Slow-Cooked Barbecue Beef with Southwestern Flavors (With Quick Cook Option)
Thanks to Jason Clee for such a great photo of this pulled beef. You can find cans of chipotle chilies in adobo in the southwestern section of most well-stocked grocery stores. They add subtle smokiness and heat to the dish, but if you can’t find them, feel free to leave them out. Serve this pulled beef on its own, in warm sandwich buns with dill pickles or in flour tortillas with sour cream, cilantro sprigs, and chopped red onions for passing.
by: Three Many Cooks
Serves: Makes 8 to 10 sandwiches or soft tacos
Ingredients
- beef chuck roast (about 3 pounds)
- can (14.5 ounces) petite-diced tomatoes
- can (14 ounces) chicken broth
- canned chipotle chiles in adobo, minced (optional)
- tablespoons chili powder
- teaspoons ground cumin
- teaspoon oregano
- large garlic cloves, minced
- /2 cups your favorite sweet barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low until meat is tender enough to shred, 6 to 8 hours. Remove meat from pot and shred when cool enough to handle. Transfer sauce to large saucepan; reduce to barbecue sauce thickness. Mix sauce with meat and warm stovetop or in the slow cooker.
- Quick Method: Heat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly coat roast with oil; season with salt and pepper. Heat a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add roast; sear, turning once, until well browned, 8 to 10 minutes total. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a simmer. Using potholders to protect hands, place a sheet of heavy-duty foil over the pot, pressing on the foil so that it touches the roast. Seal foil around pan edges to completely seal. Cover with lid. Set pot on middle rack; cook until roast is tender, about 11/2 hours. Remove roast from oven. Follow meat shredding and sauce thickening instructions above.
Your column has become a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. I first started reading your column while on vacation at the beach. It was there that I read your recipe for Frogmore Stew. We made it, loved, and since it has become one of our go to dishes for company. My only change to the recipe was I use Italian sausage instead. Anyway, saw your recipe for pulled beef in this weekend’s column and had to try it. Just amazing. I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Barbeque sauce. Made it on Sunday and wife and I will share tonight for Valentine’s Day dinner.
Where might I find the recipe for frogmore stew? TY
I loved this video! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Oh my! This looks delish! I wonder if this recipe would be as delicious using lamb?
Looks delicious…love the make it and forget it of Maggy’s prep method, but love the almost instant gratification of Pam’s version. I will definitely be making this…soon! Congratulations on the new weekly column. Couldn’t happen to three nicer cooks.
Amazing . .Truely delicious! I used Cattlemen’s Sweet BBQ Sauce. I must confess however that 3 chipotle chiles are too many for me!
Imade this and while it turned out fantastic flavor wise, the chuck roast did not shred. I had to cut it, which my husband actually preferred to shredded beef. I,however, prefer shredded. I used Pam’s method. Do you think it was the cut of meat? I asked the butcher for a chuck roast and it looked fine. Should I have cooked it longer? It was definitely done when I cut it.
Hey Jean,
You’re right, the meat won’t be as tender as if you had made it in a slow cooker, but it should have gotten tender enough to shred. I think if you had cooked it a little longer, that would have helped. As long as there’s enough liquid in he pot, you can keep cooking it. Two other factors: pot weight and oven accuracy. If the pot is thin, heat escapes. You also may want to double check oven temperature accuracy. I’m glad everyone still liked it!
Thanks Pam! BTW, my husband brought what little we had leftover to work and while it was heating up everyone was going nuts over the yummy aroma of the bbq sauce! All of your recipes are fantastic as I have all of your cookbooks and know everything turns out fabulous! I think you are right, lid not tight enough even though I used my Le Creuset with heavy duty foil. I don’t think I wrapped it tight enough. Excellent all the same. I cannot wait to see more from your blog and I love the videos with your daughters!
I made this for dinner last night and it was a resounding hit with everyone! We all had seconds last night and today my family is squabbling over who gets to take the leftovers for lunch at work. This recipe definitely gets a place in my rotation. BTW, I used Sweet Baby Ray’s, and made it using the Crock Pot.
We found the receipe for the slow cooked Barbeque beef with southwestern flavors. It was a great idea and we used venison instead of beef. However—we only used one can of chipotle chilies and 24 oz of BBQ sauce. It was great! If we had used any more chilies it would have been way too hot.
Thank you guys;
ps. Next we try wild hog!
Glad you liked it Tom. I just want to clarify that when we call for 3 canned chilies, we mean only 3, not 3 cans!
My slow cooker was already in use. I put all the ingredients in the pressure cooker & cooked at high pressure for 35 min with a natural release. I decreased the chipotle peppers to 1 for our taste. I think this is recipe “a keeper”.
This is the 2nd time I have made this recipe and I am hooked! I do not add any barbecue sauce. I do take the stick blender to the sauce after the meat is cooked and before I add it to the shredded beef. I dump the whole can of chipotle chilies and sause to the crock pot. I love the heat ;-O
This is in my crockpot now (again)> Remember to take the seeds out of the chiles before adding to the sauce. Also, I stir about 1/2 cup of sour cream into the sauce after its been reduced on the stove, seems to even it out and give a good texture. We use the leftovers for soft tacos.
I made this the quick method way and we loved it. I, too, needed to cut it vs. it shredding. Still tasted great. I was wondering how this recipe would work with boneless skinless chicken breast meat. Any thoughts? BTW, flavor of the sauce is amazing!
Hey Linda,
I think the method works with long-cooking meats like pork, lamb, or beef. Breasts cook so quickly that they’d overcook before the sauce had a chance to develop flavor. Pork shoulder would work very well and would be even more tender than the beef.
I know I already left a comment (Feb 22, 2011) , but wanted to say that this dish has become a rgular at our house. We have found it is just as good in the dog days of summer, with coleslaw and lemonade as it is in the dead of winter. We are having it again tonight.