Mouth-watering tender pulled braised beef sliders are the perfect appetizer sandwich for game day or even for weeknight meals. Delicious chuck roast braised in Guinness & espresso rubbed BBQ seasoning topped with a rich Guinness BBQ sauce with subtle hints of espresso and chocolate.

We love easy recipes where the slow cooker does all the cooking for you! With Superbowl just around the corner this is a great game day recipe to serve for the family or a small gathering of friends. Simply crack a beer and let the cooker do the cooking!

Whenever we braise meat in the slow cooker its so important to sear all sides of the meat before braising it in the slow cooker. We usually salt the beef and let it rest on the counter for 20 minutes then rub our dry rub all over the beef. You can either cut in into smaller pieces this will help reduce the cooking time in the slow cooker and sear all sides in a hot cast iron pan. You’ll want some nice caramelization on all sides of the beef, typically we sear all sides for 2-3 minutes until they are dark and golden and then place the beef in the slow cooker. Don’t worry about the fat on your chuck roast, you can trim some of it off but searing the meat on high heat will help the fat cook off and of course it melts into the beef while its braising keeping the meat tender and juice. We like to pull the beef on a tray using two forks and our hands to discard any touch pieces or fat.

To spice up the buns we used classic dinner rolls, brushed them with melted butter and seasoned the tops with flaky salt and everything bagel seasoning. Simply warm these in the oven for 5-8 minutes and you get restaurant quality slider buns!

For the homemade BBQ sauce all were really doing is adding hints of Guinness, chocolate and espresso to a store-bought BBQ sauce. Grab one that you like, there are some sauce that come with hints of Guinness already. In a small saucepan simply add the store-bought sauce along with espresso powder, a splash of Guinness and a touch of chocolate.

Serve warm and enjoy!

Cheers!

@thecommunalfeast

Print Recipe

TENDER GUINNESS ESPRESSO PULLED BEEF SLIDERS

Mouth-watering tender pulled braised beef sliders are the perfect appetizer sandwich for game day or even for weeknight meals. Delicious chuck roast braised in Guinness & espresso rubbed BBQ seasoning topped with a rich Guinness BBQ sauce with subtle hints of espresso and chocolate.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time5 hours hrs

Total Time5 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course: Football Sunday

Servings: 5 -6

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• 2-3 lbs Chuck roast or your choice of beef
• ½ yellow onion sliced
• Olive oil
• 1 can Guinness beer
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• ½ tbsp cumin
• ½ tbsp chipotle powder
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp espresso powder
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp pepper
• ½ tbsp white pepper
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• ½ tbsp cinnamon
• Dinner rolls
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• Everything bagel seasoning
• Flaky salt
• 1 bottle BBQ sauce of choice
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp espresso powder
• 5 pieces dark chocolate chunks
• Arugula -optional

Instructions

• 1. Lightly salt the beef and let rest on the counter for 20 minutes.
• 2. To make the dry rub, combined garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin, chipotle powder, cayenne, brown sugar, espresso, salt & pepper, white pepper, dried oregano and cinnamon in a bowl. Optional to cut the roast into smaller chunks -This helps shorten the cooking time. Season the beef all over with the dry rub
• 3. Heat olive oil in a cast iron pan. Once the pan is hot sear all sides of the beef. You can a nice crust and caramelization on all sides of the beef. Sear for 2-3 minutes.
• 4. While the beef is searing, place onions in the slow cooker and pour half the Guinness beer into the cooker. Once the meat has seared all over, transfer to the slow cooker. Add the left-over dry rub, pour the remainder of the Guinness beer saving about 2 tbsp for the BBQ sauce. Ensure the meat is covered in liquid to about halfway, you can add water or beef stock to the pot. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours.
• 5. When the meat is done you should be able to shred it easily with a fork. If the beef doesn’t fall apart right away once you insert your fork, its not ready, keep cooking it.
• 6. Once the beef is ready, remove it from the slow cooker and place onto a tray. Using two forks or your hands, pull it apart and discard any fat pieces or touch pieces. Place the shredded beef back into the slow cooker on low heat white you make the BBQ sauce and warm your buns.
• 7. To warm the buns -optional to brush the tops of your rolls with melted butter, sprinkle a small amount of flaky salt and everything bagel seasoning overtop. Bake in the oven until warm -about 5-8 minutes.
• 8. To make the BBQ sauce, in a small saucepan, add your BBQ sauce of choice, pour the remainder of your Guinness into the pan, add 1 tbsp of honey, 2 tsp of espresso powder and 5 pieces of dark chocolate chunks. Stir and bring the sauce to a boil. Remove from heat.
• 9. Strain the shredded beef from the slow cooker and add to a bowl. Pour your BBQ sauce overtop and ensure the beef is coated in BBQ sauce.
• 10. Slice the rolls and add a generous portion of beef. Optional to serve with some arugula
• Enjoy!