Slow Cooker Beef Sandwiches

Slow Cooker Beef Sandwiches from my sister, Marissa
1 boneless beef roast; trimmed (2-3 lbs) - I typically use either sirloin tip or rump roast.
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1 bottle Italian dressing (16 oz.)
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
your favorite bbq sauce (We always use Sweet Baby Ray's)
hamburger buns
cooking spray


Directions: Spray inside of crock pot with cooking spray. Season beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and whatever other seasoning you like. Place beef in slow cooker. Sprinkle beef with brown sugar, then pour Italian dressing over beef. Cover and cook on low setting for 10-12 hours. Remove beef from slow cooker and shred using 2 forks. Pour out all juices left in slow cooker. Return beef to empty crock pot and add bbq sauce. Mix well and serve warm on buns.

My sister's notes:
**This recipe calls for the fat to be trimmed from the roast BEFORE seasoning and placing in crock pot. However, I think it is MUCH easier to "trim the fat" after the meat is cooked; it will just peel right off the meat when you're shredding it afterwards. (No cutting and sawing at it necessary.)

***If you prefer beef au jus, skip the last step. Reserve 1 cup of juice from crock pot for dipping and serve plain meat on buns, with bbq sauce as a condiment.

****I have tried varying the types of Italian dressing (zesty, tangy, etc.) but I have found that if you stick with just plain Italian dressing (I used Schnuck's brand), the meat tastes much better. For instance, the "tangy Italian" dressing gives the meat an almost sour taste because it's so tangy, which makes you have to increase your brown sugar by almost double to counteract it.

Here's what I started with:

Here' how I did it:

#1 I sprayed the crockpot with cooking spray and then put the roast in.

#2  I topped the meat with 1/3 cup of brow sugar.

#3 I emptied one bottle of Italian dressing onto the meat.

#4 I set it to cook for 8 hours.

#5 Then, I remembered that I hadn't seasoned the meat so I covered both sides with Home Seasoning.

#6 When the meat had cooked for about 7-8 hours I drained the dressing and put the meat back into the crockpot.

#7 I shredded the meat with a couple of forks and then added a bottle of bbq sauce.  I let it cook for another 1-2 hours.

TheFinished Product:

Review:

These sandwiches were great!  It was so easy to make and mde the house smell fantastic all day.  All of the different herbs and the oil in the Italian dressing really gave it a great flavor and helped with the tenderness.  I think you could manipulate the flavor by using different types of dressings and, of course, different styles of bbq sauce.

I used FF Italian dressing and served it on whole grain buns for a little healthier sandwich.  I just opened up a couple of cans of sweet kernal corn (I forgot to buy corn on the cob this weekend) and had a Steamers bag of mixed veggies. 

Such a great summer meal!

Hope you enjoy!

April