# No-Packet Italian Beef from Scratch Spices

A chuck roast cooked with garlic, oregano, fennel and red pepper flakes in low-sodium broth and pepperoncini brine. It has no packet, so the salt is yours to set.

 

 

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## No-Packet Italian Beef from Scratch Spices

Recipe by Iren Pavlenko

 

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0.0 from 0 votes ** 

Course: Main CourseDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

9

hours 

A chuck roast cooked with garlic, oregano, fennel and red pepper flakes in low-sodium broth and pepperoncini brine. It has no packet, so the salt is yours to set.

### Ingredients

- 3½ lb boneless chuck roast
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- ¼ cup pepperoncini brine
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tsp fennel seed, lightly toasted and crushed
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Kosher salt, to taste at the end
- 8 Italian rolls

### Directions

- Toast the fennel seed in a dry skillet for 1 minute until fragrant, then crush it.
- Mix the oregano, basil, fennel, onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and pepper and rub it over the roast.
- Put the roast in the crockpot with the smashed garlic and pour in the broth, brine and vinegar.
- Cover and cook 8 to 10 hours on LOW, or 4 to 5 hours on HIGH.
- Check the thickest part. Pull it at 195 to 205°F, or cook 30 more minutes if it reads lower.
- Move the roast to a bowl and skim the fat from the juice. Pour the juice through a strainer back into the crock.
- Shred the beef and return it to the juice. Taste, then add salt ¼ teaspoon at a time.
- Simmer the juice 10 to 15 minutes on HIGH with the lid off if it is thin.
- Toast the rolls, fill them with beef, and dip each sandwich in the juice for 2 to 3 seconds.

 

### Notes

 

Because the broth is low-sodium, the pot can taste flat before the final salt, so season only at the end. A teaspoon of brine brightens the beef. The shredded beef freezes for 3 months.

 

  

## Why scratch spices beat the packet

 

A homemade mix lets you control the salt, and toasted fennel gives a faint sausage-like warmth. That is a classic Italian beef flavor that packets often skip.

 

Red wine vinegar adds the brightness a packet would.

 

## Swaps and serving

 

Italian seasoning can replace the separate herbs if that is what you have. Crushed fennel is hard to substitute, so leave it in. Serve on crusty rolls with giardiniera.

 

Roasted peppers also make a good topping.

 

## Storing and the salt mistake

 

Keep the shredded beef in its strained juice for 4 days. It freezes in flat bags.

 

The mistake is salting at the start. The juice concentrates in the pot and can end up too salty to fix.

 

## Tasting before you serve

 

With no packet, the flavor is entirely yours, so taste the juice as you go. If it seems flat, add salt in tiny steps. If it seems dull rather than flat, a splash more brine or vinegar helps. Fennel and red pepper flakes should be noticeable but never loud.