Grandma's Barbecue Beef Sandwich

We all have those specific foods that make us think of home and bring us back to better days. Foods that we grew up with, foods that give us comfort. No matter your age, cultural background, or the country in which you are born, we all have those specific foods that make us think of loved ones. For me it is my grandmother's barbecue beef sandwiches. My grandparents owned both a small country store in a small town called Etoile in East Texas, as well as a café and pool hall on highway 103 in Lufkin, Texas. Twice when my father was stationed in Korea during his 22 years in the Air Force we lived for a year each time with my grandparents.

One of the things that my grandmother served at her café was barbecue beef sandwiches. I remember watching her cook the beef all day along with the sauce just to get it ready for the restaurant. One summer when my father was overseas I think I ate her barbecue almost everyday at the café. It is still the food that brings back childhood memories of my grandparents who are now deceased. Many years back when my grandmother died, my mother found the index card that contained her original barbecue beef sandwich recipe and made a photocopy and send it to me.

Every time I make this barbecue I think of the goods times we had when we lived with my grandparents, and that no matter how many days in a row I ate this barbecue I never got tired of it. But that's how kids are, they get stuck on such foods and want to eat them constantly. For my grandkids it was chicken tenders, for me it was grandma's barbecue. In this article, I will share with you my grandmother's barbecue recipe for 'Chipped Barbecue Beef'. It is not a traditional barbecue sandwich as it is made with cheaper roast or beef stew meat as opposed to more expensive beef brisket, but the bold tangy sauce has made it a favorite among my family, and it is requested often.

The Meat

Back in the East Texas country where my grandmother lived, there were no barbecue joints. Etoile was a town of 300 people so brisket was not something that was readily available and I will be honest I never really knew what it was when I was growing up. For us barbecue was made from roast or beef stew meat (roast trimmings). My grandmother could get beef stew meat relatively cheaply from their meat supplier for her country store, so that was the meat of choice.

The Recipe

3 – 4lbs beef stew meat or roast cubed

2 (29 ounce cans) crushed tomatoes

1 cup white vinegar

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup sugar

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium onions, diced (enough for 2 cups)

2 tablespoons dry mustard

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons black pepper

Dice onions and combine in batches with crushed tomatoes in your blender and puree until the two have been thoroughly combined. Then add them to a large Dutch oven with the other ingredients (except the beef) and cook until the sauce thickens (Reduce the sauce by about 1/4 of it's original volume). 

Once the beef is cooked, and shredded, then add the thickened sauce to your beef until you get the consistency that you like. My experience has been that I generally have about 1/3 cup more sauce than I need. I simply place it in the refrigerator and use it for something else, but grandma simply added the beef straight to the sauce. As I was quite young at the time, I never really learned to make the recipe from her, at eight years of age my focus was more on “is it done yet grandma” as opposed to learning the particular steps. So I thicken my sauce to my preference and simply add the sauce until it suits my particular taste. If I have a little left over no big deal.

Chef's Notes: While my grandmother boiled her beef for hours, I prefer to use my pressure cooker to cook the beef as it is a whole lot faster. Below I have included instructions on how to cook the beef using either method.

Stove Top Method For Cooking Beef

Trim the beef stew meat or roast of any extra fat and then cube (makes shredding the beef easier). Then place the beef in a Dutch oven or large stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the meat until it is fork tender. When the beef is done to your satisfaction, then drain the water off the meat then shred with a fork or other utensil and add the sauce.

Pressure Cooker Method

Trim the beef stew meat or roast of any extra fat and then cube (makes shredding the beef easier). Then add the cubed beef and 1 ½ cups of water to your pressure cooker and process for 60 minutes at 15lbs of pressure if using a traditional pressure cooker. I using an electric pressure cooker then place on the high setting (Chicken/Meat) and cook for 60 minutes. so that it is fall apart tender. When the beef is done to your satisfaction, then drain the water off the meat then shred with a fork or other utensil and add the sauce.

Cost Savings

Beef roast and stew meat is not as cheap as it was in the past, however generally beef stew meat, which is are the trimmings from roast are generally cheaper to purchase that whole roasts. This is not always the case, but generally this is the case. As big 'comp shoppers' we check our adds each week and when roast is on sale we buy several and throw them in the freezer or make barbecue or can it as beef stew or soup base. This last week we bought four boneless chuck roasts on sale for $1.99lb, normally $5.49lb at our local Walmart (a 64% savings). Total cost for making 5 ½ pounds of barbecue beef is $13.55 or $2.46 per pound or $0.153 per ounce. I have included the cost breakdown of the ingredients below.

Boneless chuck roast 4.74lbs for 1.99lb, total cost = $9.43 (Walmart)

Crushed tomatoes (29oz can) $1.00ea, total cost = $2.00 (Dollar Tree)

Onions 5lbs for $0.99, or $0.198lb, (2 onions ½lb) total cost = $0.10 (Walmart)

White Vinegar 1 cup, $0.02 per ounce, total cost = $0.16 (Walmart)

Granulated Sugar ¼ cup, $0.06 per ounce, total cost = $0.12 (Walmart)

Worcestershire sauce ¼ cup, $0.10 per ounce, total cost = $0.20 (Walmart)

Miscellaneous dry spices total cost approximately $1.00 (Walmart)

For cost comparison, this recipe is very similar to prepackaged barbecue beef in the plastic containers that you will find in your local meat or delicatessen. Brands vary per region but in East Texas we primarily see Lloyd's Shredded Barbecue Beef (15oz) $4.83 or $0.322 per ounce. At one time Sadlers BBQ also made a shredded barbecue beef product, but they have since changed recipes and I can only find the brisket product in our area and it is quite a bit more expensive. So compared to Lloyd's it is 50% cheaper to make your own shredded barbecue beef at home than it is to purchase it at the supermarket.

Conclusion

We all have those foods that make us think of home, those comfort foods that remind us of loved ones that may no longer be with us. For me it was my grandmother's shredded barbecue beef sandwiches. Every time I prepare and eat this recipe I think of my grandmother. The pictures for this article were taken as I quickly made this recipe for my grandson who requested it for his birthday last weekend. As I would be working the day of his birthday, the barbecue beef went straight into the freezer to be thawed the day of his party. That's the great thing about this recipe, it freezes extremely well.

I hope you and your family will enjoy making my grandmothers barbecue beef. It is far cheaper to make your own than it is to purchase the premade barbecue at the supermarket (50% cheaper), and way cheaper than taking the family out for barbecue which for a family of four could easily cost you $40 to $50 dollars. And keep in mind that this recipe will easily make 10 sandwiches (½lb beef each) making the cost $1.35 per sandwich minus the bun, verses $6.00 for a chopped beef sandwich at a barbecue joint. As always, if you have enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends and don't forget to send us a friend request on Facebook and Google+ so that you will not miss out on any of our new articles.