The Home Cook: Italian Shredded Beef

Slow cooked food rocks. I am a firm believer that weekend food prep should be as painless as possible in order to allow for maximum lazy time. And as for lazy cooking, nothing beats Mr. Crock pot. You can literally spend 15 minutes prepping and have a delicious supper 9 hours later. Really, how cool is that?!? So on those Saturdays and Sundays when roasting a chicken or fawning over a pork tenderloin just seems to be asking for too much...I start considering my options. There is of course the standard slow-cooker roast of pork or beef, you can make curries or braise any bird of your choosing if you have a large enough apparatus. But for something a little different I'm a fan of the sandwich family, I mean why "slave" over a roast if your just going to have to make fussy veggies. When instead you can whip up something that will require nothing more than a bun and a side of beans and chips to compete the meal? Enter shredded beef and pulled pork...the stuff of art's festivals and ye old fairs for generations.

This number comes via my aunt who like my mother and the founders of their maternal bloodline cooks "for the threshers". Meaning that if some food is good, more is better. Which presents problems when your family consists of you and your husband but every family recipe you get is usually scaled for 8+. No worries, halving the recipe is easy peasy and some thing I've done 90% of the time. The leftovers here (and there will be some, even if you half it) are good thing, just remember to reserve some of the pot juice to store the meat in to keep it from drying out. Reheating this is as easy as plopping meat and juice in a small sauce pan on the stove and bringing it to a simmer...but if you must use a microwave sprinkle a little water over the meat in a small dish to keep it moist.

Italian Shredded Beef

5-6 lb. lean chuck or rump Roast
2 teaspoons Sweet Basil
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 envelope dry Onion Soup Mix
1 can Beef Consume
1 small jar of Italian Peppers (Also called Peppercini) with liquid reserved

Trim excess fat from roast(s) and pat dry. Mix together dry ingredients and rub on to meat. Place roast(s) into a 4 quart slow-cooker and pour any remaining dry ingredients on top. Place peppers around roast and pour in beef consume.

Pour juice in a measuring cup, adding enough water to equal one cup. Pour into crock. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and discard peppers. Shred beef and return to juice in slow-cooker. Cook for 30 minutes on low setting. Beef can be strained* and served or served from cooker with a slotted spoon on to garlic bread, onion buns or sourdough rolls. Also tops well with sauteed onions, mushrooms with swiss cheese or BBQ with American Cheese.

*If beef is strained for serving, retain juice to store with any leftovers to help beef remain juicy. Reheat on stove with juice.