The slower cooker (crock pot) is an amazing tool that transforms inexpensive, tough cuts of meat into tender, delicious meals. The secret is in the cooking method –> braising! Braising is cooking by simmering meat in a small amount of liquid for a LONG time at a LOW temperature.
This recipe does not require any pre-cooking, slicing or dicing, all you have to do is put your ingredients in the crock pot, turn it on and forget it until dinner time. It’s a cinch!
The beef is slowly braised in a Worcestershire and chili flavored liquid that includes both milk and vinegar to tendering the meat
How to Cook Beef in a Crock Pot or Slow Cooker
Tough cuts of beef shred easily when the inner temperature slowly reaches 205-210F. Slow cookers have two settings: low (approximately 200F) and high (approximately 300F). Cooking beef in the crock pot on LOWallows the beef to stay in the “simmer” range, between 190 to 212F, slowly braising until it can be shredded.
You’ll want a tougher cut of beef for this recipe: look for chuck roast , rump roast, bottom round roast, brisket or flank steak. Purchase 3 to 4 ounces for each person you serve. This recipe freezes well so buy extra if you want to leftovers, I make a big batch and freeze several servings. It’s a simple way to stock your freezer with no effort!
Slow Cooker Recipes: Braised Beef Barbecue
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 600 minutes
- Total Time: 610 minutes
- Yield: 15 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Crock-pot
- Cuisine: American
Description
The crock pot is an amazing tool that can be used to transform inexpensive, tough cuts of meat into tender, delicious meals. This recipe does not require any precooking, slicing or dicing. Put your ingredients in the crock pot, turn it on and forget it until dinner time. It’s a cinch! The beef slowly braises in a Worcestershire and chili flavored liquid and is then shredded into tended beef sandwiches.
Ingredients
Place meat in crockpot, season with salt and pepper.
- 3 lb chuck roast (rump roast, bottom round roast, brisket or flank steak)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Combine braising ingredients and pour over meat.
- 1/4 c water
- 1/4 c milk
- 2 T white vinegar
- 3 T Worcestershire sauce
- 2 t chili powder
Drain liquid, shred meat, and bbq sauce before serving.
- 16–24 ounces of barbecue sauce
- Rolls for serving
Instructions
- Season the meat with the salt and pepper, coating all sides. Place in crock pot. If one side of the meat is fatty place it fat side down.
- Prep the braising liquid by combining all remaining ingredients (except bbq sauce).
- Pour the braising mixture over beef.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on the low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours. Stick a fork in the beef, it should turn easily and separate/shred the beef. The beef should easily fall to pieces, if the meat is hard to shred it needs to cook longer.
- Remove the beef from the crock pot and place on a cutting board (place the cutting board on a rimmed baking sheet to keep the beef juices from running onto your counters).
- Discard the cooking liquid and rinse out the crock pot.
- Trim any visible fat from the beef, slice into 2-inch thick slices and shred the beef (use two forks to pull the strands apart).
- Return shredded beef to crock pot and stir in BBQ sauce.
- Serve on fresh rolls.
- Freeze leftovers in an airtight container for an easy heat and serve dinner.
Nutrition
- Calories: 177
Keywords: slow-cooker braised beef barbecue
I hope you try this delicious and easy slower cooker recipe! It’s a favorite with my family.
More Easy Crock Pot Recipes
Try these other easy crock pot recipes that are sure to please your loved ones:
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Shauna
Can you use a non-dairy milk (e.g., almond or cashew) instead? We have dairy allergies in the house. Looks good and hope to try it! Thanks!
Bren
I’ve never tried it without milk… it’s the acid in the milk that helps soften the meat. I would replace the milk with beer or just eliminate it. Good luck!
LC
Hello – I look forward to trying this recipe. One question, I’m not keen on the chili powder – is there a substitute we can use that is, well, not spicy? Or can we leave it out? Thanks for your advice.
Bren
Chili powder is made from cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika, oregano, and garlic powder. In this recipe you can substitute 1 tsp of cumin, 1/2 tsp of paprika, 1/4 tsp of oregano, and 1/4 tsp of garlic powder for the chili powder (or use a mix of the ingredients found chili powder that you enjoy). The spices should equal no more than 2 tsp. Good luck! – Bren
Dawn Schmidt
You said add all the rest of ingredients and pour over meat. It didn’t say EXCEPT for BQ sauce,so now I have a crock pot full of marinade and BQ together.I’ll let you know if it’s edible.ugh😞
Bren
I’m so sorry for the confusion, Dawn! It should cook just fine, just drain the liquid, then shred the meat, and stir in a bit more bbq sauce if needed before serving. The meat tastes great without any sauce at all and your should be lovely and sweet from the bbq sauce. Hope you enjoy.
Casey
I made this yesterday using your recipe and I hate to say that it’s almost gone 🙁 It was delicious! Thanks for the quick and easy recipe!
★★★★★
Bren
Thanks Casey! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Amanda @ Queenofthelandoftwigsnberries
This looks delish. Adding to my Pinterest page!
★★★★
Bren
Thanks for pinning Amanda! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Clare Speer
This looks so delicious!!!!! We cook in the crock pot often – hope to try to make this soon!
★★★★★
Bren
Thanks Clare! I cook lots in my crock pot too. I love an easy recipe.
Angie Nelson
That looks so good. Definitely pinning for later!
★★★★★