This recipe is featured in Pioneer Woman's second cookbook, Food From My Frontier, and my only regret could possibly be that I didn't make it sooner.  Part of the reason I didn't is its long cooking time.  I then saw an episode of Pioneer Woman on Food Network, and she made this in stages.  Doing food anc cleaning in stages is just the best idea.  Then I decided to make it myself, in stages, and took it a step further and made it in my slow cooker while I slept.  Thank God for slow cookers!



This recipe cranks out a roast that, when shredded and allowed to rest a while in the cooking liquid, becomes tender and moist and slightly spicy/tangy.  It was so good that we didn't even mind eating on it all week, and Drew made it for his fire station just a few days later.

Deglazing the pan with some of the main cooking liquid to get all those delicious brown bits- all is poured into the slow cooker

PW suggests you serve these on sandwiches, and that's how we served them the first few times- on rolls with caramelized onions and meunster cheese.  Later in the week, we topped a pizza with the drip beef (yes!) and I thought about how good it'd be over mashed potatoes or polenta (grits), but I didn't try that because I ran out.

Depending on the size of your roast, you can probably feed 10ish with this recipe.  If you don't eat like a plague of locusts, maybe more.  We used bakery crusty hoagie rolls, a baguette, and plain hamburger buns.  All worked just fine, but the crustier rolls hold up better with the liquid.





Drip Beef
adapted from Pioneer Woman

1 whole Beef Chuck Roast, 2.5 To 4 Pounds
2 cups beef broth
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons (heaping) Italian Seasoning
1 jar (16 Oz) Pepperoncini Peppers, With Juice
1 large sweet onion, sliced
Slices of provolone or meunster cheese
Buttered, Toasted Deli Rolls

Sprinkle the chuck roast with salt and pepper.

Melt 2 tablespoons canola oil in a heavy pot over high heat. Sear both sides of the chuck roast until very browned, about 5 minutes in all. Place the beef into a slow cooker.  Pour in the beef broth and 1 cup water. Add the Italian seasoning, and then pour in the pepperoncini with their juices. Now cover the pot and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours (high 4-5 hours) or until meat is very tender and falling apart.

At this point, you have the option to remove the pepperoncini, leave the meat in tact, and refrigerate it for later.  If you do this, skimming the fat off the top is much easier.  If you want to eat it immediately, skip this step and just shred the beef using a couple forks.

If you make sandwiches, prior to building the sandwich, heat a skillet over medium heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Add the onions and saute until light golden brown. Set aside.

To serve, slice rolls in half; butter and toast under broiler. Heap a generous portion of meat on each roll, and then spoon some of the cooking liquid over the meat. Top with a few peppers from the pot and plenty of caramelized onions. If using, top with cheese and re-broil that half.  Top the sandwiches with the tops of the rolls and serve to a roomful of ravenous guests.

Notes

• When searing the meat, PUT THE OIL INTO A COLD PAN and allow it to heat.  DO NOT wait until the pan is hot.  The picture below is the aftermath of what happens when you don't follow these instructions.  You get a small kitchen fire and a burned, warped pan.  Please, learn from my stupid mistake.

  The pan, after a small fire.  It's a testament to heating the oil with the pan.

• This beef just gets better the longer it sits in the cooking liquid.  Right after the beef finished in the crock pot and I tried it, I wasn't blown away, but a few hours later it was a little better.  The next day, it was so good you almost couldn't wait for the roll to eat your share.  

• If you want to make a pizza, feel free to use your creativity to come up with whatever toppings you want.  We used barbecue sauce for the base, mozzarella cheese, the drip beef and some pepperoncinis, some lightly sauteed onion, red bell pepper, and sauteed mushrooms.  Delish!