Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef

Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef is what you make when you want a big batch of crowd-pleasing food with relatively little effort. The succulent pulled beef is smothered in an incredible homemade barbecue sauce, and there’s so many ways to serve it – pile into sliders, heap onto plates or stuff into baked potatoes!

Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef

This is a recipe I started making last year to satisfy the insatiable appetites of my builders when my home was being renovated. It’s relatively low effort (I was always rushing!), it makes a mound of food, is easy to scale up and has all the qualities that seem to resonate with burly tradies: meat, barbecue sauce, and lots of it. 😅

It was an everybody-can-eat-it alternative to my Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork (a couple of my regular builders are don’t eat pork for religious reasons), so if you’ve tried that recipe you’ll recognise similarities in the recipe here. 🙂 The same formula, but slightly adapted to the flavours of beef which has a stronger flavour than mild pork.

Ingredients in Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef

I know there are plenty of slow cooker pulled beef recipes out there that involve tipping a bottle of barbecue sauce over a piece of beef and calling it a day. Nothing wrong with that! But if you’re willing to spend an extra 10 minutes to gather what you need to make your own, I promise you’ll be rewarded with something that tastes even better!

So here’s what you need to make this:

1. For the beef

• Chuck beef – This is a cut of beef that needs to be cooked long and slow to break down the tough meat. It’s ideal for shredding because the meat is marbled with fat so the beef stays succulent, and the meat fibres are suitable for making pulled beef.

  Alternatives – Brisket can be used as it shreds very well but I find the meat is much leaner so it’s not my favourite for shredding. I’d rather slow cook it whole and slice (see Slow Cooked BBQ Brisket). Gravy beef is another slow cooking cut that will work here but it is leaner than chuck, so not my favourite.
  Not suitable – Beef cheek and shank don’t shred well (they tend to crumble and collapse into tiny pieces instead of shredding). Beef ribs are too fatty. Slow cooking larger cuts like blade, topside and silverside are too lean.

• Spices – The spices listed above make up my go-to BBQ rub. Everyday pantry spices!

• Brown sugar – A smidge of sugar in the rub helps the surface of the beef caramelise beautifully when we sear it.

2. for the homemade bbq sauce

Slow cooking the beef in a homemade BBQ sauce really is what takes this from pretty good to a great shredded beef. It’s got a depth of flavour you’ll never find in a bottle because the sauce is enriched with all the juices released by the beef as it slow cooks. Pure beef stock!

• Ketchup is the primary flavour base for homemade barbecue sauce. You’ll find it in all my barbecue sauce flavoured recipes, including this midweek Baked BBQ Chicken, BBQ Pork Ribs, Pulled Pork with BBQ Sauce and slow cooked brisket with BBQ Sauce. Substitute with Aussie Tomato Sauce – it’s almost as good.

• Cider vinegar – the tang in homemade barbecue sauce. Substitute with white wine vinegar, sherry or champagne vinegar OR 2/3 cup normal white vinegar.

• Brown sugar – Some people might balk when they see the amount of sugar in this. But, it is what it is. Barbecue sauce is sweet! Some recipes use considerably more. 🙂 But, if you don’t like sweet, you can cut it back.

• Molasses – Adds a bit of sweetness but more importantly, a bit of extra richness and also makes the sauce brown (without, it’s much more red, from all the ketchup).

• Garlic and mustard powder – These add some earthy savoury flavour into the sauce.

• Worcestershire Sauce – Savoury element. Soy sauce (all purpose or light) is an acceptable substitute (don’t worry, it won’t make it Asiany, don’t need much!);

• Tabasco – for a faint hum of warmth and a touch of acidity. This is not spicy at all. If you like it hot, start with the recipe amount then add more at the end when reducing the sauce.

• Beer – I like to use beer to deglaze the pan after searing the beef because it gives the sauce a little extra depth and complexity. It’s massively reduced and with the slow cooking time the alcohol will be well and truly cooked out and you can’t taste beer. But if you prefer an alcohol free option, use non-alcoholic beer or beef stock/broth instead.

  Type of beer – Use any beer except very dark ones like Guinness, stout or porter. Their stronger flavours can overpower the sauce. A lager, pale ale or similar lighter-style beer works well.

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How to make Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef

Searing the seasoned beef before popping it into the slow cooker really does pay off in the flavour department but in the event of an emergency, I can tell you from first hand experience that this is still very, very tasty even if you skip the searing step!

