Jersey Mike’s Famous Philly Cheese Steak Copycat Recipe (Sub #17)
Jersey Mike’s built its reputation on freshly sliced deli meats and bread baked in-store. Its hot subs run on the same idea, and the Famous Philly — sub #17 — is the plainest and most honest of the bunch: shaved beef seared on a flat-top, grilled onions, and white American cheese melted into a smooth blanket on a warm roll. No sauce hiding behind it, no gimmick. Just the classic Philly cheesesteak done right.
This is the parent of the wildly popular #43 Chipotle Cheese Steak. The #43 takes this exact beef-and-cheese base, adds grilled green peppers, and finishes with smoky chipotle mayo. Strip those off and you’re back to the #17 — the plain original, and the version most people picture when they hear “Philly cheesesteak.”
TL;DR: White American cheese (not provolone) for the smooth, sauce-like melt. High heat, fast cook — shaved beef is done in about 2 minutes. Freeze the ribeye 30–45 minutes before slicing, or buy pre-shaved steak. Grill the onions first, sear the beef, dome-melt the cheese for 30 seconds, and serve on a warm roll. Add green peppers if you want the full Jersey Mike’s #17.
What Is the Famous Philly — and Why Sub #17
Jersey Mike’s numbers its subs, and the cheesesteaks form a small family. The Famous Philly (#17) is the plain version: grilled shaved steak, grilled onions, and white American cheese. As listed on the menu it also carries grilled green peppers, so if you want to match the shop exactly, add a pepper to the griddle — but the soul of the sandwich is beef, onions, and that smooth white cheese.
Its siblings build on the same base. The Chipotle Cheese Steak (#43) adds green peppers and smoky chipotle mayo. The Chipotle Chicken Cheese Steak (#42) swaps the beef for grilled chicken. All of them start from the #17’s beef-and-cheese foundation — which is why nailing the Famous Philly is the key that unlocks the whole cheesesteak side of the menu.
The Philly Cheesesteak — a Quick Bit of History
The cheesesteak was born in Philadelphia in the early 1930s. The widely told origin credits Pat Olivieri, a South Philly hot dog vendor, who threw some sliced beef on his griddle one day instead of the usual dogs. A cab driver smelled it, asked for one, and the steak sandwich was off. Olivieri’s stand became Pat’s King of Steaks, still standing at 9th and Passyunk. Cheese came later — provolone first, then Cheez Whiz after it hit the market in the 1950s, and American somewhere in between.
That history matters for one reason: a real Philly cheesesteak is a simple sandwich. Thin-sliced beef, griddled onions, cheese, a soft roll. Everything Jersey Mike’s does with the #17 is in that tradition — which is exactly why it’s worth making at home instead of ordering something fussier.
The Jersey Mike’s Story
The original shop opened in 1956 in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, as Mike’s Subs — one of the first spots on the Jersey Shore to sell the submarine sandwich. Peter Cancro started working there in 1971 at age 14. Four years later, at 17, he bought the shop, financing the purchase with a $125,000 loan from his youth football coach, Rod Smith, who happened to be a local banker.
Cancro began franchising in 1987 under the name Jersey Mike’s Subs, deliberately anchoring the brand to New Jersey, where the sub tradition runs deepest. The chain now has more than 3,000 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Through all of it the ethos has held: slice the meat fresh, bake the bread on-site, keep the build honest. The Famous Philly sits squarely on that foundation.
The Meat — Shaved Ribeye Is the Move
Jersey Mike’s uses shaved beef — very thin slices that cook in seconds on a hot flat-top. The cut isn’t published, but every credible copycat source points to ribeye for home cooking. The marbling keeps the paper-thin strips tender at high heat; leaner cuts work but dry out faster.
How to shave steak at home without a deli slicer:
Put a boneless ribeye in the freezer for 30–45 minutes. You want the outside firm and stiff — not bendable — but not frozen solid through the middle. At that texture the meat holds its shape and you can slice paper-thin strips with a sharp chef’s knife, cutting against the grain (perpendicular to the long muscle fibers). Aim for strips no thicker than ⅛ inch, thinner if you can.
If there’s a butcher counter nearby, ask them to shave the ribeye for you — most will do it for free. Pre-shaved beef from the grocery freezer section (often labeled “sandwich steak” or “minute steak”) also works and skips the knife entirely.
White American Cheese — Why You Cannot Swap It (Casually)
White American cheese melts into a smooth, creamy coating that drapes over every piece of shaved beef — closer to a sauce than a cheese at griddle temperature. That smoothness comes from sodium citrate and other emulsifying salts in processed American cheese, which stop the proteins from clumping and breaking when heated. It’s the same reason Cheez Whiz is traditional in Philadelphia: the emulsifiers, not the flavor.
