Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Barbecue Pulled Beef in a Slow Cooker

The past few nights I have been searching through cookbooks and looking for an easy barbecue pulled beef recipe. Without having much luck, I decided to search the Internet.  On the McCormick web site I found a recipe that interested me.   With a five star rating, the recipe sounded good!  After tweaking the recipe somewhat, I liked what I was tasting.  Here is my revised recipe.

Part I:  Where's the Beef?
1 medium sized chopped yellow onion
1 cup whole baby carrots
2 large diced celery stalks
1/2 cup of beef broth, if needed
Salt and Pepper to taste
5 - 6 lbs. beef arm roast

Part II:  Seasonings
1/2 package McCormick Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Seasoning
2 ~ 6 ounce cans of Contadina Tomato Paste
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water

1.  Place the vegetables in the bottom of a slow cooker.  Layer the roast on top.  Set the temperature to high, cover, and cook the roast for 30 minutes.

2.  Turn the roast.  If there isn't much broth in the slow cooker, add 1/2 cup of beef broth.  Change the temperature to low, cover, and cook for 6 hours.

3.  Remove the roast from the slow cooker and shred using two forks.  Set aside.

4.  Pour the broth through a strainer and place the clear broth in the slow cooker.  Add the seasonings and stir until mixed.  Next, add the shredded beef.

5.  Cook another 30 minutes on low in the covered slow cooker.

6.  Serve on BBQ rolls.


Sunday, December 22, 2013

Chinese Meat Balls with Pineapple Sauce

Back in the 70's when I belonged to Woods 'N Hills Homemakers I published this appetizer recipe in their cookbook.  Since the meatballs were deep-fat-fried, I have made a few nutritional changes.  The meat balls can also be prepared ahead of time and frozen.  As for the sauce, I make it a day ahead of time and warm the sauce before serving.

Chinese Meat Balls with Pineapple Sauce

Meatballs:
5 ~ 8 oz. cans of whole or sliced water chestnuts
3 bunches of green onions
2 pounds ground lean pork
3 pounds ground lean hamburger
1/4 cup light soy sauce
6 slightly beaten eggs (Egg Beaters work too)
1 - 2  teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups fine dry breadcrumbs
Olive oil

Sauce:
1 cup vinegar
2 cups pineapple juice
1 ~ 14 oz. can low salt beef stock
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoon light soy sauce
3 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 corn starch
1 cup cold water

To Prepare Meat Balls:
Drain and chop water chestnuts.  Chop green onions, including stems, into small pieces.  Mix chopped items with ground meat in a large bowl.

Add soy sauce, eggs, salt, and bread crumbs.  Mix thoroughly.  Chill mixture.

After mixture is chilled, form into 1" balls.   Makes about 50 meat balls.

To an electric frying pan, add a small amount of olive oil.  Heat frying pan to 350' and add meat balls.  Brown meat balls and cook until the internal temperature reaches 160'.  Serve with Pineapple Sauce.

Note:  The meat balls can be placed on a jelly roll pan covered with parchment paper and frozen.  Once the meat balls are frozen, place them in a plastic bag or container in the freezer.  If you want to serve the meat balls in a Crock Pot, a day before serving, place the container in the refrigerator to thaw.

To Prepare Pineapple Sauce:
In a sauce pan heat together the vinegar, juice, stock, sugar, soy sauce, and ginger until warm, but not boiling.

In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water until smooth.  Gradually add this mixture to the ingredients in the sauce pan.  Cook on low and stir until slightly thickened (being careful not to overcook the sauce into a jell.)

To Serve:
The meat balls can be served in a Crock Pot with the sauce added to the mixture.  The sauce can also be served in a gravy bowl as a side and poured over the top of the meat balls.