These Chipotle Steak Sandwiches are cheesy, smoky and salty goodness that melts into your mouth. Made with thinly sliced salted dry brined steak strips grilled to juicy perfection tucked inside crusty thick cut bread smeared with house made chipotle aioli layered with sweet caramelized onions, arugula, and melted cheddar cheese.

This is what a juicy steak sandwich should taste like. Steak and chipotle sauce paired together in a sandwich is the real deal. Grilled thin steak strips that just melt into the sandwich with gooey melted cheddar cheese and a pile of perfectly caramelized onions.. you can’t ask for anything better.

DRY BRINED STEAK

To get away from that tough chewy steak this is a great way to ensure that the steak is perfectly seasoned and has a good amount of moisture locked inside. The process is simply to rub the steak all over with salt and let it rest refrigerated. Now of course the longer you do this the better especially with really thick cut pieces. But because I am just using a 1 1/2 thick cut NY strip I can get away with 30 minutes to 1 hour. Essentially the salt crystals help to draw out the moisture in the steak which you might notice that the salt looks like its melting overtop the steak as its resting. Eventually that moisture will go back into the steak and you’ll notice the colour become more vibrant. What’s happening is that the process is breaking down those proteins or fibres for a more tender bite.

CHOOSING A STEAK

Its still important to choose a decent cut of steak to achieve a well seasoned tender bite that’s achievable in a smaller amount of time. Which is what were doing here. Of course if you want to brine the steak for 24 hours to really get the effects and if you remember to do it that far in advance that’s even better. Choose a cut that has some nice marbling and fat peaking throughout, not too thin at least 1 inch thick and that’s good for grilling.

This has all the makings of a well prepared restaurant quality steak sandwich but made at home. I love love love caramelized onions on my steak sandwich. I think its an important ingredient worth the time required to prepare. Now onions can be made in advance, refrigerated and reheated. They will keep for a couple of days so making a big batch can be worth it. As far as the chipotle aioli, I usually have a bottle of a homemade version stored but these days you can grab a bottle at the grocery store. The basics is chipotle peppers in adobo, mayonnaise, and citrus juice.

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Print Recipe

Chipotle steak sandwich

thinly sliced salt cured steak strips grilled to juicy perfection served with sweet caramelized onions, arugula, melted cheddar cheese and finished with a smoky chipotle aioli.

Prep Time45 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

additional30 minutes mins

Course: Burgers & Sandwiches

Keyword: chipotle aioli, lunch, sandwich, steak sandwich

Ingredients

• 1 10oz NY strip steak
• salt coarse
• cheddar cheese slices
• 2 oz beef broth
• arugula
• crusty bread sliced
• chipotle aioli
• 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp salted butter

Instructions

• brine steak: prep the steak by patting it dry with a paper towel. Rub the steak on both sides and the edges with coarse salt, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. When ready to slice, remove the excess salt with a paper towel. Thinly slice with a sharp knife against the grain.
• Caramelize onions: In the meantime, make the onions. Melt butter in a large pan. Once melted down, add the thin slices of onions. Cook on medium-low heat stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and jammy like and caramelized. Roughly 40 minutes.
• To make the sandwiches: Heat a griddle or BBQ to high heat. Once hot, sear the thin pieces of steak on both sides to preferred doneness. For medium rare flip after 1-2 minutes a aside. Top with cheddar cheese slices, a splash of beef broth and cover with a lid to allow cheese to melt.
• To assemble: brush the bread with some butter and toast until golden. Spread both sides with chipotle aioli, layer with arugula, melted cheese and steak slices and top with caramelized onions. Enjoy!