Ribeye alternatives for cheesesteaks

[bbq_esq]

I am making cheesesteak sliders on King's Hawaiian rolls for an upcoming party. I have made cheesesteaks at home a few times using end cuts from whole ribeye trims usually, not to mention the million or so I made when I used to work a grill for a summer job (miss that). My method has been to take the larger cuts, give them a partial freeze/thaw then I slice them on a large mandolin. Works like a charm and I have the cut-proof glove for peace of mind.

Now, the cheesesteak I made a few months back with prime ribeye was absolutely insanely good, no doubt about it. But, with no offense to my guests, I am not made of money, and ribeye prices are nuts. I have a bunch of prime stuff in my freezer from the Costco sale back in January but even at the $14/lb I ended up paying there, it's a bit steep for this purpose.

I was thinking of using some choice tri-tip for the job? Those come in at 9.98 lb for me at Wild Fork, and I think they would easy to slice against the grain on the mandolin. I was also considering those boneless beef chuck ribs they have at Costco but those are up to $16/lb near me, so ribeye would be cheaper lol.

[Dan Deter]

Interested in this as well....

[Dan Deter]

And I hadn't thought about using the mandolin for that. I'll have to give that a try.

[bbq_esq]

My wife won't let me get the deli slicer, so I am stuck with this option. It worked very well for me. I have one of those chainmail gloves too because I have a habit of losing focus.

[Andrrr]

I feel your pain on the sliced ribeye from Costco, it's just more than I want to spend on a couple cheesesteaks.
If you mosey on over to the frozen area at Costco you may find this, which is what I've been using lately.



Is it AmAzInG??? No, but it's quick, stupid simple and pretty dang good all things considered. It comes in 3 prepackaged flat blocks, for a lack of better words, and each of those are cut in thirds which makes up the 9 "steaks". Two of the prepackaged flat blocks is about right for the 4 of us. The first time cooking it kinda weirded me out because I don't typically buy/make stuff like this, but I'm over it now👍🏻.

[bbq_esq]

If it works it works!

[OC Sandy]

+1 on these. My preference for cheesesteaks is ribeye, but reality is that ribeye is not always economical. These are a really decent alternative for something quick and more affordable.

[jfmorris]

I think sliced thin and cooked on the griddle with cheese and other stuff you are adding, the tri-top would work well, but so could some other cheaper choice cuts, if you can find them. I am not sure about chuck, I feel it could be tough, and harder to cut across the grain on a slicer.

[bbq_esq]

I think chuck could work, you'd probably just want to to break it down into the individual muscles vs leaving whole so you don't have those big veins of fat/connective tissue. Chuck is going for $6.99/lb on sale (and not particularly good looking ones) by me, so it's not a huge difference.

[Michael_in_TX]

I recently watched an Ethan Chlebowski video on this: Why I Stopped Using Ribeyes for Cheesesteaks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWGuL8Ngk1s

Like many of his videos, it is a little lengthy (this one is 18 minutes), but he does go in-depth on the differences between using prime ribeye, pre-packaged shaved meat, and chuck roast.

[Michael_in_TX]

jfmorris It's popular at HEB, prime chuck roasts are very common. Ethan is in Austin and that is his main store so you see a lot of HEB stuff on his channel.

[bbq_esq]

I'm not even sure Wild Fork has prime chucks. One time I saw a choice at Wegmans that was so beautifully marbled I still regret not buying it (I had 2-3 chucks in my freezer with no cooks planned).

[jfmorris]

Michael I just checked. Sam's, Kroger and Publix do not have prime chuck roast, but Fresh Market does. At $13.49 per pound! I think I will try with the Angus choice chuck roasts from Sam's for half that price per pound...

[Ace]

Might look at Top Sirloin or Petite Sirloin if you find a good price. Petite should be less expensive since it comes from the Bottom Sirloin.

[bbq_esq]

Top sirloin 9.41/lb at costco. I think I'd rather have the fat content of the tri-tip for the small price difference.

[captainlee]

Thinly sliced, on a slicer, flank steak. We use it all the time.

[jfmorris]

Hmmm. It will slice into skinny strips, but I can see those being ideal for a cheese steak!

[captainlee]

Very tender and flavorful, works great.

[Murdy]

Tri-tip is cut from the sirloin, so I would think it would be good, as would anything from the sirloin (butt steaks if you can find them).

[bbq_esq]

I also just love tri-tip so as much as this is blasphemous to the west coast purists, it just sounds like it would be really good.

[Donw]

Love cheesesteaks but don’t eat them often anymore. When I get a hankering I dive into the freezer and see what I can find. I’ve used tri-tips and even flatiron steaks for cheesesteaks. Cut semi frozen on my slicer. The tri-tip I cut the tail first and then rotated the other end and sliced to get as close to cross grain as I could. Where you live you can definitely get some Cooper Sharp for the cheese. Enjoy them.

[bbq_esq]

Yepp, Cooper Sharp is readily available. Very good though I also have a soft spot for land o lakes yellow American. Jealous of the slicer

[Brewmaster]

Have done this with tri tip and they are great

[bbq_esq]

Awesome will report back!

[texastweeter]

Would be fine. Or chuck eye/chuck roll.

[Sweaty Paul]

I have used sirloin roasts in the past. Suspect a tri-tip or chuck eye would also work well.

[CaptainMike]

I almost always make cheesesteak sandwiches with leftover tri tip. Or a fresh tri tip!

[SheilaAnn]

I scrolled through before shooting my mouth off….. what texastweeter said!

May I also add, check out any Asian markets if you have them near you. I grab shabu shabu packs all the time. It’s already sliced paper thin!

[bbq_esq]

We have a small one pretty close and an H-Mart that’s about a 40 minute drive. I was actually around there for work yesterday but didn’t have time, had to also stop at the one Costco with that sells alcohol