Crock Pot BBQ (Dry Rubbed) Beef

I'm all about working smarter, not harder. With a full time job, grad school, house hunting, choir practice and dance practice I just don't have time to waste in the kitchen no matter how much I love to cook. Anytime you see me make something that takes more than 20-30 minutes of hands-on time it is most definitely done on the weekend as a stress reliever and fun activity- I really do love to cook. I already mentioned in a previous post that I use my crock pot a lot... at least once or twice a week. I use it to make bone broth, whole chickens, stews and soups, roasts, BBQ, pretty much anything I can find a way to adapt to a crock pot I'll be making in that awesome kitchen gadget. I do this because the food is moist and tender at the end and it takes so much work off of my hands. BBQ Beef is just one of dozens of recipes I regularly make in my house for this very reason. It lasts me at least several days worth of meals plus more for the freezer to rotate into future meal planning... and the dogs usually get a bit as well just to be fair since they have to smell it cooking all day long while I'm at work. It smells pretty awesome.

I use a BBQ dry rub but you can easily sub in a sauce or glaze if that's how you like your BBQ- just make sure to either make it yourself or check the ingredients to insure that you know what you are putting into your body.

When you are using a crock pot it is usually best to quickly sear all sides of your meat before placing them in the crock pot. I have found that it is not 100% necessary to do this but it does help to seal in some of the juices which will create meat that is very moist and tender. To sear your meat simply heat a skillet on the stove top and place your meat inside once it has reached high temperature. After a few seconds you can turn it to another side. Continue doing this until all sides of the meat are seared. It is quite simple and very fast. 

The only thing left (other than putting it in the crock pot) is to rub in your dry rub mix of choice. Mine is here. I always use quite a bit of the rub and occasionally will add a little citrus juice on top right before I close the lid (not a lot, maybe the juice of one medium orange) though I did not do so today. If there is a fat cap (layer of fat) you will want this face up so that the fat will melt slowly and baste your meat throughout the cooking cycle. I don't stick with just one cut of meat when doing this type of meal. Since the slow cooking process produces very tender meat you can easily use cheaper cuts of meat and get very tasty result all the same. 

I usually do all of my slow cooking overnight these days so this lovely dish cooked for between 10-12 hours on low but if you want to do 6-8 hours you can set the temperature to high.

The meat literally fell apart when I took it out of the crock pot.