1. BBQ sauce – Put all the ingredients in the slow cooker and whisk to combine.

2. Season beef – Mix the Rub ingredients in a medium bowl then dredge each side of all the beef pieces in the Rub, shaking off excess.

3. Sear – Heat oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Sear the surface of 2 pieces of beef until golden brown, taking care not to burn the spices. We’re not trying to cook it through here, just getting some colour on the surface. Once done, put the beef into the slow cooker. Briefly wipe the pan clean to remove any burnt patches, then sear the remaining beef pieces.

4. Deglaze pan with beer – Add the beer into the pan and let it simmer rapidly until it reduces down to about 1/4 cup. As it bubbles away, scrape the base of the pan to dissolve any browned bits left behind from searing the beef into the liquid (that’s free flavour!). Then pour the reduced beer into the slow cooker.

5. Arrange the beef as best you can so it is as submerged as possible. It’s totally fine if some is sticking out, it will still cook and be shreddable.

6. Slow cook for 10 hours on low, by which time the beef will be fall-apart-at-a-touch. (8 hours is usually enough but sometimes I hit patches that weren’t easily shreddable, so I feel 10 hours is safer).

   Other cooking methods – I’ve included oven and pressure cooker / instant pot directions in the recipe card. I haven’t tried the stove because I think it will be a little tricky as the BBQ sauce is quite thick so it will be prone to catching on the base, and it’s too hard to stir.

7. Shred – Take the beef out and shred using 2 forks (tip: I find using the back of forks easier as the shredded beef doesn’t collect in the prongs).

8. Reduce BBQ sauce – Pour the BBQ sauce out of the slow cooker into a pot or large deep fry pan (the larger the vessel and the lower the walls, the faster it will thicken!). Simmer on medium high for 15 to 20 minutes until it is the consistency of honey, lowering the heat as needed as it thickens and starts to sputter. Stir regularly especially towards the end so the base doesn’t catch.

   💡Don’t make the sauce too thick as it thickens more as it cools. If you aim for the consistency of honey, then once it cools to warm or room temperature, it will end up the consistency of bottled BBQ sauce.

9. Toss the beef with about half the sauce. Enough to moisten it and add flavour, but don’t make it overly soggy with sauce.

10. Serve the beef with the remaining BBQ Sauce so everyone can use as much or as little as they want!

How to serve BBQ Shredded Beef

My favourite way to eat this beef is piled high onto sliders with coleslaw. I’m partial to using brioche buns because they’re sooo soft and buttery, otherwise any soft white rolls. Or crispy ones, if that’s your preference, because I don’t actually have a valid reason for leaning towards soft rolls, it’s just what I always reach for, 🙂

Otherwise, make a big Southern-inspired dinner plate with classic sides like Mac and Cheese, steamed corn cobs with softened butter, Coleslaw or macaroni salad or cornbread.

It’s also terrific with a steaming pile of buttery seasoned rice – when the beef and BBQ sauce jumbles through the rice, every bite is just chef’s kiss!! I had it with corn salad with avocado on the side which was just perfect.

Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x ❤️

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Watch how to make it

Life of Jaffle

The newest member of the RecipeTin family reporting for duty at RecipeTin Meals!

Well, when I say “reporting for duty”, that’s a pretty loose term. He just spent the whole time being patted and carried around like a little prince, and turning burly English chefs into putty. ☺️ That’s Stephen in the photo below, the boss chef at RTM. His baby talk is almost as impressive as his knife skills! 😂

And here he is with Chef Hannah, being coddled like a giant golden koala. 😂

But you all know what I really wanted to do was introduce Jaffle to life-size Dozer, that giant sticker of him on the window-front of RTM where he will remain forever, keeping an eye on the kitchen. ❤️

The original Chief Taste Tester and the future Chief Taste Tester. The next little golden retriever beginning his story at the place where Dozer left such a big part of his. ❤️

Dear Dozer,

I miss you so much still, every single day. Even with Jaffle to run around after – honestly, I do not remember you being such a pee machine (!) – it hasn’t lessened the hole in my heart, but he has brought new happiness back into my life. I can just imagine the amount of mischief you two would have gotten up to together! I think you’d approve of him, he’s already making a lot of people smile, like you did.

I love you so much. I hope wherever you are, you’re proud of what your legacy has become. ❤️

And if you have any sway, please could you put in a good word and help speed up Jaffle’s toilet training. Your mum would be very grateful. Love, your mum xx