little cubes

Chipotle Barbecue Braised Beef Sandwiches

This recipe scores the highest on the deliciousness-to-effort scale that I've ever seen

This is my favorite way to cook a roast. There are so many different things you can do with the beef; eat it on its own, make the sandwiches described here, I recently used it for enchiladas! However you use it, just make sure you include some of the cooking liquid in your final dish. It’s delicious.

Here is an image of the three seasoning packets that this recipe calls for in case it helps find them in the grocery store. You won’t use the entirety of all three packets for one roast, so I like to pre-combine them and keep the “beef roast seasoning” in my pantry.

Cook the RoastSection titled: Cook the Roast

Ingredients

  • Chuck Roast   (3 lb)
  • Beef Stock   (3 cups)
  • A high smoke point neutral oil, e.g. grape seed oil 
  • Pepperoncini Peppers, with juice   (6 peppers)
  • Au Jus Gravy McCormick gravy mix   (1 tbsp)
  • Beef Stew McCormick seasoning mix   (1 tbsp)
  • Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning Mix   (1 tbsp)

Instructions

  1. Liberally season the roast on all sides with salt.

  2. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

  3. Heat a dutch oven on the stove-top over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add add a couple tablespoons of oil and sear the roast on all sides.

  4. Remove the roast from the pan. Add a bit of the beef stock to the pan and scrape up the fond (the little browned bits).

  5. Add the 3 seasoning mixes and stir until dissolved. Add the Pepperoncini Peppers, and pour in a proportional amount of juice from the jar.

  6. Add the roast back to the pan and add enough beef stock to come about three quarters of the way up the roast.

  7. Cover the pan and place in the oven for 5-7 hours, or until the roast falls apart when you press down it with the back of a spoon.

Assemble the SandwichesSection titled: Assemble the Sandwiches

Ingredients

  • Sesame Seed Buns 
  • Chipotle Mayo 
  • BBQ Sauce 
  • Salt & Pepper 

Instructions

  1. Shred the beef.

  2. Toast the buns (I like to use a little butter and toast them in a pan).

  3. Heat up some BBQ sauce in the microwave until warm, and then toss the shredded beef in the sauce to coat.

  4. Spread chipotle mayo on the bottom of the buns, pile on the beef, and drizzle with a couple spoonfuls of the beef cooking liquid.

Freeze the restSection titled: Freeze the rest

One of the best parts of braising beef is that it freezes really well. And then you can heat it up for quick and delicious lunch. You could even choose to freeze all of it for meal prepping.

  1. Add the beef to a gallon bag with a few spoonfuls of the braising liquid
  2. Flatten it out and remove as much air as possible
  3. With your finger or the back of a utensil, score lines on the bag to divide it into 4 sections
  4. Freeze it flat
    • If you think of it, when the bag has started to freeze but is not frozen through, you can fold the bag back along the score lines to make it take up less freezer space.

Warm it upSection titled: Warm it up

  1. When you need a quick but amazing lunch, fold the bag to break off one or more of the sections
  2. Place it in a skillet over medium heat
  3. Once one side has begun to thaw, flip it over and break it up with a spatula
  4. Just like with the original, toss it in BBQ, toast the buns, add the chipotle mayo, and boom you’re done!