Bear and Jimmy, I'm staying out of this one, To each his own, but, I make the best cheesesteaks, lol.
I've been using shaved beef from the Philly Cheesesteak company, and cook on a skillet.
A note on the cheesewiz, what the wiz does is add moisture and texture to the cheesesteak in addition to a little flavor. Better mouthfeel overall.
My process,
- Cook till it's pliable and shred.
- just as it's done (slight pink showing) I add some McCormic Brown Gravy Mix (THERE NOW YOU KNOW MY SECRET INGREDIENT) and garlic powder this wicks up the juice. (this HELPS keep it from drying out)
- chopped Onions are fried on the side and browned with a pinch of salt.
- the meat is tossed in with Onions (if thats what the crowd wants) suggested for parties because this extends the amount of sammies dramatically.
- Meat and onion mixture is placed in a pan mixing in some canned cheese sauce, yes canned, the crap you get in those 1 gallon cans of Nacho or Cheddar Cheese sauce.
- A long roll is sliced open and either provolone or american is placed on the roll.
- Steak is wrapped in foil or parchment paper to rest for 5 minutes or so, this makes a huge difference especially in the roll texture, it steams it perfectly.
Now you can be a ketchup person, mayo person or eat it as is, every way is good.
On occasion, I like to make them into cheeseteak hoagies, Mayo, lettuce, Tomato and sometimes Jalapenos.
I have done this numerous times with 10 pounds of shaved beef and set it out as self serve in steamer pans at parties, never heard a negative reply other than were out!
This is the most requested, "by the masses", thing I make, it beats out Ribs, PP, Roast pork sammies (Roast Pork is second most requested by the masses) and a few others, it's quick, easy and gratifying to make, a bit pricey but worth it.
Meat mixture can be made in advance and reheated in the microwave or oven with no ill effects or loss of quality
I will be doing this again next week for our annual OC MD trip.
Sorry I dont have more pics
my 2 cents!