Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
Serves 6
- 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) beef (chuck roast, brisket, chuck eye, neck or boneless short ribs)
- 3 onions, thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp neutral oil
For the barbecue sauce
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 100 g (⅓ cup, about 5 heaping Tbsp) ketchup
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) soy sauce
- 80 g (⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp) light brown sugar (or honey)
- 1 level Tbsp paprika (sweet, smoked or hot, to taste)
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 3 Tbsp vinegar (cider or wine)
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) water
- 2 Tbsp mustard
- Black pepper
In a large skillet, brown the piece of meat on all sides in the 2 Tbsp oil over high heat. Set the meat aside and sweat the onions for a few minutes in the same skillet.
In a saucepan, add all the sauce ingredients except the mustard and cook for about 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens and the sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust to your liking (if it’s too sweet, add a little vinegar; if it’s too sharp, add some sugar). Pour into a baking dish, stir in the mustard and coat the meat well with the sauce. Add the sautéed onions.
- Cover the dish tightly (a glass dish with a lid is perfect) and bake in the middle of the oven at 150°C (300°F) for 4½ hours. The meat should be very, very tender and fall apart on its own; if not, keep cooking (if the sauce looks too concentrated, add half a glass (100 ml) of water).
- Serve sliced or shredded with a fork, tossing it well with the barbecue sauce from the bottom of the dish, thinned with a little water.
I love serving this pulled beef in delicious steamed bao buns or with mashed potatoes or rice.
Tips and variations
- You can also cook it at a very low temperature: 8 hours at 120°C (250°F) or 6½ hours at 140°C (275°F).
- This recipe works just as well in a slow cooker.
- The advantage of homemade barbecue sauce is that you can adjust the sugar and acidity to your taste. You can go up to 100 g (1/2 cup) sugar if you like it sweeter and 4 Tbsp vinegar if you like it tangier.