Slow Roasted Beef Melt

Do you remember that song by Sir Mix a Lot? You know the one, ‘I like big butts and I cannot lie’? I’m totally with that, and when it comes to making pork butt, or beef rump, I’m all in. There is something about those pieces of meat, where you cook them low and slow, only to get a result of pull about, for tender meat that can go in so many different directions in terms of recipes. With that said, I’m on the ‘purge the freezer and purge the leftovers’ bandwagon lately. I’m tired of all of the price hikes for food lately, and I cannot wait to get our gardens started, but we are not there yet, so we purge.

My latest finding was a rump roast, and it was a great finding because I was craving some sort of Italian beef style sandwich. That’s when I decided to put this sucker in the slow cooker and come up with something the following day. That’s where the slow roasted beef melt came into play.

First, look at that cheese. I could have just been happy with that alone. But…

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 3 lb beef rump roast
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp cracked black pepper
• 1/2 head of garlic, lightly smashed (papers removed)
• 2 cups of beef stock
• 4 slices provolone cheese
• 1/2 cup black olives, finely chopped
• 1/2 serrano chili, thinly sliced (optional)
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 whole bolillo roll, or small baguette, sliced lengthwise

Start by rubbing the salt and pepper all of the beef rump roast. Pour the beef stock into the slow cooker. Add the beef rump and surround that with the smashed garlic cloves.

Cover, and cook for 8-10 hours. I set mine up before I go to bed, so that I have it ready for lunch the following day.

Next, remove the beef from the slow cooker, and strain the stock, pouring it into a sauce pot.

Bring that sauce to a low simmer on the stove.

Next, thinly slice the beef. Add a generous sandwich amount to the broth, and continue to simmer as you prepare your sandwich.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Butter each side of the sliced bread, and place into the oven to get a light golden brown, and have it harden just a bit, about 7 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven, and cover each side with two slices of the provolone cheese. Top that with the serrano chilies and black olives. Return back to the oven for about 4 minutes until the cheese is nice and melted (my favorite part).

Next, remove the cheesy bread from the oven, and with some tongs or forks, add the beef to the top of the bread. Top with the other piece of bread, and lightly press down on it.

Ladle some of the beef stock into a small dipping bowl and dig in.

The great thing about this beef melt is that you get this super tender, garlicky beef, and then that sharpness from the cheese. That in itself is a winning sandwich, but then you get that brininess from the olives and the heat from those chilies. Then you dunk into the beef stock, and that just takes it to a whole new level.

So if you are looking to purge, and have some beef in the freezer, give this one a shot. It was a perfect way to use up my leftover olives and chilies from taco night as well. Hope you enjoy!