As someone not from Upstate New York, I had no idea what beef on weck was. Until I discovered it while judging a burger contest, and needless to say, it made an impression. It starts with the roll, the signature Kümmelweck, is insanely good and we’re not exactly sure how they’re keeping it locked in all to themselves up there. Then you pile on a mountain of sliced beef and horseradish sauce with a bucket of jus to dunk it all in.
This version skips the two-hour roast entirely, but you could easily start with homemade roast beef. For now, deli-sliced beef gets a five-minute soak in a Worcestershire-spiked au jus instead of an oven, so you land the same soggy-crisp roll and horseradish punch in about thirty minutes, and the beef stays tender because it barely sees heat before it hits the bun. Buffalo’s been arguing over who makes the best weck for a century. We’ll leave that battle to them for now; this is as close as we’re getting at home.
🔪 Ingredients for Beef on Weck
For the Horseradish Sauce
- Sour cream
- Mayonnaise
- Prepared horseradish, drained: drain it well or the sauce runs thin instead of holding a scoopable body
- White wine vinegar
- Kosher salt & Black pepper
For the Kümmelweck Rolls (this is a signature part of what makes a beef on weck, if you skip this it’s just a fancy roast beef sandwich).
- Kaiser rolls: sturdy, hard-crust rolls only. Soft sandwich buns fall apart the second they meet the au jus
- Egg, beaten
- Caraway seeds: this is what makes it a kümmelweck roll instead of a plain kaiser
- Coarse sea salt
For the Beef and Au Jus
- Butter
- Beef broth or water
- Worcestershire sauce
- Beef bouillon paste (Better Than Bouillon-style paste, not cubes, it dissolves smoother and carries more flavor)
- Onion & Garlic powder
- Black pepper & Kosher salt, to taste
- Thinly sliced deli roast beef: ask the counter to shave it as thin as the slicer goes. Thick-cut slices turn chewy no matter how gently you warm them. If you’d rather slice your own, our Classic Beef Bottom Round Roast is built for exactly this, right down to the freezer-chill-and-slice step for sandwich meat
Equipment
- Small saucepan, for the au jus
- Pastry brush, for the egg wash
- Tongs, for lifting the beef out of the jus without dragging half the liquid onto the roll
📝 How to Make Beef on Weck
- Make the horseradish sauce. Stir the sour cream, mayo, drained horseradish, vinegar, salt, and pepper together until smooth. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. The sauce firms up as it sits, and the horseradish mellows just enough to stop overpowering the beef.
- Garnish the rolls. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush the tops of the rolls with the beaten egg, then press the caraway seed and coarse salt mixture into the wet egg wash so it sticks. Bake 5-7 minutes, until the topping is set and the egg wash looks dry instead of glossy.
- Build the au jus. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the water, Worcestershire, bouillon paste, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper until no streaks of paste remain. Bring to a gentle simmer, then taste before adding any salt: the bouillon paste is salty on its own.
- Warm the beef. Reduce the heat to low and slide the beef into the simmering jus. Warm for 1-2 minutes, just until it’s hot to the touch. Pull it the second it’s warmed through: simmering it longer toughens meat that was already fully cooked at the deli counter.
- Assemble. Lift the beef out with tongs, letting the excess jus drip back into the pan, and pile it onto the bottom roll. Spread the horseradish sauce over the beef, close the sandwich, and serve immediately with extra jus on the side for dipping.
🔄 Substitutions
- Sour cream for crème fraîche: crème fraîche gives the sauce a rounder mouthfeel, less sharp on the back of the tongue than sour cream.
- Prepared horseradish for fresh grated horseradish: fresh horseradish brings a sharper hit that fades in about 15 seconds instead of lingering the way jarred horseradish does.
- Water for beef broth in the au jus: broth adds a rounder, more savory base under the bouillon paste. Water still tastes fully beefy since the paste is concentrated, just slightly flatter.
- Kaiser rolls for standard hamburger buns: hamburger buns go soft and start falling apart the moment they touch the au jus, since they don’t have the dense, chewy crumb a kaiser roll has.
