Mahony’s Beef Po’ Boys

Mahony’s Beef Po’ Boys
Theresa Cassagne for The New York Times
Total Time
3 hours 45 minutes
Rating
4(154)
Comments
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Benjamin Wicks, proprietor of Mahony’s Po-Boy Shop on Magazine Street in New Orleans, which opened in the summer of 2008, is a raver and ranter with the heart of an old-timer. “Why don’t people care about making great po’ boys?” he asked The Times, rhetorically, a year later. And then he gave us a terrific recipe that will take a little time to pull off, but results in a beef Po' Boy sandwich of uncommon excellence. Think of it as project food for a festive weekend lunch, and your guests will thank you. Add cheese and French fries for added pow. —Sam Sifton

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Ingredients

Yield:Enough for 10 sandwiches
  • 1cup all-purpose flour
  • Salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 7pounds beef chuck roll, sliced into 2-inch-thick portions
  • ½cup vegetable oil, or as needed
  • 6 to 7stalks celery, cut into ¾-inch dice
  • 2yellow onions, peeled and cut into ¾-inch dice
  • 2green bell peppers, cored and cut into ¾-inch dice
  • 2jumbo carrots, peeled and cut into ¾-inch dice
  • 1cup peeled garlic cloves, each clove halved lengthwise
  • 7cups dry red wine
  • 2tablespoons dried rosemary
  • 2tablespoons dried thyme
  • 1bay leaf
  • cup chopped parsley leaves
  • 5loaves French or Italian bread
  • Mayonnaise
  • shredded lettuce
  • sliced tomatoes
  • sliced pickles to dress sandwiches
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place flour in a large, wide bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Add beef, dust well on all sides and shake off excess.

  2. Step 2

    Place a large, heavy Dutch oven or roasting pan with a lid over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to cover the bottom and heat until shimmering. Working in batches, add beef and sear well on all sides. Transfer beef to a platter and set aside.

  3. Step 3

    Add celery, onions, peppers, carrots and garlic to pan; if necessary, add more oil. Sauté until vegetables are tender and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add wine and 3 cups water. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and parsley. Stir well, add beef, and stir again to mix well.

  4. Step 4

    Cover, and transfer to oven. Cook until beef is very tender, about three hours. Transfer beef to a deep platter and keep warm. Remove and discard bay leaf. Using a hand-held immersion blender or stand blender, purée vegetables and any remaining bits of meat in pan juices to make sauce. Cut beef into slices. Slice each bread loaf in half lengthwise and crosswise, spread one side with mayonnaise, thickly layer in meat, wet with gravy, and top with lettuce, tomatoes and pickles.

Tip
  • Extra beef and sauce can be refrigerated or frozen.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
154 user ratings
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Comments

What is a beef “chuck roll”? Also, scaling this recipe down would be helpful.

If only Mr. Wicks also provided a recipe for the bread, which is essential to a good Po'Boy.

A roast beef po’boy with debris at Mother’s in New Orleans many years ago remains the best sandwich I have ever eaten.

New Orleans po-boy bread is slightly different from our French. It’s undercooked just a tad because you are supposed to toast it. First, it’s sliced in half, then the outside is lightly toasted. Next step is to butter the insides and let them toast. Finally, you put the meat or seafood on and dress it.

Our local Publix chain carries a Cuban loaf that is close to (but of course not exactly like) the bread used in New Orleans. Soft and light inside, crackly crust… works pretty well.

Since it was just two of us, I used 2# chuck roast and scaled down everything else accordingly. I used white wine because I got it by accident instead of red. Added some beef stock in place of the water, and threw in some Cajun seasoning because why not. Came out tender and delicious.

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Credits

Adapted from Benjamin Wicks

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