Crock-Pot Barbecue Beef

It’s January, you know, the time of year when we have blue, sunny skies and 70 degree weather. When we wear flip flops, and shorts, and t-shirts and frolic in the sun. Okay, maybe that’s going a bit far but it has been warm and beautiful in these parts since the new year began. Unfortunately, I’ve been holed up inside my house working all day, not frolicking, but I’ve made an effort to get my sad, pale self outside as much as possible to bask in the sun. Have you ever watched a cat in a sunny spot? That’s me. Despite everything we all know about sun exposure, I crave it like chocolate and coffee.

Having this taste of summery weather has pushed my food clock forward as well. Since this completely inappropriate but gorgeous weather started, I have been craving barbecue. Who says we can’t have barbecue in January?  I finally gave in to my craving last night. Instead of standing out in the dark with a flashlight over my grill, I opted to put together some finger lickin’ good barbecue sauce, pour it over a chuck roast in my slow cooker and let it go all day. It totally and completely hit the spot and I highly recommend you try it – pronto!

For the grocery list – 1 slice thick sliced bacon, onion, garlic, ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, dry thyme, cumin, paprika, and fresh ground pepper.

You’ll also need a 3 to 4 pound chuck roast. I’m a vacuum sealing fool so I typically have one of these in my freezer at all times. Let’s get it started!

Coat the bottom of a large saucepan with a little olive oil, place over medium high heat and dump in one diced slice of thick sliced bacon…wow. that’s a tongue twister. Cook and stir the bacon till it has rendered a bit of fat and is slightly browned. I know what you’re thinking, bacon! Yes, bacon. It’s just one piece and the barbecue sauce will benefit greatly from that unique smokiness that only bacon brings.

In goes the onion. Cook and stir for a couple of minutes.

Reduce the heat to low and add in the garlic. Cook and stir for another minute.

The remaining barbecue sauce ingredients go in now – ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, thyme, cumin, paprika, and fresh ground pepper.  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 roast.

See this thick layer of fat on the edge of the roast? You want to remove as much of that as you can. You don’t want too much of that fat to cook off into the barbecue sauce that we will be lapping up soon.

Now it’s ready to go in the Crock-Pot.

Pour that luscious sauce you just made over the beef, cover the Crock-Pot and set it to low. Now walk away, forget about it, go on with your day.

After 7 to 9 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high, the roast will be fork tender and ready to shred.

Summer in January! I served the beef on rolls with cole slaw but this is versatile stuff. It is also spectacular served over the top of mashed potatoes with lots of the barbecue sauce drizzled over the top. This sauce is incredible people.

Enjoy!

Lookie what I got! The Liebster Blog Award! Take a look down there, below the recipe for the details and to find out to whom I will pass it along.

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Crock-Pot Barbecue Beef

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 7 hours

Total Time 7 hours 15 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Change the number in the box above to adjust serving size. Please note that size of cookware and cook time may vary.

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Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 slice thick sliced bacon diced
• 1/2 cup onion diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic minced
• 1 cup ketchup
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste (optional)
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• 3 pound chuck roast cut into large chunks and trimmed of excess fat

Instructions

1. Coat the bottom of a large saucepan with olive oil and place over medium heat. Add diced bacon; cook and stir for a couple of minutes. Add diced onion and cook and stir for another minute or two till onion begins to soften and then turn heat to low. Add garlic. Continue to cook and stir for just a minute or two. Add 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.

2. Place the chunks of roast in a 6-quart slow cooker. Pour barbecue sauce over the roast, cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours or on HIGH for 5 to 7 hours or until easy to shred.

3. At end of cooking time, use two forks to shred the beef into the sauce in the Crock-Pot.
4. Serve on sandwich rolls or over the top of mashed potatoes.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

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Here’s the lowdown on this award:

‘Liebster’ is a German word meaning “dearest” or “favorite”, and the award is given by bloggers to bloggers (more specifically, to newbie bloggers like me who have less than 200 followers) to give recognition and spread the love. As a recipient, it is my duty to:

A. Thank those who nominated me and link back to them.

B. List five other blogs to receive the Liebster, and let them know they’ve been awarded by commenting on said blogs, and

C. Proudly copy/paste the award on my blog and grin like an idiot. {still grinning}

So here we go…drumroll please.

I’m happy to pass this award on to the following five bloggers, in no particular order.

1. Lindsay at The Live-In-Kitchen. Yep, I practically live in my kitchen too. Lindsay started her blog in November of 2011. She’s a Midwestern girl which means she cooks REAL food people! She’s gotten off to a great start with some recipes that would be at home in most family kitchens.

2. Chung-Ah at Damn Delicious. Chung-Ah has been blogging since April of 2011. She is a college student majoring in biostatistics. Can you say “braniac”? She is also cute as a button. Check out her step-by-step instructions for some really great looking recipes.

3. Julie from Table for Two. She is a web designer/developer as well as a food blogger. Despite the blog’s name, Julie’s recipes are definitely suitable family fare. Check out her gorgeous pictures, cute commentary, and yummy recipes.

4. Nicole at Sweet Peony. Nicole has only been blogging since October but you would never know it by the look of her blog. It’s SO pretty and full of absolutely gorgeous photos, bursting with color and energy. I can’t wait to see what is to come from Nicole.

5. Lindsay at Girl From Scratch.  Transplanted from the Midwest, Lindsay is an aspiring actress currently living in NYC while pursuing her Broadway dreams. Check out her posts and be on the lookout for some cute nail fashion. “Cooking is always more fun with a sassy manicure”.

Congratulations ladies!