The Italian Beef Sandwich in Chicago History
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 พ.ค. 2020
- That History Lady explores the history of Chicago's iconic Italian Beef Sandwich. How did a food created for working-class Italian immigrants become THE quintessential Chicago sandwich?
Thanks for the great history lesson. I am in my 70s, and recall going to neighborhood bars with my parents in the south (east) side of Chicago and northwest Indiana in the 50s,. Many served great homemade Italian food, including pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, and Italian beef and sausage sandwiches.They were neighborhood meeting places that catered to the entire family; and provided some of my best memories from that era. BTW, Panetti's Italian grocery in Roselawn made my favorite Italian beef. My parents even served it in their restaurant in the early 60s in Burnham. Yum.
I LOVE AL'S - nothing like it. And I practically lived on Chef Boy-ar-dee pizzas when I was single. Thanks for all the reminders. Good show!
So glad you enjoyed it - and I agree. Nothing like Al’s (or Chef Boy-ar-dee!)
Great stuff - one of the things I miss most about Chicago - along with Gonnella's bread, REAL Pizza, & Meister Brau Bock Beer!
You and me both, pal! ☹️
Eating in Chicago is fun. It’s the vibe. If I had the same exact food in another city it wouldn’t feel the same.
Great job!
I now retired and living in Ireland, but the first thing that I do when I get into Chicago is go straight to Portillos. Not quite as good as the old-time neighborhood Italian beef stands, but those beef sandwiches are to die for!!! Thinking about the au juice is making my mouth water as I write these words. In fact, when I was a kid I used to mow the McCarthy's grass next door. First thing after I got paid was ride my bike up to Connie's Beef on North Ave to get 2 beef sandwiches.
Thank you Leslie!
Great job! Thank you.
Love it!!! remember Chef-boy-ardee for sure. And the Portillos in Villa Park was very near my home in Elmhurst!
any older sicilian can answer this. It goes back to sicily as the pani ca meusa, or pani câ mèusa, is how the Sicilian spleen sandwich is called in the local dialect, but in Italian this is actually called panino con la milza. Its a street food sold outa large pots of finely sliced Spleen and organ meats served on a bun. they serve it kinda wet from the juices it cooks in and serve it plain, or with lemon or cheese. When these immigrants reached chgo with its richness of better cuts of meat outa the chgo stockyards they settled on top or bottom round. The italian style french bread was substituted for the bun used in sicily cause it also held up the wet sandwich. Its really nothing new except to chgoans. Whats amazing is these same immigrants never brought it to other areas of america, its really a chgo thing. That i attribute to our stockyards and chgo's love of beef.
The Legend of Palermo's Spleen Sandwich
Pani ca' Meusa, the epic spleen sandwich of Palermo! Around the year 1000 there was a large Jewish community in Palermo and many Jewish people worked as butchers. They traded their butchering skills for parts of the animals they butchered. Much of the meat they kept was organs and offal of cow.
How did they prepare the cow innards? They boiled them and served them with lemon and salt. This was an original street food in Palermo.
Around the same time, the Arab population of Palermo used to make a sandwich with ricotta and caciocavallo cheese. This was also an original street food in Palermo.
At some point, these two dishes became very common in all of Palermo.
Centuries later, during the Spanish Inquisition, the Jewish people were tragically forced to leave The Kingdom of Sicily, Remember, during that time Sicily was ruled by Spain.
Over time, the people who continued to populate the island of Sicily, started to develop their own Sicilian identity. According to the legend, at this point in history, in Palermo the two street food traditions were combined into the spleen sandwich closer to what we know today.
Today, the meat for this sandwich is boiled and then fried in pig lard. The tradition of frying in lard was created to heat up the meat and it began because it gave the meat a soft texture. This softness meant that even people without all their teeth could eat it.
Today on the streets of Palermo, we often eat our Pani ca' Meusa Maritata style. To make this street food delicacy, cow spleen, lung, and trachea are boiled. Then, right before the moment of eating, they are fried in pig lard, put on a bun, and sprinkled with ricotta and caciocavallo.
Maritata means marriage. The idea is that the white cheese represents the bride and the dark colored meat represents the groom.
And there you have it!
Wow. Fascinating. I knew that Sicilian-Americans who settled in Brooklyn introduced a “roast beef hero” but did not know much about the Sicilian tradition in Sicily. Thanks SO much for taking the time to share this. Makes me want to go to Sicily right now and get one!
Wow! Thank you for that history lesson..Food and history..two of my favorite things intertwined!!
I am originally from the midwest. About 1 to 2 hours outside Chicago.
I still make Italian beef 😋. I put it in a crock pot with Italian seasonings until the beef just shreds apart.
I like it well drained on hoagie roll with mozzarella cheese. Wrap it in foil and bake in the oven until cheese is melted and roll is just a bit crisp. Absolute perfection!
One of the best Chicago Italian Beef sandwiches was from a 1960's tavern located on Western Avenue near 95th Street on the Southside called Calmar's. It had a thicker sauce that was unbelievablely delicious. Added to these great sandwiches were their hot and taste french fries. I would love to know their recipe as nothing came close to these terrific Italian beef sandwiches.
So glad to have bit into a few Italian Beef sandwiches over the years. A proud part of Chicago's culinary history. 🍖
I discovered it about 4 years ago on a cold January day during my winter vacation. Loved it.
As usual very interesting
Growing up on the south side, I remember Chickie's on Pulaski and 28th, best beef in the 70's, along with Home Run Inn for Pizza on 31st Street... Al's #1 Italian Beef by Mario's Italian Ice on Taylor street....Peace Out!
Chicago hands down, the best big city in America! This Southerner loves me a Dipped Beef Sausage Combo with Hot Peppers! Finger Picking Good!
The hot peppers really make a difference
There's a show I watched some months ago, I think it's called Bizzar Foods or something with the bald guy who eats everything. In the episode, he and the owner of the Italian Diner he was profiling recalled an incident his grandfather was in with a customer one night. He explained that a customer in the 20s or 30s walked in one evening and as the place was about to close, asked for a cold sandwich. The owner thought, "sure" and quickly scraped the leftover beef slices and slid them into some bread but accidently dropped it into the beef broth - completely ruining the man's sandwich and of course the last of the leftovers. The owner regrettably told the customer that the sandwich was drenched in broth and apologized for the inconvenience. Surprisingly, the curious customer said, "I still have it" and to the owner's bewilderment, wrapped the soggy sandwich and offered it to the customer for free. The following morning, the man returned with a certain eagerness and said to the Diner Owner, "Hey buddy, can you make me that sandwich again? The soggy one". And right there and then the Italian Beef Sandwich was born.
I know there are a lot of different stories and myths but this one had a certain incidental magic about it that made it more credible.
just subscribed and give you a go for 6 months good luck
GO CUBS!
sad, Scala's is no more 😢
HISTORY LADY??? Where is she getting her sources and or info from!!?? At the beginning of this video she kept using speculation saying “maybe” or “probably.” A lot of info was wrong!!
Actually, as a responsible historian, her "probably" comments reflected the fact that the origins of Italian Beef (and the Italian Beef Sandwich) are shrouded in mystery (and in dispute).
Jays got a good beef Nw of Chicago