Make Restaurant-Quality Cheesesteaks At Home With This Store-Bought Shaved Beef

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There’s something about the best Philly cheesesteaks from old-school shops that seems tough to recreate at home. Maybe it’s the hot griddle that perfectly melds the beef, cheese, and onions, or just the experience of ordering at your favorite spot. But making a restaurant-quality cheesesteak at home is absolutely possible — and it starts with the right meat. Demakes Bros. Choice Beef Shaved Steak is one product that strikes the perfect balance between flavor and affordability.

The cut of beef traditionally used for cheesesteak is thinly sliced ribeye, but it can be pricey, and Demakes Bros. Shaved Steak is the next-best, high-quality, yet accessible choice. This product is made with 100% all-natural beef with no additives or fillers, and it’s pre-cut into thin slices, so you don’t have to break out a sharp knife to slice beef for cheesesteaks. Unlike other products that don’t specify the beef cut grade of their meat, this Demakes Bros. item is 100% USDA Choice. 

Demakes Bros. is a family-owned meat company that prides itself on superior ingredients and excellent value. You can pick up a 14-ounce pack of its shaved steak at Target for $8; a bigger 20-ounce package at Acme or Giant for $11 to $12, or a 2-pound double pack at Sam’s Club for around $17.50. With a few essential tips, turning the beef into a cheesesteak couldn’t be easier.

If you’re not convinced to buy Demakes Bros. shaved steak, just read the reviews. “This shaved steak is FANTASTIC!!!” wrote one Sam’s Club shopper. “I used to buy extra thin prime ribeye … for almost double the price of this … honestly, this is more tender than that was!” Another reviewer wrote, “My teen son loves when I use this for Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. Makes it quick and easy and he said [it tastes] better than some restaurants.”

To swap the Demakes Bros. steak into a homemade Philly cheesesteak recipe, you’ll want to cook the thinly-shaved beef for less time than you would with thicker-cut pieces to avoid drying it out. The company’s own cheesesteak recipe recommends sauteeing the beef until browned and just cooked through, which takes three to five minutes. If you like to cook your onions for longer than that, you should do so before adding the beef to the pan.

You’ll also want to avoid other mistakes everyone makes with Philly cheesesteaks, like cutting the onions too thick or neglecting to toast the bread. Rather than laying the cheese (which should be provolone, American, or Cheez Whiz) on top of the finished sandwich, consider combining the cheese, beef, and veggies in the skillet and then piling the mixture into your toasted hoagie roll. That’s how it’s done at cheesesteak shops for the ideal melding of flavors, and the resulting messy pan is worth it.