Slow Cooked, Chicago Style Italian Beef Sandwiches

Who doesn’t love a hearty, slow cooked sandwich topped with melted cheese and lots of crunchy, spicy peppers?!

I first tried an Italian Beef Sandwich during my trip to Chicago last fall and I have been craving one ever since! My little town in Louisiana is partial to Cajun style poboys only, so I decided if I wanted an Italian Beef Sandwich I needed to make my own at home. Even better, I adapted this recipe from my favorite blogger, The Pioneer Woman, and made it in my slow cooker! Cooking with your slow cooker {aka Crock-Pot} is perfect for beating the summertime heat since you are not warming up the house by using a hot oven.

Today I teamed up with Mezzetta, whose jarred peppers and Giardiniera relish are perfect for this open faced Italian Beef Sandwich, and made a killer creation to share with y’all! Check it out below and then scroll down for info on entering Mezzetta’s Summer Grilling Giveaway!

I fell in love with the Italian Beef Sandwich during my visit to Chicago last fall for the BlogHer Food conference. I knew my husband would go bananas for it too, so I recreated it at home.

Talk about foodie heaven!

We had a blast eating amazing food non stop all weekend long!

My cousin Lauren {she writes Our Little Nook blog} attended the conference with me. It was a much needed time away for us busy Mamas and nice to get all dolled up for cocktail parties!

Did I mention the keynote speaker was Sarah Michelle Gellar {aka Buffy}?!

We had to get a selfie!

And we partied with Ree Drummond, who writes The Pioneer Woman blog and hosts the popular Food Network show!

Besides the Italian Beef, the most memorable meal during our trip was

the Chicago Deep Dish Pizza at Giordanos!
Definitely enough to feed a crowd {and weighs a ton too}!

Ingredients:

Makes 6 large sandwiches

2.5 lb-3.5lb chuck roast, trimmed of fat
32oz box beef broth
1 cup Italian dressing
1 cup Mezzetta Giardiniera (Chicago-Style Italian relish) drained, plus extra for topping
1 cup Mezzetta pepperoncini pepper rings, plus extra for topping
1/4 cup pepperoncini juice
12 provolone cheese slices
6 hoagie rolls, toasted

Directions:

Place chuck roast into the bottom of a large slow cooker. Optional, you can chop into smaller chunks.
Pour beef broth over roast then add 1 cup of Italian dressing.
Add pepperoncini pepper rings plus 1/4 cup of juice from the jar, along with 1 cup of Giardiniera relish.
Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.
Shred meat with a fork in the slow cooker then cook on low for one more hour.
To serve: split toasted buns in half then scoop the shredded, juicy meat mixture on top and add provolone cheese slices.
Top with extra pepperoncini pepper rings and diced Giardiniera.
Serve these sandwiches open faced and warm. Dig in!

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman.

Talk about Spicy Summer Heat!
This recipe, using Mezzetta peppers and relish, is a Bold and Bright Summer Sandwich.

I use two Mezzetta products for this recipe: Italian style Giardiniera relish mix and deli sliced mild pepperoncini rings along with a cup of flavorful Italian dressing.