Rebecca Nielsen's Recipe

Guinness Barbecue Beef

Category: Beef

Serves/Makes: 6
Difficulty: 2
Prep/Cook Time: 3 hours

Ingredients:

1 3 pound boneless chuck roast
1 large white onion (sliced in half moons)
1 medium red onion (sliced in half moons)
3 t minced garlic*
2 cups Guinness Beer
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 T cider vinegar
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried basil
1 1/2 t kosher salt
3/4 t freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

In a Dutch oven or large oven safe pot spread both sliced onions evenly over bottom. Sprinkle half of the minced garlic on top of onions along with half of the salt and pepper. Lay chuck roast on top and rub the top with remaining minced garlic. Sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper.

In a bowl mix ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, oregano and basil. Slowly, while stirring, add beer. Do not add salt to this mixture as it will turn into a volcano and make a big mess. Pour mixture over meat and cover. Put on middle rack of oven and cook for 2 1/2 hours or until meat falls off easily with touch of a fork.

After removing from oven, take out meat and about 1 cup of the onions and put on platter. At this point you can either leave it whole or pull with two forks for BBQ sandwiches.

For the sauce, with an immersion blender, carefully puree the liquid and remaining onions from the roast until desired consistency. Bring to a boil and reduce to med-low to reduce, about 12 minutes. In a small container mix 1/4 cup arrowroot or 3 T cornstarch with watter til smooth. Over medium heat whisk arrowroot or cornstarch mixture into sauce. Continue stirring until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes.

Spoon over meat if serving as a roast, or add pulled meat and mix for sandwiches. It is also great served over buttered noodles. It stores well in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container.

Cooks Notes:
I love making BBQ sauces and thought the rich flavor of Guinness beer would make a great base. What I didn't know is how incredibly it would flavor a lesser cut of meat like a chuck roast. The meat is so tender and flavorful and retains the flavor of the beer as well. I serve this on Hawaiian bread buns with grated Robusto cheese and fresh basil leaves instead of lettuce.