Provolone is genuinely traditional too — plenty of Philly purists order “wit provolone” — but it melts in strings and pools rather than a smooth blanket, and it tastes sharper. It’s a real choice, just a different sandwich. Jersey Mike’s uses white American on the Famous Philly, and for the smooth, restaurant-style melt at home, so should you. Two slices per sandwich is plenty; melt them under a dome lid for 30–45 seconds and the trapped steam turns them into a smooth coat over the beef.
The three-way rule of thumb: American for smooth and mild, Whiz for smooth and salty-nostalgic, provolone for sharp and stringy. All three are correct. This recipe defaults to American because it’s what the #17 uses and the hardest to mess up.
Jersey Mike’s Bread — The Part Most Copycats Miss
Jersey Mike’s marketing leans on “freshly baked bread,” and the bread is genuinely good — crusty outside, soft inside, warm from the oven. What many people don’t realize is that the dough comes pre-made: the supplier is Guttenplan’s, a New Jersey bakery operation that ships dough frozen to locations, where staff thaw, proof, and bake it on-site for about 20 minutes. The roll is genuinely hot and fresh; it just wasn’t mixed from scratch in the shop.
For home cooking, the goal is the same texture: a fresh hoagie or sub roll with a soft interior and a thin, pliable crust that can hold a heavy hot filling without shattering. In Philadelphia the benchmark rolls come from bakeries like Amoroso’s and Liscio’s. Wherever you are, avoid crusty artisan baguettes (too chewy) and squishy sandwich bread (no structure). Split the roll and toast the cut side in a dry pan for about 60 seconds — that quick toast is the closest you’ll get to the warm, just-baked roll at the shop.
The Griddle Technique — How Jersey Mike’s Cooks It
Jersey Mike’s cooks on a flat-top at medium-high heat. Here’s the sequence, and it translates cleanly to a cast-iron skillet at home:
- Oil goes on the griddle and heats until it shimmers and ripples.
- Onions (and peppers, if you’re building the full #17) cook first, until soft and lightly charred, then get pushed to the side.
- Shaved beef is spread across the hot surface in a single layer and left undisturbed for about 60 seconds until the underside browns.
- A metal spatula chops and turns the beef, breaking it into smaller pieces while salt and pepper go on.
- The onions get folded back into the beef and everything is combined.
- The mixture is formed into a long row about the size of the sub roll.
- White American cheese is laid over the top and melted under a dome for 30 seconds.
The one thing you cannot fake is heat. The pan must be fully hot before the beef hits it, or the meat steams gray instead of searing. Get it ripping-hot, work fast, and the shaved steak browns in about two minutes.
Variations
The full Jersey Mike’s #17: Add a sliced green bell pepper to the griddle with the onions. That’s the on-menu build.
Provolone or Whiz: Swap the white American for provolone (sharper, stringier) or Cheez Whiz (the Philly classic) depending on which cheesesteak tradition you’re chasing.
Chipotle upgrade (toward the #43): Spread a quick chipotle mayo — mayo, minced chipotle in adobo, a little adobo sauce, lime, and garlic powder — on the roll, and add grilled green peppers. That turns the #17 into the Chipotle Cheese Steak (#43).
Mike’s Way: Jersey Mike’s tops cold subs “Mike’s Way” — shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions, oil and vinegar, and spices added cold. It’s unconventional on a hot cheesesteak, but a little added after the fact brings crunch and acidity if you want it.
Cost Comparison
| Home Version | Jersey Mike’s | |
|---|---|---|
| Per sandwich | ~$4.00–5.50 | ~$10.45–11.45 (regular) |
| 4 sandwiches | ~$16–22 | ~$42–46 |
Four generous sandwiches at home for less than the price of two at the shop, using the same core ingredients.
Storage and Reheating
Cooked beef-and-onion filling: 3 days refrigerated. Reheat in a dry cast-iron skillet over medium heat with a splash of water, covered briefly to bring back the moisture. Do not microwave shaved beef — it turns chewy.
Assembled sandwiches: Don’t store them assembled. The beef juices soak through the roll within an hour. Cook the filling ahead if you want, but melt the cheese and build each sandwich fresh.
More Sub Sandwiches Worth Making at Home
- Copycat Jersey Mike’s Chipotle Cheese Steak (#43) — the #17’s spicier sibling: same base plus grilled green peppers and smoky chipotle mayo.
- Copycat Jersey Mike’s Italian Sub — the cold counterpart (#13): Genoa salami, capicola, ham, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, oil and vinegar.
- Copycat Subway Meatball Sub — a different style of hot sub: slow-simmered meatballs in marinara with melted mozzarella.
- Copycat Wawa Hoagie — the Mid-Atlantic rival’s take on a fresh-built sub.
- All Jersey Mike’s copycat recipes →
