Carolina Barbecue Beef Sandwich

A happy accident led me to this sandwich. I went to the store for country-style pork spareribs and came home with country-style beef spareribs. I didn’t even realize my mistake until I was trimming the meat. I checked the package and found it was country-style beef spareribs which are actually beef shoulder. I had to scrap my dinner plans and start over. Almost. I had already made a Carolina style barbecue sauce for the pork. I decided to go ahead, just using beef. I can tell you that beef shoulder does not cook like pork shoulder. When it was supposed to be tender, it was hard and rubbery. It required more cooking time and when it got tender, it fell apart. Scratch the rib plan. I shredded the meat like pulled pork, added the Carolina sauce and cooked it some more. Served on a cornmeal crusted roll, it made a delicious, albeit different, barbecue beef sandwich.

Carolina Barbecue Beef Sandwich

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Ingredients

• For the sauce:
• 1/2 cup prepared yellow mustard
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 12 oz unfiltered apple juice
• 1 tsp chile paste
• 1 TBS soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tsp liquid smoke (hickory flavoring)
• For the beef:
• 1 - 1 1/2 pounds beef shoulder
• 1 medium onion (quartered)
• 3 cloves garlic
• Water to cover meat

Instructions

• Mix all sauce ingredients to a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom. Heat to boiling then reduce heat to low. Continue cooking until the sauce is reduced and thickened to your liking. Mine was like thick syrup. Set aside.
• Place the beef in a large stockpot. Add the onions. garlic and salt and pepper to your individual taste. I waited to add any until the meat was cooked enough to taste. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and cook until the meat is so tender it falls apart. Mine took about three hours. You could also do this in a slow cooker. Remove the meat from the liquid and set aside to cool and drain. Discard the onion, garlic and water.
• When the meat is cool enough to handle separate it with your fingers or two forks until it is all shredded. Return the meat to the pot. Add as much of the Carolina style sauce as you like and re-heat the meat. Be careful not to burn it. The sauce is sweet and burns easily. Serve on warm rolls with mayonnaise if desired.