When you can’t be in Philadelphia, improvise! This little experiment turned out way better than I could have ever hoped. With leftover grilled medium-rare strip steaks, I turned this into one of the most delicious cheesesteak sandwiches I have ever had. Using fresh peppers and onions I fried them along with the chopped steak until browned. But then I topped it all off with melted slices of one of my favorite Wisconsin cheeses – Brick – and the Wisconsin Cheesesteak was born!
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Brick Cheese!
Brick cheese is a uniquely Wisconsin cheese invented by a Swiss-born cheesemaker in southern Wisconsin. The recipe was taken on and proliferated by other cheesemakers across the state.
Brick is a medium soft white cheese that is mild tasting in its younger form, that takes on a much stronger taste when ripened. It is very similar to a provolone or mozzarella, with the tang of a cheddar. Brick cheese melts beautifully and is the perfect match with the fried steak, peppers, and onions.
Thrifty food tips for tasty cheesesteaks:
- Use whatever leftover steak you have, and fill in with more peppers and/or onions to flex the amount you need to fill out the sandwiches.
- Use the fat trimmings for frying. Trim the steak of all visible fat, and render the trimmings in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. This will provide the fat for frying the peppers, onions, and steak while adding additional steak flavor.
- Although brick cheese has been widely commercialized, there is only one cheesemaker in Wisconsin left making the authentic brick cheese in its original form: Widmer’s Cheese Cellars, located in Theresa, WI. They are a small artisan cheesemaker, but they do distribute throughout the state. If you live elsewhere, and can’t find brick cheese, they do offer mail order.
- I always recommend using the best bread you can find. Baguettes are great, crusty on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside. A good and sturdy bread always makes the sandwich!
Render Fat Trimmings 
Brown Peppers & Onions 
Add Steak and Brown
Wisconsin Cheesesteak Assembly
Fry the sliced peppers and onions in the rendered fat until softened. Add the chopped steak pieces to the frypan and cook in fat until browned and crisped slightly. This browning creates a more flavorful sandwich!
Divide the steak and onions into two and top with slices of Brick cheese, allowing it to melt slightly into the pan before scraping up and serving into fresh baguettes.
A new twist on a Philadelphia favorite, the Wisconsin Cheesesteak is a great way to turn leftover steaks into an amazing and delicious sandwich topped with melted Brick Cheese, one of the great cheeses made famous by the state of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Cheesesteak
Equipment
- Cast Iron Frypan or other heavy skillet
Ingredients
- 1 Green Pepper sliced
- 1 Onion sliced
- 12-16 oz Leftover Steak (NY Strip, T-Bone or Ribeye)
- 6 oz Brick Cheese sliced thinly
- 1 Baguette
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Trim fat from the cooked steaks, and save. Chop up steak meat into thin 1/2 inch strips and pieces. Cut the baguette into two 6-8 inch lengths, and slice lengthwise like a hot dog bun.
- Add the fat trimmings to a cast iron or heavy skillet on medium-high heat. Render the fat by browning the trimmings to create a tablespoon or so of oil in the pan. Remove the trimmings with a slotted spoon and discard. If you do not have enough fat from the meat you will have to add a couple of teaspoons of oil to the pan instead.
- Add the sliced peppers and onions to the hot fat and continue cooking over medium high heat for 1-2 minutes until softened.
- Add chopped steak to the pan with the onions and peppers and continue to fry until the steak is browned nicely. Season with salt and pepper.
- Divide the steak for each sandwich into piles on each side of the pan and top with brick cheese slices. Allow the cheese to melt over the steak and onions in the pan for another minute or so.
- Open each baguette and lay over each section of peppers and onions. Using a spatula scoop the steak mixture into the baguette. Serve while hot!
