Pile this Crock-Pot Barbecue Beef on toasted buns for an easy busy day dinner. Your slow cooker will help you create the flavors of summer anytime of year!
Serve this tasty shredded barbecue beef on buns with Quick Coleslaw for a super satisfying meal.
I’ve got a pretty decent collection of recipes I can pull at any time of year, in any type of weather, that will satisfy our craving for BBQ. Like my Oven Baked BBQ Chicken, Oven Roasted Brisket, and Oven Baked Baby Back Ribs, this easy Crock-Pot Barbecue Beef hits the spot when the craving strikes.
The made from scratch BBQ sauce gets authentic smoky flavor from a little bacon and a blend of spices, including smoked paprika. Once it’s made, it’s just a matter of letting your slow cooker do the job of rendering chunks of chuck roast tender enough to shred into that luscious sauce. And, dinner is served!
Ingredient Notes
Homemade BBQ sauce: Olive oil, a slice of thick-sliced bacon, diced yellow onion, minced garlic, ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, molasses, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, cumin, smoked paprika, dried thyme, freshly ground black pepper and a little cayenne pepper is optional if you’d like to spice it up a little.
Beef: An approximately 3 pound beef chuck roast, cut it into about 5 or 6 chunks and trimmed of excess fat. This helps the beef cook a little more quickly and also ensures a clean, less greasy sauce.
How to Make Crock-Pot Barbecue Beef
- In a large saucepan, cook the diced slice of bacon until it has rendered a bit of fat and is slightly browned.
- Next add the diced onion and minced garlic and cook, stirring, until softened.
- Add the remaining barbecue sauce ingredients. I like to add a touch of cayenne pepper for a little kick but this is totally optional.
- Combine all this good stuff and allow it to simmer while you prepare your chuck roast.
- Cut the roast down into 5 or 6 chunks and trim as much fat as you can from the edges of each piece. Transfer the chunks of beef to a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Pour that luscious sauce you just made over the beef, cover the Crock-Pot and set to either low or high, depending on when you need it. Now walk away, forget about it, and go on with your day.
After 7 to 9 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high, the beef will be fork tender and ready to shred right into the sauce.
Pro Tip
If you prefer a less saucy beef, use kitchen tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the beef to a bowl. Shred the beef and then spoon some of the sauce into the bowl to achieve the level of sauciness you’d like.
Storage Tips
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days. For longer storage, this shredded BBQ beef freezes very well. Just transfer it to a freezer-safe zippered food storage bag, press out as much air as possible, and seal the bag. You can do this in smaller, serving size portions and stack the bags in the freezer to save space. Allow the frozen shredded beef to thaw safely in the refrigerator overnight before reheating in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove.
Serving Suggestions
Toasted Buns: One of the easiest ways to ruin a good juicy sandwich like Barbecue Beef is to serve it on soft rolls that have not been toasted. In order to ensure that your rolls will hold up, place them on a baking sheet and toast them in a 400 degree F oven for a few minutes, watching closely to be sure they don’t burn.
Side dishes: You can’t go wrong serving barbecue beef with Crispy Oven Baked Fries or Old Fashioned Potato Salad. My Quick Coleslaw or California Coleslaw can be served on the side or piled right on top of the beef.
Potatoes: It is also spectacular served over the top of Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, simple baked potatoes, or Baked Sweet Potatoes, with lots of the barbecue sauce drizzled over the top.
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Crock-Pot Barbecue Beef
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 1 slice thick sliced bacon, diced
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic, minced
- 1 cup ketchup
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste (optional)
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 pound beef chuck roast, cut into large chunks and trimmed of excess fat
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large saucepan with olive oil and place over MEDIUM heat. Add the diced bacon and cook, stirring for a couple of minutes. Add the diced onion and cook and stir for another minute or two, or until the onion begins to soften. Turn heat to LOW. Add the garlic. Continue to cook and stir for just a minute or two. Add the ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, molasses, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, cumin, smoked paprika, thyme, cayenne (if using), and freshly ground black pepper. Stir well and allow to simmer over LOW heat while preparing the chuck roast.
- Cut the chuck roast down into 5 or 6 chunks. Trim and discard as much of the excess fat from the edges as possible.
- Place the chunks of roast in a 6-quart slow cooker. Pour the barbecue sauce over the roast and cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours or on HIGH for 5 to 7 hours or until easy to shred.
- At end of cooking time, use two forks to shred the beef into the sauce in the Crock-Pot.
- Serve on sandwich rolls or over the top of mashed or baked potatoes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Slow Cooker Sandwiches
This post was originally published on January 12, 2012. It has been updated with new text and images.
I made this exactly as written. Easy and fabulous. Everyone loved it!! I topped with some store bought broccoli slaw. Thank you! Everything I make of yours is amazing! You are consistently, over many years, one of my top go-to recipe blogs!! Real recipes for normal families 😊
Your comment is making my day, Tracey! I’m so happy you’re loving the recipes. Thanks so much. 🙂