When I first got married, I had a lot of people recommend that I get a crock pot. It was by far the easiest and fastest way to make sure we had dinner on the table at night. I bought my crock pot, and a crock pot recipe book, and went to town. I found that most recipes over-cooked the meat, and were extremely mushy in the end. But, I did find that crock pot definitely has its place in my family. Though rarely used, I try to make it worth while when I do choose to use it. I make two things really well in the crock pot...BBQ beef sandwiches and a wonderful roast that I will post at another time. This recipe I actually got from my sister, and it is delicious.
Now, when it comes to the world of red meat...I am still learning. I don't know the different cuts very well, so I do my best price wise and fat wise.
2 onions quartered
1 4-6 lb boneless pork or beef butt or shoulder roast (I used a shoulder roast)
2 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS paprika (I omitted this because I didn't have any)
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 TBS cider vinegar
Line the bottom of slow cooker with quartered onions. Combine all spices above and rub all over the roast. Cover with 1/4 cup water, and 2 TBS cider vinegar. Cook on high for 6 hours. Remove beef and shred onions and beef. Return beef to slow cooker. Cover with BBQ sauce recipe that follows, and cook on low for 2 more hours, or until ready to serve.
BBQ sauce:
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup vinegar (can use apple cider vinegar)
2 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. mustard
2 tsp. chili powder
Garlic powder
Mix all the ingredients above and pour over the shredded beef in slow cooker.
I served it with store bought BBQ sauce, as it was thicker than the sauce in the crock pot and I didn't want a watery bun. Next time, I will try adding some plain quick-cooking tapioca as a thickening agent.
This was delicious, and even the four year old, who first looked at it and said, "ohhhhh, yucky" ended up liking it!
Enjoy!
