Fork-Tender BBQ Beef Sandwiches start with chuck roast cooked in the slow cooker until it’s fall-apart tender. The shredded beef cooks in a homemade BBQ sauce made with bacon, spices, and brewed coffee, giving it a deeper flavor than the typical bottle-and-go version. A quick reduction at the end creates a thick sauce that coats every bite.
BBQ Beef That’s Worth The Extra Skillet
There’s a little work up front, but I promise, it’ll all be worth it. Crisping the bacon, cooking the onions, and blooming the spices in the skillet builds the base of the sauce so the finished BBQ beef sandwich has a rich deep flavor. After that, the slow cooker turns chuck roast into tender, shred-friendly beef.
The sauce is homemade, but super easy to throw together. It’s made with ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, and hot sauce to give you that familiar BBQ profile. Then, I added some brewed coffee to round everything out so it tastes richer without getting overly sweet or tasting like coffee. It took me years to add coffee to recipes, I hate the taste of coffee so when I say you can’t taste it, you know it’s true.
You save part of the sauce for the end on purpose. Sauce that cooks all day can get a little flat, so finishing with a fresh portion keeps the flavors bright and bold.
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It’s a given that the beef will be so moist and tender after cooking all day, but I wanted bbq beef that was not drippy. Reducing the cooking liquid and stirring it back into the reserved sauce gives you a thicker, clingy finish that coats the meat instead of puddling at the bottom of the bun. Let the shredded beef sit in the sauce for a few minutes before serving so it soaks in.
This sauce is not tangy like the sauce on sloppy joes, it is thicker and has a hint of sweetness.
It has enough flavor to serve on a bun all by itself, but I like to add a little Southern coleslaw for just a hint of sweetness. Add a side of creamy potato salad and you’ve got an easy dinner that feels like a backyard barbecue.
Coffee-Based Beef BBQ Must-Haves
You’ll find exact amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Chuck roast: It shreds easily and stays juicy after a long cook.
- Coffee: Use brewed coffee you’d drink. It deepens the sauce, but the sauce won’t taste coffee.
- Liquid smoke: This gives it that smoky barbecue flavor.
- Hamburger buns: Brioche or potato buns hold up well. Toasting changes the texture and helps keep the sandwich from getting soggy especially if your rolls are soft.
Brown The Bacon, Build The Sauce, Let The Slow Cooker Work
Step One: Cook the Bacon and Onions
Save a tablespoon of fat: You want enough to cook the onion without making the sauce greasy.
Step Two: Make And Pour The Sauce
Step Three: Slow Cook Until Fork-Tender
Tender cue: If you have to fight it, it needs more time.
Step Four: Finish The Sauce
Reduction makes it cling: This is what keeps the sauce thick enough to coat the meat.
Step Five: Sauce The Beef And Let It Sit
Once the beef has soaked up the sauce for a few minutes, it’s ready to pile high on a toasted bun. The meat stays juicy, the sauce clings instead of dripping everywhere, and the flavor is deeper than the typical slow cooker BBQ beef. It’s the kind of sandwich that works just as well for a weeknight dinner as it does for feeding a crowd.
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Fork-Tender BBQ Beef Sandwiches Made in the Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb chuck roast
- 4 slices bacon chopped
- 1 onion diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 cup brewed coffee
- 1 ½ cups ketchup
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard divided
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Equipment
Instructions
- Cut the chuck roast into quarters and place in a slow cooker.
- Add chopped bacon to a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat until crisp. Add the bacon to the slow cooker and drain most of the grease from the skillet, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the skillet. Add onion to the skillet and cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add chili powder and paprika to the onions and cook for a minute.
- Add Coffee, ketchup, brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon mustard to the onion mixture and simmer over medium-low heat until reduced, about 10 minutes. Pour half of the sauce over the roast and reserve the rest for the end. Cover and cook over high heat, 5-6 hours, until the meat is fork tender, or cook on low for 9-10 hours.
- Remove the meat to a large bowl. Use a fork to shred it into bite sized pieces.
- Add the liquid from the slow cooker to a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Stir in the reserved sauce along with 1 tablespoon mustard, hot sauce, vinegar and liquid smoke. Add 1 ½ cups of sauce to the meat mixture and stir to combine. Let the meat sit for a few minutes to absorb the sauce and serve on hamburger buns with remaining sauce.
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- Store: Store cooled BBQ beef in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave with a splash of water or a spoonful of extra sauce to loosen it back up.
- Freeze: Freeze the sauced beef in freezer bags laid flat for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat slowly. Add a little extra sauce at the end if it needs freshening.
Nutrition
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Deborah says
2 things that go together a cheap cut that’ll be made juicy and soft by the slow cooker
Barbara Curry says
The slow cooker makes this so easy!
Beth Stamper says
Hi Barbara!
I’m not much on beef bbq, but this sounds delicious. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks!
Beth Stamper
Barbara Curry says
I hope you like it. I think the flavor is just right, not too sweet.