Philly cheesesteak reproduced

My cousins came back from a week in Philadelphia. Of course, they fell in love with the local cheesesteak, especially the ones "wid Whiz."

Saturday, I got a phone call inviting me to a cheesesteak lunch at their house. They were going to try to duplicate a cheesesteak. The catch was I had to make the rolls, an important component.

Because of the limited time available, I opted for a German kaiser roll recipe, shaped into torpedoes (and sprinkled with black sesame seeds because I couldn't find my regular sesame seeds). I divided the dough into eighths, but I didn't realize how much and how fast the dough would rise. The result was humungous-sized rolls. So, Sunday morning I made another batch and divided it into sixteenths. Voila! And talk about fast. The whole process was less than three hours.

Kaiser rolls might not be truly cheesesteak-authentic, but they sure are better than most impostors. Filled with sliced ribeye and sauteed onions wid some Whiz, the cheesesteaks were a winner. Now that I've tried cheesesteaks wid Whiz (which was good), I think I'll stick with provolone (which I think is better). Now I know which camp I fall into.

I've never made Kaiser rolls. How close are they to kummelwick rolls? I imagine you don't use caraway and large salt on the top, but is the dough similar?

[Robin Garr]

I just hate to be a pedant here (well, no, really I don't ), but I think you'll find that in traditional Philly parlance "wit'" refers to "wit' fried onions." You can ask for Cheez Whiz or you can ask for Provolone, but that's not wit'.

more importantly the cheese that is used in nearly all places is neither whiz nor provalone. it is standard white american slices. a few places that have gotten famous in south philly use whiz because its faster; but i've never seen it anywhere in philly or south jersey and i eat those things every chance i get. i grew up there. btw, the meat is the really thin sliced minute steaks that you buy frozen. a small stack of them is pulled apart with a pair of metal spatulas as they fry is regular salad oil. then a couple of slices are put on top and soon after a very long spatula puts the whole thing on the roll in one motion. watching them be made increases the anticipation and thus the pleasure for me.

I've never made Kaiser rolls. How close are they to kummelwick rolls? I imagine you don't use caraway and large salt on the top, but is the dough similar?

Last Summer, for a family gathering in PA, it was decided to have "Beef on 'Weck". However, the bakeries in PA don't make kummelwick rolls, so we used Kaiser rolls, moistened the tops and topped them with pretzel salt and caraway seeds. It worked. There is a locally famous sub shop here (Viola's) that's been making a steak & cheese sub pretty much the way David describes since the '50s. However, the cheese used is white Swiss-American, the rolls are locally baked crusty Italian style sub rolls and the subs are topped with diced tomatoes, chopped sweet onions, shredded lettuce, oil and they shake a seasoning blend, which I believe consists of salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil and oregano. Not a Philly cheese-steak, but they're unique and I love them. Whenever folks who moved away come for a visit, they always go there.

I just hate to be a pedant here (well, no, really I don't ), but I think you'll find that in traditional Philly parlance "wit'" refers to "wit' fried onions." You can ask for Cheez Whiz or you can ask for Provolone, but that's not wit'.

As much as I hate to admit it, you're right. Wit' means wit' onions. But my cousin asked the proprietor of the place he visited about what kind of cheese he should use. The answer was "Wit' Whiz." I was quoting that and, besides, it sounded nice and alliterative (how's that for pedantic?).

Having grown up in PA, I'm quite familiar with the hard "th." It's taken decades to soften my utterances, although a hard "th" may come to the fore when I'm harried and stressed out.

more importantly the cheese that is used in nearly all places is neither whiz nor provalone. it is standard white american slices. a few places that have gotten famous in south philly use whiz because its faster; but i've never seen it anywhere in philly or south jersey and i eat those things every chance i get. i grew up there. btw, the meat is the really thin sliced minute steaks that you buy frozen. a small stack of them is pulled apart with a pair of metal spatulas as they fry is regular salad oil. then a couple of slices are put on top and soon after a very long spatula puts the whole thing on the roll in one motion. watching them be made increases the anticipation and thus the pleasure for me.

I cooked hundred of cheesesteaks at fairs and always used white American cheese slices. But, American, Whiz or provolone are traditional. Swiss is not. It all depends on who you talk to.

Here's a cheese excerpt from Wikipedia's take on cheesesteaks:

White American cheese, provolone, and Cheez Whiz are the most frequently used cheeses and are available for steaks at most places. Swiss, cheddar, and mozzarella are available at a few locations; locals, however, will often say that a "true" Philadelphia cheesesteak is never made with Swiss cheese.[4]

Cheez Whiz, first marketed in 1952, was not yet available for the original 1930 version, but it has come to achieve some popularity.

A 1986 New York Times article called Cheez Whiz "the sine qua non of cheesesteak connoisseurs."[5] In a 1985 interview, Frank Olivieri (Pat Olivieri's nephew) said that he uses "the processed cheese spread familiar to millions of parents who prize speed and ease in fixing the children's lunch for the same reason, because it is fast."[6]

A recipe published by Pat's King of Steaks says, with regard to cheese, "We recommend Cheez Whiz; American or Provolone works fine."[7] The proprietor of Geno's, however, considers provolone or American cheese more authentic, but Pat's introduction of Cheese Whiz allowed it to quickly become a "topping of choice."[8]

I've never made Kaiser rolls. How close are they to kummelwick rolls? I imagine you don't use caraway and large salt on the top, but is the dough similar?

No. There's more yeast, sugar and oil. And there's sesame or poppy seeds instead of salt and caraway. But I'll bet a cheesesteak tastes just fine on kimmelwick rolls. FWIW, I was amazed at how fast the kaiser roll recipe rose and how soon the whole process was over.

The traditional cheesesteak roll is a hoagie roll. Here's a link to a Philly hoagie roll baker that supplies many states: http://amorosobaking.com/index.html

larry - congrats on getting rid of the hard 'th'. but i'll bet you still say 'wudder' for 'water'! i know i do.

More like "wadder."