Borscht Beef with Smoky Crock Pot Chuck Roast

Borscht Beef is the first in a series of posts about the many advantages of slow cooking a batch of Smoky Crock Pot Chuck Roast.

Smoky Crock Pot Chuck Roast uses our ultra-simple liquid smoke method for low and slow indoor meat cookery. If you haven’t gotten into Cheater BBQ, this is a great place to start.  After years of playing around with the cheater method, we return again and again to the simplest recipes because they can take on any flavor profile. Smoky Crock Pot Chuck Roast takes a cue from Texas by using only the barest ingredients, salt and pepper, and smoke.  Now with a tender smoky roast of beef, you can travel in any direction.  

How about Eastern Europe. Again, stripping the recipe down to bare essentials, Borscht Beef combines shredded beef with onions and cooked shredded or finely chopped beets and carrots. Add the signature borscht tang with a few tablespoons of wine vinegar. That’s all you need. Stuff the lovely red stew in big baked potatoes and pass around a bowl of sour cream or Greek yogurt for garnish. Borscht and beet lovers, you won’t want to miss this.

For pot luck or preassembled supper, I can imagine baking a bunch of small potatoes like we did in this Twice Baked Potato recipe and serving the little halves each piled with Beef Borscht in a casserole. Easy to have ready and serve.  Or set up a baked potato station with a crock pot full of the meat and fixings. 

Here’s our Beefy Beet Borscht, if you’re looking for a fantastic hearty soup.

Here’s a link to the Smoky Crock Pot Chuck Roast.  Keep it handy.

Borscht Beef with Smoky Crock Pot Chuck Roast

rbmindy Borscht Beef is a meaty stew of chuck roast, beets and carrots perfect for stuffing into a baked potato. Indoor BBQ/Cheater BBQ Borscht Beef European Print This

Serves: 8

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• For the borscht
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• About 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 cups cooked chuck roast, shredded
• 2 cups shredded cooked beets
• 1 cup shredded cooked carrots
• 3 tablespoons wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 6 baked potatoes
• Fresh parsley and green onion slices
• Greek yogurt or sour cream, optional
• For the smoky crockpot chuck roast:
• 1 medium onion, chopped (optional)
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed (optional)
• 1 chuck roast, about 3 to 6 pounds
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup liquid smoke
• Coarse salt and cracked black pepper

Instructions

If you didn't flavor your chuck roast with onion, then cook the onion in a large skillet in the oil over medium-high heat until softened.
Lower the heat and add the beef, beets, and carrots.
Cook, stirring occasionally until the mixture is heated through.
Stir in the vinegar.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Stuff the mixture into baked potatoes.
Sprinkle liberally with parsley and onions.
Dollop with Greek yogurt or sour cream, optional

For the Smoky Crockpot Chuck Roast:

Sprinkle the onions and garlic in the crockpot.
Place the chuck roast over the onions.
Add the smoke.
Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
Cover the crockpot.
Cook on low for about 8 hours or on high about 6 hours, or until the meat shreds easily with a fork. Timing also depends on the size of the chuck roast. Be flexible.
Now it's ready to use in your recipe.
If you are making it ahead to use later, remove the meat from the juices. Place in a covered container and refrigerate. Pour the juices in a container, cover and refrigerate.
When chilled, scrape off the layer of fat and use the juices to moisten the meat as you like.

Notes

This meaty stew meat is fantastic in potatoes or serve it, over egg noodles or rice, even stuff it in flour tortillas. A big salad is a plus.