Inspired by a popular sandwich from a local hole in the wall tavern, this ribeye steak is marinated in a flavorful blend, then grilled, served on pistolette rolls and dressed simply with grilled onion, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomatoes. Serve with chips and a pickle spear.
Grilled Ribeye Steak Sandwich
If you're from Biloxi, you likely know of The Project Lounge, and at some point in your life, you've probably been there too.Though they moved from their original location near Highway 90 on the beach to a little bit further away near Keesler Gate 7, they have always been known for being a dark and smoky bar, but they are also well known for their hamburgers and steak sandwiches.
Here, I was trying to duplicate their steak sandwich, though frankly it has been awhile since I've been in there to have one for comparison. My lungs just can't take that level of smoke anymore.
Although I rarely enhance a good ribeye with a marinade, I wanted to try and capture the flavor of their sandwich. The most I could get out of sweet talkin' the guy at the bar the last time I was there, was that the marinade base was soy, Worcestershire and liquid smoke plus a few more seasonings.
I did a half recipe here, using two 9-ounce ribeye steaks from my freezer, though thinner breakfast style ribeye steaks would work nicely too. Just adjust cooking time accordingly. For each of my steaks, I can make 2 sandwiches using pistolettes or mini po'boy buns, which make just the right size sandwich, though number of servings will depend on both the size steak and bread that you use.
For the sandwiches, you can dress them however you want, but I stick to the basic condiments and dressing used by Project Lounge - mayo, lettuce, tomatoes and grilled onions, with a side of potato chips and a pickle spear. You can certainly dress them like a cheesesteak sandwich, or an Italian drip style sandwiches too.
As always, full recipe text with measurements and instructions, as well as a printable document, are a little bit further down the page. Just swipe or scroll past the step-by-step pictures below.
Here's how to make them.
For the marinade, I'm using liquid smoke (like Colgin), steak sauce (I'm using A1), soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, extra virgin olive oil, red wine and balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, dried oregano and black pepper.
Place steaks into a non-reactive, covered container or zippered bag placed into a bowl. Pour marinade on top and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
Preheat grill or grill pan to high. Slice each onion into 3 to 4 thick slices. Spray or brush each side with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. I'm using my EVO oil sprayer - love that thing!
I'm using my Ninja Foodi grill, but if you're using an outside grill either place the onions in an oiled grill basket or use skewers to keep them from falling through the grates. It's important to that you cut the onions pretty thick if you're going to need to skewer them. Grill for about 4 to 5 minutes, turning halfway.
Carefully remove and set aside.
Toast or heat rolls in oven or air fryer if desired and cut in half lengthwise. I'm using my Instant Vortex oven style air fryer. These appliances are the most used in my kitchen!
Grill steak over direct high heat to desired doneness. I like mine medium rare and that's about 4 to 6 minutes on the Ninja Foodi grill, but your time will depend on the appliance you're using as well as the thickness of steaks.
Prep lettuce and slice tomatoes. Y'all I LOVE this Rada tomato knife. It slices so beautifully through the soft skin of a tomato, you won't believe it! If you love fresh tomatoes like me, it's worth having on hand.
Set steaks aside and let rest for 5 minutes, then trim to fit rolls. I was able to make 4 sandwiches from these two 9-ounce steaks.
Now we build our sandwich! Spread mayonnaise on both sides of cut rolls.
Add the grilled onions to the bottom roll.
Place steaks on top of the onions. Man, that makes my mouth water just looking at it again!
Add tomato.
Top with lettuce.
Add top slice of bread and serve with potato chips and pickle spear on the side. Dig in!
Unable to view the printable below on your device? Click or tap here.
Thank you for supporting my work! Please note that Images and Full Post Content including photographs and recipe ©Deep South Dish. Recipes are offered for your own personal use only and while pinning and sharing links is welcomed and encouraged, do not copy and paste post or recipe text to repost or republish to any social media (such as other Facebook pages, etc.), blogs, websites, forums, or any print medium, without explicit prior permission. Unauthorized use of content from ©Deep South Dish is a violation of both the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and copyright law. All rights reserved.
Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.
210620rhp