What's The Best Cut Of Steak For Making Sandwiches?

Sometimes cooking is as much about philosophy as it is about science. Is cereal actually soup? What should, and should not, go on a pizza? And what kind of steak should you use for a sandwich? Theoretically, you can sandwich any steak between two pieces of bread. Leftover filet? Sandwich it. Got a T-bone or a porterhouse kicking around? Sandwich 'em! But, when you're setting out to make steak sandwiches specifically, rather than repurposing last night's dinner, you can be a little more choosy — and a lot cheaper. How you slice your cut counts too.

For steak sandwiches, you want to get the most tender cut available and, even then, cut it into the ideally calibrated slices for serving on bread. When you're enjoying a steak on a plate, you've got a razor sharp knife doing all the tough work. With a sandwich, you've got only your chompers to do the heavy lifting. And an improperly prepared steak sandwich can provide quite the unexpected jaw workout. Consider a piece of beef on the slightly more affordable side like a Denver, which is cut from the shoulder. Sizzle it to your desired doneness, then slice it just a little more than thin. You want it heartier than the wispy pieces that combine to make up a Philly cheesesteak (which isn't just a steak and cheese sandwich), but not as thick as the medallions they'd present at a restaurant.

Steak for a sandwich is going to be competing with bread, condiments, and possibly even toppings like cheese for flavor attention. So, unlike when it's served as a main alone, you can cut corners on things like the beautiful marbling that might make a pricier option shine on its own. While you don't have to splurge on a ribeye, size still matters. A Denver steak works, because it has a nice thickness that gives the eventual slices some heft. Something like a minute steak, which is going to be even cheaper, won't work as well, because it's so thin. You'd end up with strips more suitable for fajitas than the slices you want for a sandwich. Flank steak works nicely, too, even in spite of its relative thinness. Though it is a flatter cut, it's relatively easy to slice on an angle for the intended effect.

As far as the other key components of your steak sandwich go, ciabatta is a terrific steak sandwich vehicle, as it's sturdy enough to stand up to all that protein. But any long roll will perform nicely. This is one instance where you want to skip the standard sliced sandwich bread, which is too flimsy. Blue cheese is the classic dairy pairing for steak, but provolone is great here, too, and it begins approximating those famously cheesy Philly cheesesteaks. Speaking of which, onions are a steak sandwich's best friend as well, particularly the crispy or caramelized variety.