Succulent and Saucy Slow-Cooker Pulled Beef

I always make cholent — but when I tried pulled beef in slow-cooker instead, it was an instant hit!

Pulled beef is one of my most requested recipes. A few years ago, my boys were in camp, it was just the girls home, and my daughter told me she has a friend whose mother sometimes makes pulled beef instead of cholent. That was something I would ever try if my boys were home — they NEEEEDD their cholent — but I figured that since there weren’t home anyway, I would give it a try. It was a welcome change from cholent and the leftovers were absolutely delicious!

This pulled beef is a super-easy, no-fail recipe. You can easily make it in a slow cooker or in the oven. I often make it on Yom Tov as well. I love to serve pulled beef with mashed potatoes; on Shabbos, I serve it with challah or crackers. 

Chuck roast is my favorite meat to work with. It’s never tough or chewy when you slow-cook it, and it’s very reasonably priced. You can easily make this recipe with any cut of meat. 

A question I get a lot is what kind of wine to use, and can the wine be omitted. A good dry wine such as cabernet sauvignon is always a good choice to use with meats. However if you don’t have that and only have a semi-sweet, sweet or even a cooking wine, those will work as well. The wine adds a lot of bold, deep flavor to pulled beef, but if you prefer to keep this recipe alcohol free, you can swap the wine for beef broth (or 1 tsp beef consommé powder dissolved in ¼ cup water). 

When making this slow-cooker pulled beef for Shabbos lunch, I will make it fresh. However, you can easily make it in advance and freeze it and then reheat for a meal.

If you want to dress up your pulled beef, you can add gnocchi, like in this gnocchi with pulled beef. It makes a delicious dish for Yom Tov or any special occasion.

Slow-Cooker Pulled Beef

Need a change from cholent? This succulent and saucy pulled beef make an amazing substitute, even for your die-hard cholent fans!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, diced
• 2½ lbs chuck roast*
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• ¼ cup red wine**
• 1 bottle good-quality barbecue sauce
• Splash of hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

• Place onion in a crock-pot. Place meat on top.
• Season meat with salt and pepper, then pour all remaining ingredients over it.
• Cook on low for 12 hours. Remove meat from crock-pot and shred with two forks. Return pulled beef to the crock-pot and reduce temp to warm until ready to serve.

Notes

*You can use any cut of meat if you don’t have a chuck roast.

**If you prefer not to use wine, you can sub 1/4 cup beef broth (or 1 tsp beef consommé powder dissolved in 1/4 cup water).

Oven-Bake Method: Preheat oven to 200°F. Place ingredients in a roaster pan instead of the crock-pot. Bake for 12 hours, then remove and shred. Return to pan and mix with sauce. You can reheat on a hot plate if not serving right away.

Recipe by Faigy Murray | https://mykitchenmystudio.com/slow-cooker-pulled-beef/