The dish:
There are some dishes that are just synonymous with their home town, few more so than Philadelphia’s Cheesesteak. The legend tells of a friendly rivalry between Pat’s and Geno’s for who makes the best dating back more than 50 years! But while Aussies love a good “steak sanga”, the concept of the Cheesesteak remains alien to many.
Traditionally, these are made by grilling diced steak and served on a cold bun topped with either Cheez Wiz or Provolone cheese, with or without onions. I like to mix this up a bit: steak grilled whole (to your desired doneness, sliced) with some Swiss cheese, onion, capsicum and chilli on a lightly toasted bun. I’ve been serving this up for friends and family now, and am yet to get a complaint!
The cooker:
Today I’m cooking on my Weber Spirit II E320. It’s hard to beat the ease and flavour lid down cooking on a Weber gives you, and I think these grills are criminally underrated; sitting between the larger Genesis family and the smaller Q range. With individual burner control, a side burner, warming rack and coming standard with the cast iron griddle plate, this BBQ is the complete package. If you don’t have a Weber Spirit, you can still recreate this on your own barbecue, be it gas, charcoal or electric. Just adjust your burners/coals to replicate the heat zones outlined below.
For today’s cook, I’ve set the left-most burner (under the grate) to high, with the middle burner medium and the burner under the griddle just above low. This is going to give us a high temperature area to get a nice sear and colour on the steaks, while giving us a zone with gentler heat for the veg. Look for about 220°C on the lid thermometer for preheating.
If you’re cooking on a barbecue without individual burner control you may not be able to create different heat zones. This is ok, just aim to cook the veg for a shorter time and be mindful to keep an eye on it to stop from burning.
I’m using the MEATER+ temperature probe to cook the steak to medium, which is our household’s preferred temp (around 65°C) – feel free to adjust to what suits your family best!
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 2 x Scotch Fillet Steaks (300-400g each)
- 3 tbsp SPG (I recommend Kosmo’s Q for a good, peppery blend)
- ½ cup White Vinegar
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 cup chopped red capsicum
- 1 cup sliced red onion
- 2 diced green chillis
- 8 slices Swiss cheese
- Salt, Pepper, Canola Oil to season
- 4 long rolls
Notes:
- Scotch fillet is my preference for this steak, but it’s an expensive cut. A quality rump will work just as well – you just want a tender piece of steak for this meal.
- I’ve kept this recipe quite mild, for a bit more kick, step up to jalapenos, or if you don’t like chilli at all, swap out for a yellow or green capsicum.
- I love Swiss cheese for this, but experiment to your heart’s content: Monterey Jack is a popular option – or go traditional and hit it with some Cheez Wiz!
- Never use olive oil on the piece of meat you’re searing, it is too delicate for searing heat. Use a high smoke point oil like canola, peanut, avocado, etc.
Method:
- While your BBQ is preheating (see above), chop your veg, and season your meat generously either side with the SPG rub, roughly one tablespoon total. Rub with a little canola oil on either side (always season your meat, not your grill!)
- Mix the olive oil and vinegars in a shaker bottle, shake well to combine and set aside
- Cut your rolls open and lightly butter the insides
- Out at the BBQ, throw the steaks on the grill. For roughly one inch think steak I aim for 5 minutes on the first side to get a nice sear.
- Flip the steaks and season with some of the vinegar mixture. Spread the vegetable mixture onto the griddle plate, sprinkle with half of the remaining SPG and Vinegar mixture. After two or three minutes, stir the mixture around and add the remainder of the seasonings.
- Once your steak is at your desired internal temperature, take them off to rest
- At the same time – separate the veg mixture into four separate clusters, the same length and shape as your rolls. Top each cluster with two slices of cheese.
- Place the rolls on the warming rack for 30 seconds – 1 minute to lightly toast, thinly slice the steak while you wait.
- Line each of the rolls evenly with the thinly sliced steak, and once the cheese is perfectly melted, lift each individual pile (the melted cheese will hold it together) with a BBQ spatula and place on top of the steak in the rolls.
- Close the rolls, serve and enjoy!
This recipe was put together by DGR BBQ. Melbourne based and a friend of BBQs & Outdoor, be sure to follow DGR BBQ on Instagram @dgr_bbq, for more Aussie Barbecue Inspo!
