Chicago Italian Beef Burger

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♼ Featured image is generic and does not represent the final look of a dish. 4.6159

This recipe seems a lot harder than it is, but you can make the gravy and the pepper mix days in advance. I went to college in Chicago and would make weekly trips to Al’s, and this burger brings me right back to those crazy days. in fact I came up with this recipe because I missed Al’s so much. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Ready in: 3 hours 8 mins

Ingredients

Serves: 6

• Gravy :
• 3 cups chopped celery
• 2 cups chopped carrots
• 2 cups chopped onion (sweet or brown)
• 5 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 to 4 beef ribs (with meat on them)
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 bay leaves bay leaves
• 6 cups clarified beef broth or stock
• 3 cups water
• Toppings :
• 2 each red and green bell peppers (seeds, stems and ribs removed)
• 2 pounds sliced extra sweet onion
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Burger :
• 1 pound ground ribeye
• 1 pound ground brisket
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 6 French bread demi rolls, split and grilled with butter

Preparation method

Prep: 3 hours | Cook: 8 mins

1. The night before you are going to make the burgers, make the gravy and the toppings at the same time (so read ahead and then adjust your timing accordingly). Start by preheating oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Put the celery, carrots, chopped onion, smashed garlic, beef ribs, black pepper,salt bay leaves, stock/broth, and water into a large baking dish. Cover with foil, cut 6 small slits in foil, and bake for 2 hours.
3. Remove from oven, remove foil, stir, then return to oven, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven again, strain with cheese cloth, and put in fridge.
4. To make the toppings: in a second baking dish, combine bell peppers, sweet onions, and olive oil. Cover with foil, cut 6 small slits in foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove foil, stir, and return to oven for 30 minutes, then refrigerate.
5. To make the burgers: lightly mix the ground ribeye and brisket together (don’t over-work). Form six 1/3 pound patties in the general shape of the rolls.
6. Heat grill to Medium. While grill is heating, heat gravy in large saucepan over medium heat and warm up the peppers and onions in a skillet.
7. Dust each patty with salt and black pepper, then place on grill and cook for about 4 minutes on each side. Toast rolls.
8. To assemble, place 1 patty on the bottom slice of each roll followed by pepper onion mix. Add the top on each roll, then dip each sandwich twice in the gravy.
Other ideas

For a real authentic touch, top the sandwich with some spicy gardenere.