Steak Chopped Subs
I have been obsessed with the recent trend of chopping up all the ingredients of a sandwich instead of layering them on and I thought the best version of this would be a steak chopped sub! The first time Georgina and I saw the trend, we bought the stuff to make a turkey version immediately and tried it that same night! It’s a great trend and steak works so well because steak can be sometimes hard to eat in a sandwich. Chopping it up makes it easier to eat!
I wanted to make it clear I called this steak chopped instead of chopped steak because I didn’t want people to confuse it with chopped cheese. Chopped cheese is totally different and really delicious too.
Inspiration for this recipe
Of course I immediately started thinking about what sandwiches would benefit from this method and my first thought was steak. One of my favorite sandwich combos is steak with roasted red pepper and arugula, but it doesn’t always work great structurally. Sometimes the steak slices can slide out when you take a bite. Doing chopped steak in the sub will solve that problem!
This chopped version was amazing. I mixed in provolone, some shallots, cucumber, and then tossed it with a buttery sauce. I realized half way through this process that the whole idea is basically just making chicken salad sandwiches but with other ingredients and I am OK with that.
Cooking the steak
Ribeye is my favorite steak cut so that is what I used for these steak chopped subs. If you have a nice thick one like this, make sure to cook it on the sides too! That way the fat will get nice and soft. Season it aggressively with salt and pepper and use a heavy cast iron pan if you can.
Chopping everything together
Start with the bigger ingredients like roasted red pepper, arugula, shallot, and cucumber. Then add the provolone cheese. Cut the steak by itself and then mix it all together.
Building the steak chopped subs
The sauce is butter, mayo, mustard, hot sauce, cider vinegar, smoked paprika, and pepper flakes. It’s sort of cowboy butter, but a quick version. Spread half on the bread before toasting, then pour the rest into the mixture.
This steak chopped sub is one of the best sandwiches I have had in a long time. Every bite was perfectly balanced, and the steak was so tender from being chopped up small. The butter sauce was dripping into the bread making it so juicy and flavorful.
I have made sandwiches with these same ingredients probably 50 times in my life but doing it as a steak chopped sub like this made it 10 times better!
Twits on the Steak Chopped Sub
As always, I encourage you to swap out your favorite ingredients here and make it your own. If you need to cook the steak a little more, that is fine, it will still be juicy cause it is chopped up smothered in butter in this sub!
I always try to give vegan swaps, but for a sandwich that features steak it’s kind of hard. That being said, there is a vegan bulgogi at Trader Joes that I have been obsessed with lately that would probably work really well in this sandwich. It has a great beefy texture! You could easily do the butter with a dairy free butter
If you are looking for more unique sandwiches, check out my red curry fried fish sandwich, the Korean Reuben, or my mortadella cheesesteak!
Steak Chopped Sub
Equipment
Ingredients
Steak
- 1.25 pound ribeye steak
- salt and pepper
Sauce
- 1/2 stick butter melted
- 1 tablepoon mustard
- 1 tablespoon mayo
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Veggies and Bread
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 3 inches of an English cucumber
- 1/2 a small shallot
- 1/4 pound sliced sharp provolone
- 1 packed cup baby arugula
- 1 large baguette
Instructions
- Season the steak aggressively with salt and pepper and allow it to come to room temperature.
- Sear the steak on high heat, then turn to medium and continue cooking until the internal temp is 140, making sure to sear all the sides and edges to fully render and soften the fat. Rest for 10 minutes before chopping.
- Meanwhile, mix the butter with all the sauce ingredients and stir to fully combine.
- Toss the red pepper with a little oil and broil it on high to char on all sides. Once blackened, remove from the oven to a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap tightly. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Then peel and remove the seeds.
- Start cutting all the veggies. I like to start with a rough slice, then bring them all together and just keep chopping. I didn't want everything to be super finely chopped like some people make these sandwiches. I kept it a little chunky.
- Slice the meat thin removing excess chewy fat, but make sure you keep the good soft melty fats. Continue to cut the meat until it is in pea sized pieces. You can find some of the bigger fat pieces and really mince those so they aren't as chewy and add a nice luxurious texture and coating to the whole mixture. Stir in the veggies, only using as much as you need to create your desired meat to veggie ratio.
- Remove the ends of the bread and any extra bread parts. Cut the bread down the center and pull out a little of the middle bread parts to help the bread to meat ratio. Spread half of the butter mixture over the inside of the bread. Broil the bread on high to toast lightly.
- Microwave the sauce if needed to melt. Put the meat mixture onto the bread. Pour the butter mixture evenly over the filling. Close, cut in half, and serve.