Open-Faced Roast Beef Sandwich

When it comes to comfort foods, it’s hard to beat an open-faced roast beef sandwich. I mean, it uses a bunch of the comfort style food groups so it has to be near the top of the comfort food hierarchy, right? It’s got mashed potatoes, hearty beef and gravy, and bread — does it get any better?

One of the things I love most about it is that it’s made completely with leftovers. These are all ingredients you’d have from your Cowboy Chuck Roast meal unless you didn’t have any leftovers — which is entirely possible. If that’s the case, it’s worth making another smoked chuck roast (some call this a pot roast) just to make these roast beef sandwiches.

The bread for this sandwich is key. You don’t want to just use any slice of bread, you need a bread that can stand up to the weight of the stacks of goodness you’ll be placing on it.

For me, that bread is sourdough. It’s not only hearty enough to stand up to the weight of that sandwich and the rich flavor of the beef, but its unique flavor balances this meal. The sourness of the bread pairs so well with the richness of the beef and gravy.

If you don’t like sourdough you could also use ciabatta. That said, even if you don’t think you like sourdough, try it with this sandwich and you might be surprised.

Depending on the temperature you prefer your chuck roast cooked to, I recommend either very thinly sliced beef or pulled beef for this sandwich. The thicker slices make this open-faced hot beef sandwich hard to cut with a fork.

How to Reheat Leftovers

Since this is a hot beef sandwich, we’re obviously going to have to be sure all your ingredients are warm. In plenty of cases, I recommend the oven or a cast iron pan for reheating leftovers. For this open-faced hot beef sandwich, it’s fine to just use the microwave.

When reheating the beef in the microwave I recommend taking a couple of tablespoons of the beef gravy and mixing it with equal amounts of water. Add that to the beef and cover before heating. This helps to keep the beef from drying out.

Open-Faced Hot Beef Sandwich Recipe

Serves: 2 | Prep Time: 10 min | Cooking Time: 10 min

Ingredients
1 loaf hearty sourdough bread, unsliced
1 lb cooked chuck roast
1 lb garlic mashed potatoes
12 oz beef gravy
1 tbsp parsley, chopped for garnish

How to Make an Open-Faced Hot Beef Sandwich

Step 1: Slice your loaf of sourdough into 1.5″ thick slices and place on a plate.

Step 2: Place an equal amount of warm mashed potatoes on each slice of bread.

Step 3: Top mashed potatoes with equal amounts of warm chuck roast.

Step 4: Drizzle equal parts of hot beef gravy over each sandwich.

Step 5: Garnish with fresh parsley and serve hot.

Open-Faced Hot Beef Sandwich Recipe