Show Him Your Badge (Humor) And Jimmy's Wrigleyville Grill San Antonio Italian Beef

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE VETERANS

Our neighbor with the cows has this sign on his fence.

It often reminds me of this joke that always makes me laugh.

“A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Officer made an unexpected visit to a ranch in the Florida Panhandle.  He got out of the black, unmarked SUV he was driving, and barked at the rancher, “I need to inspect your ranch for illegal drugs.” The rancher, thinking he had nothing to hide, said, “Okay, but do not go in that field over there,” as he pointed out the location. The DEA officer verbally exploded saying, “Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me.” Reaching into his rear pants pocket, he removed his badge and proudly displayed it to the rancher. “See this badge? This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I wish…. On any land. No questions asked or answers given! Have I made myself clear? Do you understand? ” The rancher nodded, and then just shook his head as he walked away with a smirk on his face.

A short time later, the old rancher heard loud screams and saw the DEA officer running for his life, chased by the rancher’s prize Brahman Bull. With every step the bull was gaining ground on the officer, and it seemed likely that he’d get gored before he reached safety. The officer was clearly terrified. The rancher threw down his tools, ran to the fence and yelled at the top of his lungs,

”Your badge! Your badge! Show him your badge!”

Jimmy's Wrigleyville Grill San Antonio Italian Beef

Rhett and Beth (son and DIL) recently visited Chicago and while there, they made sure to eat a deep-dish pizza, a Chicago dog, and an Italian beef sandwich which he called “maybe the best sandwich I’ve ever had.”  So, when he came to visit us recently, I decided to make a batch and see how it measured up.  Most of the time Italian Beef has a tang due to the addition of pepperonis or giardiniera, or both, to the cooking broth.  Bev doesn’t care for it so I decided to find a recipe that only added the giardiniera to the sandwich.  The recipe for Jimmy Wrigleyville Grill San Antonio Italian Beef  came from the “Wrigleyville Grill” via Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and Guy said he loved it.  I amended the ingredients a little for my six vs. five pounds of meat.  I used round roast from our nearby meat processor.

Jimmy's Wrigleyville Grill San Antonio Italian Beef – Adapted from Wrigleyville Grill

Ingredients:

6 pounds top round beef with cap on

2½ tablespoons granulated garlic

2½ tablespoons dried oregano

2½ tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

1¼ tablespoon fennel seed

5 tablespoons kosher salt

5 cups beef stock

5 bay leaves

Hoagie rolls

Sliced cheese of choice

Chicago-style giardiniera for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Rub beef with garlic, oregano, black pepper and fennel. Sprinkle with salt.

Brown the beef on all sides.

Put beef in a deep pan and add the stock to the bottom of the pan along with the bay leaves.

Place in the oven and roast until the center of the beef reaches 130F.

Remove from the oven; let sit at room temperature until cool then refrigerate the beef for 3 hours, or until the center of beef is cold (overnight for me).

Remove the pan from the refrigerator. Slice the beef paper thin.  (We used our many year old Oster meat slicer that barely worked but managed to get the job done).

Reheat the pan juices and add the sliced beef to the hot "au jus" (pan sauce) – cook until beef is tender.

Dip each roll in the au jus, open them slightly and add cheese then fill with juicy beef and top with giardiniera to taste.

The Verdict:

We all loved the sandwich and Rhett said it was as good as the one he had in Chicago so this is a keeper recipe and since he didn’t eat it all, Rhett warmed his leftovers and topped them with a fried egg for breakfast the next morning – I was so proud of him!

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

11/03/24 event date