Roast Beef Po' Boy with Debris Gravy

Ingredients

• 4 lb beef chuck roast
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp Creole seasoning
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, sliced
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 lengths (8 inches each) New Orleans French bread
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp Creole mustard
• 3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
• 2 ripe tomatoes, sliced
• 24 dill pickle chips

Before you cook

• Pat the chuck dry and season it all over with the salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning.
• Chop the onion and celery and slice the garlic.
• Heat the oven to 300 degrees.

Steps

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over high heat until it just begins to smoke.
2. Sear the roast for 5 minutes per side, until every surface is dark brown, then move it to a plate.
3. Lower the heat to medium, add the onion and celery, and cook for 6 minutes until softened.
4. Add the sliced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
5. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir for 2 minutes, until it smells nutty.
6. Whisk in the beef broth and Worcestershire, scraping the bottom of the pot clean.
7. Return the roast and any juices to the pot, add the bay leaves, and bring it to a simmer.
8. Cover the pot and braise it in the oven for 3 hours, turning the roast once halfway, until a fork slides in with no resistance.
9. Lift the roast onto a board and pull it apart with two forks, letting the shreds and the small crumbly bits fall back into the gravy.
10. Simmer the pot uncovered on the stove for 10 minutes so the gravy thickens around the beef and the little scraps, which is the debris.
11. Split the bread lengthwise, leaving a hinge, and toast it cut side up under the broiler for 2 minutes until the crust crackles.
12. Spread mayonnaise and Creole mustard on the top half of each loaf.
13. Spoon the beef and its gravy into the bottom halves, letting the gravy soak into the crumb.
14. Dress each sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and pickles, close it, and press it flat before cutting in half.