- Deli roast beef for homemade roast beef: works, but you have to slice it paper-thin yourself. Without a meat slicer, home-cut pieces run thicker and chew tougher than deli-shaved beef.
💡 Meat Nerd Tips
- The beef is already fully cooked. Treat the au jus like a warming bath, not a cooking liquid. The second you let it hit a real boil, the beef seizes up and turns rubbery.
- Buy the beef shaved thin at the deli counter instead of trying to slice it thin at home. A deli slicer gets it thinner than any home knife will manage.
- The horseradish sauce and au jus both hold in the fridge for a few days on their own, so you can build sandwiches to order for a crowd instead of remaking components each time.
- Craving something messier with the same shaved-beef base? Our Messy Steak Sandwiches use the same thin-sliced beef technique, piled with peppers, onions, and cheese instead of horseradish.
🍽️ What to Serve with Beef on Weck
- German potato salad: the caraway in the salad carries straight through from the roll, so the plate reads like one dish instead of two.
- A cold lager or pilsner: cuts through the richness of the au jus running down your hand by the third bite.
- Crispy steak fries: thick-cut fries hold up under a spoonful of extra jus without turning to mush the way thin-cut fries do.
🧊 Leftovers and Storage
- Refrigerate leftover beef and au jus separately in airtight containers for up to 4 days.
- Store the horseradish sauce in its own airtight container for up to a week.
- Reheat by warming the au jus in a saucepan over low heat, then dropping the sliced beef back in for 1-2 minutes until hot.
- Skip the microwave for the beef. It reheats unevenly and dries out the edges before the center is warm.
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Beef on Weck
Ingredients
For the Horseradish Sauce
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish , drained
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For the Kummelweck Rolls
- 4 kaiser rolls
- 1 large egg , beaten
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
For the Beef and Au Jus
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups water or beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon beef bouillon paste (e.g., Better Than Bouillon)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- to taste Salt
- 1 to 1.5 lbs thinly sliced deli roast beef
Instructions
Make the Horseradish Sauce
- Combine sour cream, mayo, horseradish, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
Garnish the Rolls
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush roll tops with beaten egg. Combine caraway seeds and coarse salt; sprinkle over rolls. Bake 5-7 minutes, until topping is set.
Make the Au Jus
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add water, Worcestershire, bouillon paste, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper. Whisk until dissolved. Simmer gently. Taste before adding salt.
Warm the Beef
- Reduce heat to low. Add roast beef to the simmering jus for 1-2 minutes, until warmed through. Do not boil.
Assemble
- Lift beef from jus with tongs. Pile onto bottom bun, top with horseradish sauce, close sandwich. Serve with extra au jus for dipping.
Notes
- Ask the deli counter for beef sliced “shaved” for best results.
- Boiling the beef in the jus will make it tough.
- The horseradish sauce is best made at least 1 hour ahead.
Nutrition
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Quick Summary
Beef on weck comes down to three parts: a caraway-crusted kaiser roll, deli beef warmed gently in a Worcestershire-spiked au jus, and horseradish sauce holding it together. The one thing that ruins it is boiling the beef instead of warming it: keep the jus at a bare simmer and pull the beef fast. Everything else is just assembly.
❓ FAQs
It’s a Buffalo, New York sandwich: thinly sliced roast beef piled on a kaiser roll topped with coarse salt and caraway seeds (a “kümmelweck” roll), served with horseradish and a side of au jus for dipping.
The roll. Beef on weck uses a salt-and-caraway kaiser roll, while a French dip goes on a crusty French roll or baguette. Traditional weck also skips the melted cheese and cooked onions you’ll find on most French dips. If you’re craving that version instead, our French Dip Sliders use the same style of au jus in a cheesy, oven-baked format.
Yes. Broth adds a rounder, more savory base, but the bouillon paste is concentrated enough that water alone still gets you a fully beefy jus.
Make the horseradish sauce and au jus up to a few days ahead and refrigerate. Warm the beef right before serving so it doesn’t sit in hot jus longer than the couple of minutes it needs.
