Shredded Barbecued Beef
By America's Test KitchenPublished on May 22, 2012
Time
5¼ to 6¼ hours
Yield
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Spice Rub and Beef
1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon pepper 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 boneless beef chuck-eye roast (5 to 6 pounds)3 cups wood chips, soaked for 15 minutesBarbecue Sauce
1 onion, chopped fine4 garlic cloves, minced½ teaspoon chili powder 1 ¼ cups ketchup ¾ cup brewed coffee ½ cup cider vinegar ½ cup packed brown sugar 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce ½ teaspoon pepperBefore You Begin
If you prefer a smooth barbecue sauce, strain the sauce before tossing it with the beef in step 4. You will need a disposable aluminum roasting pan for this recipe. We like to serve this beef on white bread with plenty of pickle chips.
Instructions
- For the spice rub and beef: Combine salt, pepper, and cayenne in small bowl. Following photo 1, quarter roast and remove excess fat and gristle. Rub meat all over with salt mixture and transfer to large disposable aluminum roasting pan. (Salt-rubbed meat can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for 24 hours.)
- Seal soaked wood chips in foil packet and cut vent holes in top. Open bottom vent on grill. Light 50 coals; when covered with fine gray ash, pour in pile on one side of grill. Arrange foil packet directly on coals. Set cooking grate in place and heat, covered, with lid vent open halfway, until wood chips begin to smoke heavily, about 5 minutes. (For gas grill, place foil packet directly on primary burner. Heat all burners on high, covered, until wood chips begin to smoke heavily, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and shut other burner[s] off.) Arrange roasting pan with beef on cooler side of grill and barbecue, covered, until meat is deep red and smoky, about 2 hours.
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Following photo 3, flip meat over, cover pan tightly with foil, and bake until fork inserted into meat can be removed with no resistance, 2 to 3 hours. Transfer meat to large bowl, tent with foil, and let rest 30 minutes. While meat rests, skim fat from accumulated juices in pan; reserve 2 tablespoons fat. Strain defatted juices; reserve 1/2 cup juice.
- For the barbecue sauce and to finish: Combine onion and reserved fat in saucepan and cook over medium heat until onion has softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and chili powder and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in remaining ingredients and reserved meat juices and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. Using 2 forks, pull meat into shreds, discarding any excess fat or gristle. Toss meat with 1/2 cup barbecue sauce. Serve, passing remaining sauce at table.
Time
5¼ to 6¼ hoursYield
Serves 8 to 10Ingredients
Spice Rub and Beef
Barbecue Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Spice Rub and Beef
Barbecue Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Spice Rub and Beef
Barbecue Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
To start our recipe for Shredded Barbecued Beef we cut the chuck roast into quarters. The smaller pieces of beef absorbed more smoke flavor and cooked much faster. After a few hours on the cooler side of the grill, we transferred the meat to a baking pan and then flipped all four pieces, wrapped the pan in foil, and placed the roast in the oven to finish cooking to fall-apart tenderness. This grill-to-oven method was much quicker than cooking the meat entirely on the grill and avoided the need to rebuild the fire with freshly lit coals. Flipping the meat before cooking in the oven ensured that more of the meat was “basted" and moist.
For a homemade barbecue sauce with richer flavor, we sautéed the onions in beef fat from the roasting pan. Chili powder and black pepper added bite, while ketchup, vinegar, coffee, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and some rendered beef juice rounded out the flavors.
Before You Begin
If you prefer a smooth barbecue sauce, strain the sauce before tossing it with the beef in step 4. You will need a disposable aluminum roasting pan for this recipe. We like to serve this beef on white bread with plenty of pickle chips.
Instructions
- For the spice rub and beef: Combine salt, pepper, and cayenne in small bowl. Following photo 1, quarter roast and remove excess fat and gristle. Rub meat all over with salt mixture and transfer to large disposable aluminum roasting pan. (Salt-rubbed meat can be wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated for 24 hours.)
- Seal soaked wood chips in foil packet and cut vent holes in top. Open bottom vent on grill. Light 50 coals; when covered with fine gray ash, pour in pile on one side of grill. Arrange foil packet directly on coals. Set cooking grate in place and heat, covered, with lid vent open halfway, until wood chips begin to smoke heavily, about 5 minutes. (For gas grill, place foil packet directly on primary burner. Heat all burners on high, covered, until wood chips begin to smoke heavily, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and shut other burner[s] off.) Arrange roasting pan with beef on cooler side of grill and barbecue, covered, until meat is deep red and smoky, about 2 hours.
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Following photo 3, flip meat over, cover pan tightly with foil, and bake until fork inserted into meat can be removed with no resistance, 2 to 3 hours. Transfer meat to large bowl, tent with foil, and let rest 30 minutes. While meat rests, skim fat from accumulated juices in pan; reserve 2 tablespoons fat. Strain defatted juices; reserve 1/2 cup juice.
- For the barbecue sauce and to finish: Combine onion and reserved fat in saucepan and cook over medium heat until onion has softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and chili powder and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in remaining ingredients and reserved meat juices and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. Using 2 forks, pull meat into shreds, discarding any excess fat or gristle. Toss meat with 1/2 cup barbecue sauce. Serve, passing remaining sauce at table.
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