Philly Roast Pork Sandwich

When you think of the iconic foods from Philadelphia, most people immediately conjure up images of the Philly Cheesesteak, soft pretzels, and water ice. If you are from the Philly area, however, its all about the Philly Roast Pork Sandwich!

Why you will love this Roast Pork

• Tender slow roasted thinly sliced, juicy roast pork nestled into the perfect seeded Philadelphia roll topped with broccoli rabe and Land O Lakes® Deli American Cheese or Provolone cheese (your preference) is how a proper Philly Roast Pork sandwich will give anyone one of those "ommmnomomgoshmmmm" moments.
• Seconds after you take a bite of this iconic Philadelphia sandwich, as warm pork juice is dripping down your hands, you try to process the delicious food sensation that your palate and brain are experiencing and you unknowingly begin to try to talk, lol!
• Trust me it's true! "errmygoditsssooogoood" or something like that. Even if you don't want the sandwich (gasp!!) The Italian Roast Pork Recipe is delicious on its own.

To make the best sandwich, It starts with the roll, a proper seeded roll is best. Liscio's rolls are this Philly girls favorite!

It will still be delicious with which over crusty roll you can find. Outside of the Philadelphia area, if you know of a good deli near you, I would go out of my way and grab their fresh crusty rolls.

The cheese should be either Land O Lakes Deli American Cheese (white) or Provolone cheese, in my opinion.

Tips

• The better your ingredients (meat, cheese, rolls), the better the end result.
• If your pork roast has a layer of fat, score it with the tip of a sharp knife in a criss-cross pattern and place the fat side down (on top of onion slices)when cooking. This helps flavor the drippings and eventually the au jus.
• Season your pork well and refrigerate overnight.
• Before roasting allow the pork to come up to room temp (90 minutes to 2 hours on the counter).
• For maximum flavor, roast pork the day before, allow it to rest. Once cooled to room temperature, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and chill overnight. When ready to use, slice it down cold as thin as you can, reheating it in the juice.
• I like to make my pork roast in oven, however you can make your pork roast in a crock pot / slow cooker pork roast as well.

Ingredients

• brown sugar
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• fennel seed
• thyme
• oregano
• paprika
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• 3-4 pound boneless pork roast
• white wine
• cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
• garlic
• broccoli rabe
• seeded hoagie roll
• American or Provolone cheese
• Salt & pepper

Want to taste one of these Philly Roast Pork Sandwiches for yourself without booking a trip to The City of Brotherly Love?? You can!

All you need are a handful of good ingredients and some time for your pork to do its thing.

Instructions

• When it comes to making the perfect Philly Roast Pork Sandwich or Italian Roast Pork recipe, you need to start with a nice boneless pork shoulder. Rub it down with some spices and then let it sit overnight in your fridge (covered of course).
• The next day, allow it to sit out 90 minutes to 2 hours before you begin roasting it. (If you are a slow-cooker wiz you can go that route instead, you can also make this pork shoulder in the instant pot / pressure cooker).
• When it comes time to assemble the sandwich you decide if you want your roll toasted or not (if you toast it...add the cheese to the sliced open roll as you do so it melts gloriously), cook your broccoli rabe, heat your gravy and dip your meat into the warm gravy just long enough to heat it through.
• Then you assemble your sandwich. cheese, pork, broccoli rabe, salt & pepper and a tiny drizzle of pork gravy. MMMM-mmmmm!
• Me? I like mine not toasted, I just love a good Philly roll, just the way it is. Don't forget to roll up your sleeves and have napkins at the ready!

Variations

• Leave the cooked broccoli rabe whole or chop it up.
• Swap the broccoli rabe for sautéed spinach and garlic (with a bit or red pepper flakes, S&P).
• Use provolone cheese, white American cheese or no cheese.

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Enjoy! XO - Colleen

Originally posted November, 2018. Updated December, 2023.

Philly Roast Pork Sandwich

Colleen Kennedy

Delicious Roast Pork Recipe. Philly Roast Pork Sandwich recipe - The iconic sandwich of Philly. Cheesesteak who??

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Sandwich

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• Spice Rub
• 2 TBS brown sugar
• 1 TBS kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 TBS paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

Pork

• 3-4 pound boneless pork roast
• 2 Vidalia Onions, thickly sliced
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 ½ cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 5 cloves garlic smashed

Sandwich

• broccoli rabe
• Roast pork slices
• au jus
• American cheese or Provolone cheese
• Salt & pepper

Instructions

 

• Roast Pork
• If your pork is already tied up, leave it that way. Rub it all over with the seasoning rub you made. Cover or wrap in plastic and allow it to sit in your fridge 8-24 hours.
• When ready to roast the pork. Allow it to sit on your counter for 60 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Place pork in a casserole dish or oven pan with 1 inch or greater sides, on a bed of thick sliced Vidalia onions. Add wine, chicken or vegetable stock and 5 cloves garlic and roast for 20 minutes.
• Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees and continue cooking until internal temperature of the meat is 140 degrees F. (about 1 ½-2 hours depending on the size of your pork.
• Remove pork from the oven and allow it to cool almost completely. Cut off any twine/strings/elastic.
• Wrap it in foil and place it in the fridge overnight.
• Reserve liquid including any bits scraped up. You can choose to use a stick blender and puree the garlic and onions that remain or remove them. This becomes you au jus for the sandwiches.
• When ready to make sandwiches the next day or the day after that. Slice the pork thinly as thin as you can get it). *You want the meat completely chilled before you slice it so all juices stay in the meat. Heat up the au jus and sip slices into the hot liquid before adding to the roll.

Broccoli Rabe

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Prepare an ice bath (a bowl of cold water with a couple handfuls of ice). Once water is at a rolling boil, cook broccoli rabe for 1 minute, strain broccoli rabe from the boiling water (or use a slotted strainer to remove) and immediately place into ice water bath.
• Remove broccoli rabe from the ice bath and blot with paper towels till dry (this can be done ahead of time as well).
• When ready to saute the broccoli rabe, coat a saute pan with grapeseed or olive oil, add in 5 cloves of smashed garlic and a couple pinches of red pepper flakes. Allow the garlic to turn golden and then discard it.
• Add in broccoli rabe, toss it with the oil to coat, season well with salt and pepper and cook until heated through (2 minutes).
• Chop it up into bite sized pieces and set it aside on a plate until ready to use in sandwich assembly.
• Sandwich Assembly
• Heat pork juices saved from previous day (you can add in extra stock if necessary) toss in a couple of finely minced garlic cloves if you like and red pepper flakes for a little heat, if you have a sprig of Rosemary or Thyme, add that in too however it is not necessary.
• Bring liquid to a boil and then turn off the burner.
• Toss the broccoli rabe into the liquid just to heat it through and remove.
• Dip in or add in as much of the sliced pork as you may be using for however many sandwiches you are making at the time.
• If toasting your rolls, preheat oven to 350 degrees, cut open rolls and place 3-4 slices on each roll, overlapping them some. Place on baking sheet and bak just until rolls crist up and cheese begins to melt.
• If not toasting your rolls, cut open rolls and place 3-4 slices on each roll, overlapping them some (the heat of the meat will slightly melt the cheese which is what you want)
• Add your meat onto the rolls followed by the broccoli rabe, season with a little black pepper, poon a small amount of the au jus overtop and dig in!

Notes

If your pork roast has a layer of fat, score it with the tip of a sharp knife in a criss-cross pattern and place the fat side down when cooking. This helps flavor the drippings and eventually the au jus.

Keyword italian roast pork, Philly roast pork sandwich, roast pork sandwich

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