thanks for any advice!

[jfmorris]

I think your plan seems solid. I would go with ribeye, as it has enough fat and marbling to keep it moist, and the au jus idea should help. That said, if you are making a LOT of this, your best cost per pound will be to buy a half or whole NY strip roast/loin or rib roast ("prime rib") if available.

Will it be exactly like a cheesesteak fresh off the griddle with the meat, onions and cheese combined? Maybe not. But it will be darned good!

[02ebz06]

Definitely ribeye.
Don't know if you have one, but I've used a steamer to keep homemade pastrami hot so people could make their own sandwiches.
Worked great.

[DTro]

02ebz06 6 Thanks for the steamer idea. I don't have an appliance type steamer, but it has gotten my thought process going. Its an option I didn't even think of.

jfmorris Thanks for the Costco roast idea. I would have picked up individual steak. I am also considering the cut pictured. It is New York strip already sliced for shabu shabu for under 10 bucks a pound . The marble looks pretty decent. It has been at my local Costco the past two times I have been in. Of course, Murphy's Law will probably kick in when I need it.

[jfmorris]

Yeah - with this already cut up that thin, I would consider it too! Then all you gotta do is chop it with your spatulas as you cook it. Heck, I did some cheesesteaks with "shaved beef" from Kroger that was probably sirloin tip or something cheaper, and those came out just fine.

[Murdy]

Most of the commercial Italian Beef, Philly Cheesesteak, etc., is probably not strip or rib-eye or even sirloin for that matter. It's more likely some iteration of round.

[shify]

For a cheesesteak, I'm not sure I'd go the soak in au jus route as it wouldn't taste the same but if you have a chafing dish thing, I think you can do with a thin pool of beef stock/au jus at the bottom and keep the meat mostly out of the broth. The steam should keep it warm without giving it the boiled taste/texture. Worst comes to worst, if it dries out a bit, you can then just the au jus to rescue it

[Murdy]

Here's some tips for making and holding a smooth melted cheese sauce:

https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-use-cornstarch-and-evaporated-milk-to-make-stable-emulsion-cheese-sauce

Sodium citrate can be purchased on Amazon.

[DTro]

Awesome Murdy, Thank you!

[WillTravelForFood]

Watch this video about how a "famous philly cheesesteak" place preps their food for a lunchtime service.

it may give some suggestions of things to think about when putting your own cheesesteaks together. Plus, it's kinda entertaining and educational...

[Jfrosty27]

Crazy. I’ll just eat one. Leave making them for the pros. 😵💫🙄

[DTro]

Appreciate the video WillTravelForFood. Dalessandro's Steaks is top of their game! Be there in a few weeks.

[Mosca]

I don’t think cheesesteak meat is very demanding. You can probably just hold it with a little jus, not a lot. And you could just add water and stir a little if the jus dries up some.

I’d sauté the onions, but not caramelized them. Also, make up some sautéed bell peppers. I’d go two green, then one each of red, yellow, and orange.

[DTro]

Bell peppers will be there....I just didn't want anyone to know, especially anyone from Philly. 😀

[02ebz06]

As for getting the meat, I've always just gone to the butcher counter in local grocery store and asked them to thin slice some ribeye for cheesesteaks.
Saved me from having to do the slicing.

[John Henry]

DTro: What a very nice idea for your daughter and her event!

Re:Good idea from 02ebz06: You might consider renting a food warmer at a local party/rental house. We have all seen them on buffet setups using sterno cans as warmers. They are stainless set-ups that use "hotel pans" for the food to drop into a sleeve, and use water warmed by the sterno. If properly monitored, they must be pretty useful to keep food at safe temps. (You will just need to be super-careful transferring your pan of hot beef in au jus to the warmer.)

Great advice also from jfMorris re: au jus for the warmer. You can make your own a/j with low salt beef broth and "sweated" onions and garlic percolating, then just drain out your broth when ready to eliminate the o and g for serving.

Finally, a note from my own lesson learned the hard way--If you have a true "help yourself" buffet, you might be somewhat surprised at portions to which guests help themselves. (Lean, cooked ribeye in au jus can do that to us all!) But am 'just sayin'--you may need to think about those who may wish to help themselves to 3/4-lb sized helpings for your planning.) Perhaps you may need to consider this for your purchasing or serving decisions.

Best wishes for a great event for you and your daughter and family.

