Best Ever Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Beef...

I've been meaning to make this recipe again like forever... since my previous job in the test kitchen working with BBQ sauce. It was years ago when I made up a BBQ pulled beef in a slow cooker for a Calgary Stampede promotion and boy, were the results sensational! It immediately came to mind when I was planning my twins' summer birthday this year, with easy portable eats at a playground park with a picnic party! The right beef roast makes tender moist shredded "pulled" beef sandwiches after a long slow simmering in a rich, BBQ sauce for hours. And yup, it was a winner with the old and young alike!

Best Ever Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Beef
Makes 15 to 18 servings

5 lb. beef roast (a chuck or rump roast or bottom blade pot roast)
3 cups of your favourite BBQ sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
black pepper to taste

To finish the sauce: { 2 bay leaves, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, brown sugar and salt }

I picked up three blade pot roasts instead of one large roast-- Easier to find and I believe cooks through nicer.

Whisk together all the sauce ingredients up to black pepper in the bowl of your slow cooker. Nestle the beef and turn to coat. Cook on low for 8-9 hours or high for 4-5 until the meat is tender and shreds easily. (I set it right before bed and checked on it 7 hours later in the morning. The heavenly aroma wafting in the air woke me up just on time)...

Remove the meat with one hour to go, cover with foil and let stand for ten minutes; then shred or "pull" with two forks. Meanwhile, carefully pour liquid from slow cooker into a pot; skim off fat. Add the bay leaves... Now doctor it up, depending on the brand of BBQ sauce you used and the final taste profile you want to achieve. I played with a mix of tomato paste, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat; boil until reduced, about 15 minutes; for a thicker consistency, whisk in the sauce a mixture of 1 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 3 Tbsp. water. Discard bay leaves. Add beef back into the slow cooker, pour over the sauce and let it finish cooking the final hour. Serve hot!

P.S. Since I was toting mine to the park, I let it finish cooking two hours before I left the house. Took the bowl out of it's cooking pot, covered it with foil, and set it on two cork boards lining the base of a recyclable grocery bag... made taking along a cinch!

Depending on the amount of fat on the beef, at the end of cooking you may see a pool of oil on the surface.

Be sure to cover the shreds while you prepare the sauce to prevent them from drying out.

Succulent and scrumptious... perfect for hearty sandwiches!

My choice of toppings with thinly sliced red onions, a heap of vinaigrette coleslaw and sliced dill pickles in a freshly-baked kaiser bun.

Other sandwich options included a cold cut sub with hickory sticks and grilled vegetables in pita.

cold cut sub with hickory sticks

What's a sandwich without some salad sides? I made my fabulous Greek Quinoa Salad, Creamy Macaroni Salad and Vinaigrette Coleslaw. Also a Lemony-Dill Yogurt Dip for veggie sticks. 

Grilled peppers, zucchini and eggplants for Grilled Vegetables in Pita.

Yum-MEH!

Happy Birthday dear Étienne and Sébastien! Love you both to the moon and back...

I love my Red Chapter Rock `n Roll Tee-- ambigram word design that you can also read upside down...

A rare threesome shot with my little sister and brother-- it really is Family Forever...

Be well and enjoy the last month of summer magic... still lots of sunshine and fun to be had!