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As promised, Y&H put Steven Raichlen‘s tenderloin cheesesteak recipe to the test over the Labor Day weekend. By and large, I’d say it’s a winning, low-carb and high-cholesterol approach to the classic Philly cheesesteak; the four of us gobbled the dish down with little complaint.
But with all due respect to Raichlen, I do have some suggestions:
- Skip the cutesy onion lollipop trick, particularly if the interior of your allium is segmented. The damn thing will fall apart on the grill (unless you manage to skewer through the segments to hold them together). Frankly, tongs are just as easy.
- Add more roasted peppers, provolone, and grilled onions to the interior of the tenderloin. I thought the meat-to-filling ratio leaned too heavy on beef.
- Depending on the heat of your grill and the size of your tenderloin, you’ll likely need to cook this sucker longer than Raichlen recommends. I grilled the whole loin over direct wood-fired heat (a combination of oak, hickory and charcoal), and it still took about 20-25 minutes. Even with the extra heat, the loin was barely cooked at the center. I have to say, though, it went down like fine wine.
- And whatever you do, don’t buy your tenderloin at Whole Foods. I had already committed to preparing this dish for a small gathering, so I was stuck paying Whole Paycheck‘s exorbitant rate (about $26 a pound) for the whole tenderloin. If I’m going to spend that kind of cash on beef, I’ll go to Wagshal’s, thank you very much.
- The leftovers make for excellent steak sandwiches the following day, maybe the best I’ve ever had.