[jfmorris]

Yeah - self serve can be a problem if you have that person in the serving line who is less than considerate of others. I've seen that a lot over the years. Put out meat and buns or tortillas or whatever, expecting folks to make sandwiches or tacos that are maybe 1/4 pound each, and some guy takes a pound of meat straight on his plate... if you TRULY want to control the meat and ensure everyone gets a fair shake, self serve doesn't always work out well...

[DTro]

John Henry Thanks for the well wishes and thanks for the well-thought-out advise! Going with your au jus recipe and buying a pair of handcuffs for my son. He is my biggest concern when it comes to help yourself beef!

[jfmorris]

John Henry brings up a good point about self-serve being sometimes problematic.

If this is a group of girl friends of your daughter, that's one thing. If there are teenage or 20-something guys in the mix, its more of a concern, and in that case, maybe you, your wife, your daughter, or someone hands folks a bun with meat, and they just do the toppings and cheese themselves... or you just plan for lots of extra meat for the inevitable inconsiderate person or two in the crowd.

[DTro]

Yes, really good point. Wanted it kind of hands off so we can mingle, but I'll think this through- Maybe I just hire a bouncer😀

[WillTravelForFood]

If folks want more, then can get back in line for a 2nd sandwich.

Nothing wrong with portion control on expensive items. Worst case? You have leftovers for people to snack on later

[jfmorris]

The problem is that portion control doesn't work with loose meat like this when it is self serve. When its burgers, chicken breasts, etc, folks will get one. When it's a pile of loose meat and a scoop, some will just pile it on their plate.

MOST people will be fine, and get a normal amount. But there is always that one or two in every crowd who doesn't think of leaving food for the person behind them in line, and doesn't control themselves.

[jfmorris]

So what’s going on with this party? Did it happen yet? How did it work out?

[WillTravelForFood]

55 burgers, 55 fries, 55 tacos, 55 pies, 55 cokes, 100 tater tots, 100 pizzas, 100 tenders, 100 meatballs, 100 coffees, 55 wings, 55 shakes, 55 pancakes, 55 pastas, 55 peppers and 155 taters

[bbqLuv]

Pictures or it didn't happen.

[DTro]

jfmorris

Hi Jim, Thanks for asking!

Yep, the party happened yesterday and it was a yummy good time. Thanks to ALL who helped!

I used the Costco pre-sliced NY strip and cooked it with tallow and just a dash of SPG. The bar was set with sautéed onion, peppers, and mushrooms. Mosca suggested the peppers. They added good color and flavor to the overall experience. Provolone slices and a homemade cheddar cheese sauce were also on the table. I used the serious eats pages provided by Murdy to create the cheese sauce and when the emulsion broke, damn did it break . I watched the video WillTravelForFood suggested a couple of times to pick up the technique.

Everything was cooked on my Weber kettle using a lodge pizza pan as a plancha. Temps were hitting 490º to 560º. I had to cook the food in portions. Three rounds each of onions, peppers, mushrooms, and multiple rounds to cook the beef. (I couldn't talk the wife into us providing the graduate a 36" flattop as a graduation present.)

Everything was prepped and ready to eat before the guests arrived. The meat was kept warm in a crockpot with a super shallow bit of homemade au jus as shify suggested. The au jus recipe provided by 02ebz06 . As to John Henry 's advise, extra food was prepared. We only had one hoarder, but many did dive in for seconds.

I purchased this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...t_b_prod_image to keep the toppings warm. I am pretty impressed by the little appliance. It worked very well.

Recipe--Roll, provolone, steak, toppings, massive cheese sauce.

We had 15 guests and rave reviews.

Pics ( bbqLuv ) are all grab shots while cooking except for the hero shot provided by my daughter--get it 'hero' shot.

[jfmorris]

DTro just explain that the plancha will let you cook in a LOT less batches. 22" plancha from SNSGrills, versus 14" Lodge pizza pan is a HUGE difference. Plus it will let you do things like fried rice and hibachi style cooking that are just not practical on that 14" Lodge.

[jfmorris]

I will comment, while I think it works fine as a griddle, that Lodge actually stated that the pizza pan was not intended for stove top use. I know for sure that is the case with the new thinner 15" version. I've got the one like yours, and one of the newer 15" rimless ones. So another argument for SWMBO is that you might mess up the pizza pan using it as a griddle...

[DTro]

jfmorris I like your thought process! and I would hate to destroy my 'older' pizza pan. I was in a Lodge factory store a few weeks ago and was told it is no longer made.